The Disarmament Conference Flashcards
Brief summary of the failure of disarmament by the League
At the Washington Conference in 1921, there was no agreement to disarmament, so in this aspect, it was a failure but the USA, Japan, Britain, and France all agreed to limit the size of their navies.
The failure to have every country disarm was damaging to the League’s reputation, specifically in Germany who was bitter about having to disarm while nobody else did. Germany did not want to give up all of its armies and be the first to disarm.
Overall the disarmament did not seem like a very prominent problem and the world still seemed at peace due to all the international agreements.
What was the disarmament conference?
The Disarmament Commission arranged a Disarmament Conference to debate the issues around disarmament and come to a resolution. The goal of the League was to have resolutions in place and followed about the issue of disarmament. In February 1932 the Conference finally started happening. At the Conference, there were 54 states present to discuss disarmament. Everyone had their reservations about everyone else which made the conference even more difficult. What happened at the conference was that Japan, the USA, Britain, France agreed to limit the size of their navies. Japan exited due to the Manchurian crisis and Hilter blamed France for not being committed to the disarmament cause and exited as well. During this time Hitler started to rearm and announced that in 1935, that’s also when the other countries started to build up their armies as well.
Why did the conference fail?
Treaty of Versailles
Hitler
Lack of trust
Britain and France
Why did the conference fail because of the Treaty of Versailles?
Germany in 1932 was already completely disarmed because of the Treaty of Versailles. Germans already had their reservations about the Treaty and were feeling bitter about disarming. While most people agreed that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh and that Germany deserved to be treated more equally the League was still reluctant to do anything about it. They had one of two options, either every power would have to disarm or Germany would be allowed to rearm. Both choices the League didn’t really want to make. Due to the reluctance of the League, Germany became impatient and it seemed like nothing was really going to change.
Why did the conference fail because of Hitler?
Hitler was an extremist who came into power as Chancellor of Germany at the end of January 1933. Although Hitler might have made it seem that Germany’s intention was to have all of the other countries disarm, at the same time he was secretly rearming the country. Hitler then withdrew from the League and the disarmament conference after they accused Britain of not being serious about disarmament. This collapsed the trust in countries and all powers knew that Germany was arming and started doing the same themselves.
Why did the conference fail because of a lack of trust?
All the countries at the conference had some sort of reservation about other countries at the conference which made it impossible for them to actually agree on something. France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia all had worries with their defense against Germany. That meant that they were reluctant to place their faith in a system where collective security had already shown some flaws.
Why did the conference fail because of Britain and France?
Britain and France were two of the major powers running the League of Nations which meant they were absolutely crucial for the success of the Disarmament and the League in general. When it came to Disarmament however Britain and France were both divided. By 1933 people in Britain felt that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair. In 1935 Britain signed an agreement with Germany that allowed them to build up their navy as long as it stayed under 35 percent under the size of the British navy. Britain did not consult France with this decision or any other League members and the agreement was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. This made it clear that Britain and France’s intentions are not to the League but to themselves.
