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The San Francisco Conference - Initial Stages:
The San Francisco Conference - Initial Stages:
Although initially slated to take place at New York, the Soviet Union had objected to the travel distance between Russian territory and the conference. In this she was surprisingly supported by China, Japan and Germany. China wanted a shorter trip for her diplomats, as did Japan and Hitler disliked New York as a ‘nest of judeo-bolshevist-capitalists.’ With 4/7 parties in agreement - the host country agreed to move the conference to San Francisco. On April 1, delegates from all over the world gathered in San Francisco where they were addressed and welcomed by Vice President Harry Truman.
US Army Troops and Naitonal guard units helping put down the San Francisco Chopsticks Riot
The expectation that the conference would finish within two months was misguided. The first month of the conference was taken up with boring administrative fights about seating, hotel rooms and speaking order. Halfway towards April a big fight broke out between the low ranking members (translators, secretaries and other low level diplomats) Chinese and the Japanese delegations about who invented the chopstick. The Italian and German delegations loyally waded into the fray with their Chinese comrades and the British and French likewise backed up the Japanese. The Soviets joined their bemused American hosts in expressing surprise as they drank Russian vodka and ate American popcorn. Bemusement and bet-taking turned into horror as the fracas spread throughout San Francisco with Japanese and Chinese communities attacking each other. While the “San Francisco riots” became infamous, the respective Japanese and Chinese governments refused to apologize. The Chinese and Japanese governments awarded combat decorations and wounded badge medals to those who had taken part in the fracas (the only case of diplomats being awarded combat awards during either Great War.)
The second month was also farcical but likewise serious - both the Axis and Entente had bought along contingents of their puppet government which purported to speak for the particular country under occupation/liberation. While some were broadly respected and had international legitimacy like the Greek Peoples Government (formerly in exile in London - now back in Athens as a “Monarcho-Communist” state) others were complete farces like the “German Democratic Republic” set up in Konigsberg by Soviet troops and the various Baltic socialist republics that had magically been conjured into existence despite being almost under a decade long occupation and who’s diplomats at the conference were former NKVD agents. In between these were the countries where there was genuine debate where legitimacy lay such as the three Indias, the two Romanias and the two Polands. There was serious arguments about which government would be speaking for whom and which governments would be allowed representation. The “Hull Compromise” was that no governments claiming to represent another nation that already was formally represented in the negotiation would be allowed and that a government had to physically occupy at least half of the territories it was claiming to represent in order to be represented with an exception made for the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of India and the Dominion of India.
By the end of June, these nations were the official ones allowed during the conference:
Axis:
Germany
Italy
China
Persia
Afghanistan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikstan
Kazakstan
Reichsprotektorate of the Netherlands
Denmark
Norway
The Republic of Poland
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Republic of Indochina
The Republic of India
The Kingdom of Romania
Entente:
United Kingdom
Republic of France
Empire of Japan
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Polish Socialist Republic
The Lithuanian Socialist Republic
The Latvian Socialist Republic
The Estonian Socialist Republic
The Romanian Socialist Republic
Kingdom of Belgium
Duchy of Luxenburg
The Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Greece
The People’s Republic of Mancuria
The Dominion of India
The People’s Republic of India
The Kingdom of Libya
The Kingdom of Ethiopia
The Kingdom of Egypt
The Dominion of Australia
The Dominion of Canada
The Dominion of New Zealand
The Dominion of the Caribbean Federation
The Kingdom of Sarawak
The Dominion of South Africa
With the shitfighting (mostly) out of the way, the parties were ready to go to work.
Next: The San Francisco Conference - Europe
Although initially slated to take place at New York, the Soviet Union had objected to the travel distance between Russian territory and the conference. In this she was surprisingly supported by China, Japan and Germany. China wanted a shorter trip for her diplomats, as did Japan and Hitler disliked New York as a ‘nest of judeo-bolshevist-capitalists.’ With 4/7 parties in agreement - the host country agreed to move the conference to San Francisco. On April 1, delegates from all over the world gathered in San Francisco where they were addressed and welcomed by Vice President Harry Truman.
US Army Troops and Naitonal guard units helping put down the San Francisco Chopsticks Riot
The expectation that the conference would finish within two months was misguided. The first month of the conference was taken up with boring administrative fights about seating, hotel rooms and speaking order. Halfway towards April a big fight broke out between the low ranking members (translators, secretaries and other low level diplomats) Chinese and the Japanese delegations about who invented the chopstick. The Italian and German delegations loyally waded into the fray with their Chinese comrades and the British and French likewise backed up the Japanese. The Soviets joined their bemused American hosts in expressing surprise as they drank Russian vodka and ate American popcorn. Bemusement and bet-taking turned into horror as the fracas spread throughout San Francisco with Japanese and Chinese communities attacking each other. While the “San Francisco riots” became infamous, the respective Japanese and Chinese governments refused to apologize. The Chinese and Japanese governments awarded combat decorations and wounded badge medals to those who had taken part in the fracas (the only case of diplomats being awarded combat awards during either Great War.)
The second month was also farcical but likewise serious - both the Axis and Entente had bought along contingents of their puppet government which purported to speak for the particular country under occupation/liberation. While some were broadly respected and had international legitimacy like the Greek Peoples Government (formerly in exile in London - now back in Athens as a “Monarcho-Communist” state) others were complete farces like the “German Democratic Republic” set up in Konigsberg by Soviet troops and the various Baltic socialist republics that had magically been conjured into existence despite being almost under a decade long occupation and who’s diplomats at the conference were former NKVD agents. In between these were the countries where there was genuine debate where legitimacy lay such as the three Indias, the two Romanias and the two Polands. There was serious arguments about which government would be speaking for whom and which governments would be allowed representation. The “Hull Compromise” was that no governments claiming to represent another nation that already was formally represented in the negotiation would be allowed and that a government had to physically occupy at least half of the territories it was claiming to represent in order to be represented with an exception made for the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of India and the Dominion of India.
By the end of June, these nations were the official ones allowed during the conference:
Axis:
Germany
Italy
China
Persia
Afghanistan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikstan
Kazakstan
Reichsprotektorate of the Netherlands
Denmark
Norway
The Republic of Poland
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Republic of Indochina
The Republic of India
The Kingdom of Romania
Entente:
United Kingdom
Republic of France
Empire of Japan
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Polish Socialist Republic
The Lithuanian Socialist Republic
The Latvian Socialist Republic
The Estonian Socialist Republic
The Romanian Socialist Republic
Kingdom of Belgium
Duchy of Luxenburg
The Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Greece
The People’s Republic of Mancuria
The Dominion of India
The People’s Republic of India
The Kingdom of Libya
The Kingdom of Ethiopia
The Kingdom of Egypt
The Dominion of Australia
The Dominion of Canada
The Dominion of New Zealand
The Dominion of the Caribbean Federation
The Kingdom of Sarawak
The Dominion of South Africa
With the shitfighting (mostly) out of the way, the parties were ready to go to work.
Next: The San Francisco Conference - Europe
- CCA
- Word Count: 700