Book Reviews and Notices : Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1933. Vol. I: General. (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, Depart ment of State Publication No. 3,839. 1950. Pp. xcvii, 1,012. $3.75.)

• Author: H. Arthur Steiner
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400121
• Date: 01 March 1951
• Published date: 01 March 1951
• Subject Matter: Articles

139
Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1933. Vol. I:
General. (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, Depart-
ment of State Publication No. 3,839. 1950. Pp. xcvii, 1,012. $3.75.)
Two-thirds of the more than eight hundred documents in this volume
relate to negotiations connected with the two principal (and abortive)
general international conferences of 1933: the Geneva Conference for the
Reduction and Limitation of Armaments (pp. 1-355), and the London
Monetary and Economic Conference (pp. 452-762).
Whether the disarmament conference could have succeeded under
any circumstances, considering the rise of Hitler to power in Germany
and the resulting general political situation, remains doubtful. Neverthe-
less, the persistent policy of the United States continued to separate the
discussion of arms questions from any discussion of European political
issues! In telephoning Ambassador Norman Davis on October 16, 1933,
President Roosevelt observed: &dquo;I think you should make it very clear
that we are in Geneva solely for disarmament purposes;
but that
...
we are not interested in the political element, or in the purely European
aspect of peace&dquo; (p. 273). After the Conference had &dquo;recessed&dquo; so that
political consultations could take place between the principal European
powers, Acting Secretary Phillips informed Ambassador Dodd in Berlin
(December 11, 1933): &dquo;We cannot...