The+World+Disarmament+Conference


 * AKA Geneva Peace Conference.**

The World Disarmament Conference of 1932-34 was an effort by member states of the League of Nations, together with the US and the USSR, to actualize the ideology of disarmament. It was held in the Swiss city of Geneva in February 1st, 2932.
 * DEFINITION**

At the Washington Conference of 1922 the principle of limitation had been established by treaty for capital ships of the US, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan; at London Naval conference of 1930 this principle was extended to other types of warships of the US, Great Britain, and Japan. Prior to the opening of the General Disarmament Conference in 1932, there were the principal steps taken by the nations of the world to lighten the burden of large armies and navies.

A preparatory commision was initiated by the League in 1925; by 1931, there was sufficient support to hold a conference, which duly began under the chairmanship of former British Foreign Secretary Arthur Henderson. The motivation behind the talks can be summed up by the President Franklin Roosevelt.

The talks were beset by a number of difficulties from the outset. Among these were disagreements over what constituted "offensive" and "defensive" weapons, and the polarization of France and Germany. The increasingly military-minded German governments could see no reason why their country could not enjoy the same level of armaments as other powers, especially France.

The talks broke down when Hitler withdrew Germany from both the Conference and the League of Nations in October 1933.
 * SIGNIFICANCE**