MacMillan's statement in chapter 15 of Paris, 1919 that the victors should have been less concerned with making Germany pay and should have concentrated more on getting Europe going again is correct. This is because the Treaty of Versailles, which was designed to punish Germany for its role in World War I, imposed harsh reparations on the country that only served to deepen Germany's economic woes and fuel resentment towards the Allies.
One specific example that supports this explanation is the economic conditions in Germany after the war. As MacMillan notes in her book, Germany was already facing economic hardship before the war, and the demands of the war only made things worse. The Treaty of Versailles imposed heavy reparations on Germany, which were intended to compensate the Allies for the costs of the war and to punish Germany for its aggression. However, these reparations only served to further weaken Germany's already fragile economy, leading to hyperinflation and widespread poverty.
Despite these economic conditions, the Allies were reluctant to reduce the reparations or to provide economic assistance to Germany. This was partly due to concerns about public opinion, as many people in the Allied countries were angry about the war and wanted Germany to pay for its role in it. As a result, the Allies continued to demand reparations from Germany, even as the country struggled to rebuild its economy. This focus on punishment rather than reconstruction ultimately contributed to the rise of extremist political movements in Germany, such as the Nazi party, which promised to restoreGermany's power and prestige.