Geneva Conference (1932)
Encyclopedia
The Second Geneva Naval Conference was a conference held to discuss naval arms limitation, held in Geneva
, Switzerland
, in 1932. This is a separate conference from the previous disarmament conference, the Geneva Naval Conference
of 1927.
Apart from naval disarmaments, a reduction in land forces and limits on weapons were also discussed at the conference.
Sixty-one nations, including USA, USSR and Germany, came to the conference wanting a reduction in general arms. Some progress was made, but when Hitler came into power in 1933 he took Germany out of the Geneva Conference and the League of Nations
, which was questionable but nothing was done about it.
As Gibson had observed not long after the London Conference, the United States had less interest in the new conference because treaties already limited his navy, its army was so small that reduction was ludicrous, and the proposed measures of air limitation were so vague that they meant little. He wrote that the conference would "probably meet in February or March 1932 and, discouraging as it may sound, it will probably go on and on." He had come to believe that armaments would never be abolished completely but that treaties could perhaps maintain military balances. Secretary Stimson later wrote that Americans regarded the Geneva Conference as really " a European peace conference with European political questions to be settled. The necessary work of settling them must be done by the leaders of Europe." He realized that Germany's position in European affairs could not be ignored as it had at Geneva in 1927 or at London in 1930, but he did not know how to reconcile German military ambition with French fear of its neighbor. Stimson therefore hoped the Europeans might find a solution. The secretary also hesitated over further naval disarmament because of the Manchurian crisis; in particular he worried whether the navy possessed enough carriers for possible action in the Far East.
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, in 1932. This is a separate conference from the previous disarmament conference, the Geneva Naval Conference
Geneva Naval Conference
The Geneva Naval Conference was a conference held to discuss naval arms limitation, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1927. This is a separate conference from the later general disarmament conference, the Geneva Conference ....
of 1927.
Apart from naval disarmaments, a reduction in land forces and limits on weapons were also discussed at the conference.
Sixty-one nations, including USA, USSR and Germany, came to the conference wanting a reduction in general arms. Some progress was made, but when Hitler came into power in 1933 he took Germany out of the Geneva Conference and the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, which was questionable but nothing was done about it.
As Gibson had observed not long after the London Conference, the United States had less interest in the new conference because treaties already limited his navy, its army was so small that reduction was ludicrous, and the proposed measures of air limitation were so vague that they meant little. He wrote that the conference would "probably meet in February or March 1932 and, discouraging as it may sound, it will probably go on and on." He had come to believe that armaments would never be abolished completely but that treaties could perhaps maintain military balances. Secretary Stimson later wrote that Americans regarded the Geneva Conference as really " a European peace conference with European political questions to be settled. The necessary work of settling them must be done by the leaders of Europe." He realized that Germany's position in European affairs could not be ignored as it had at Geneva in 1927 or at London in 1930, but he did not know how to reconcile German military ambition with French fear of its neighbor. Stimson therefore hoped the Europeans might find a solution. The secretary also hesitated over further naval disarmament because of the Manchurian crisis; in particular he worried whether the navy possessed enough carriers for possible action in the Far East.
See also
- London Naval TreatyLondon Naval TreatyThe London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
- Second London Naval TreatySecond London Naval TreatyThe Second London Naval Disarmament Conference opened in London, the United Kingdom, on 9 December 1935. It resulted in the Second London Naval Treaty which was signed on 25 March 1936.- Description :...
- Washington Naval ConferenceWashington Naval ConferenceThe Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations...