The German statesman Matthias Erzberger (1875-1921) is best known for his sponsorship of the German parliamentary peace resolution during World War I and for his subsequent signing of the armistice agreement.

Matthias Erzberger was born in Buttenhausen, Württemberg, on Sept. 20, 1875, the son of a Catholic tailor and postman. Trained as an elementary teacher, he gave up his teaching career in 1896 to join the Catholic (and anti-Marxist) social movement as a lecturer and pamphleteer. Later he became editor of the Catholic Center party's Stuttgart publication, Deutsches Volksblatt. Erzberger's energy, dedication, and polemical skill soon made his reputation. In 1903 he was elected to the Reichstag (the parliament) as a delegate of the Center party's left wing.

As a member of the parliament, Erzberger combined the qualities of a master of financial intricacies with those of a Christian crusader. Appointed to the budget committee in 1904, he immediately became the...