Disarmament Plans

Dawes Plan program designed in 1924 to alleviate the burden of reparations imposed on Germany after World War I (1914-1918) as a result of the Versailles Treaty. The Dawes Plan was drawn up by an international committee chaired by American banker Charles G. Dawes. The plan set more reasonable amounts of reparations and provided for foreign loans, mainly from the United States, to help Germany meet its payment schedule.

Dawes The plan was bitterly unpopular with German nationalist politicians, who denounced it as economic enslavement. However, foreign minister Gustav Stresemann was able to gain the required two-thirds majority in the German parliament by relying on the support of the Social Democrats and by splitting the main nationalist group, the German National People's Party. The German parliament accepted the Dawes Plan on August 27, 1924.

Dawes Under the plan, French and Belgian troops, who had occupied Germany's industrial Ruhr region since 1923 to ensure that reparations were paid, withdrew in 1925. In return, the Germans had to pledge some of their assets, such as revenues from the state railway system, to fund reparations. The German national bank also had to submit to external controls. In 1929 the Dawes Plan was replaced by the Young Plan, which reduced the amount of Germany's reparations.

Locarno Introduced an era in European Affairs which brought an air of optimism to Western Europe – also a set of treaties Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, and Germany agreed to guarantee existing frontiers and the demilitarisation of the Rhineland

Locarno France, Germany, Belgium agreed not to make war Germany’s entry into the League of Nations in 1926 with a seat on the council Locarno period (1924-29) only period of stability and hope for lasting peace

Young Plan Plan accepted in 1930 by another American banker Cut reparations in total to 29 billion including interest Allied occupation of the Rhineland was to end This caused allies to loose their last pressure point with which to make Germany pay

Washington Conference 1921 Concerned with Naval disarmament Signed 1922 by USA, Britain, France, Japan, Italy Not to build any more battleships for 10 years Naval tonnage would be reduced to a ratio of: Britain & USA = 5 Japan = 3 France & Italy = 1.67

Kellogg-Briand Pact (Pact of Paris) 1928 Supported by the USA Not a formal treaty Declaration of policy by 15 nations Denounced war as a method of solving disputes

London Conference 1930 Britain, France, Japan, Italy, USA Met to further reduce naval tonnage France & Italy got in fight and left

Geneva Disarmament Conference 1932 Sixty nations met for arms reduction Made some progress But in 1933 Hitler pulled Germany out of the conference and the league