How did WFM start?
Numerous world federation plans and organizations emerged in the 1930’s and during WWII. WFM’s history formally began in in 1946 in Luxembourg and in 1947 in Montreux, Switzerland when many national and international peace movements agreed to form a ‘coalition’ world movement for world federation. The movement was formed in large part to press for the reform of the then new UN Charter to one that could achieve the first goal of the UN, ‘to save future generations from the scourge of war.’ The founding meetings engaged in intense debate over the issue of whether the establishment of a European (regional) federation should take priority over world federation pursuits. The result was that both movements were formally established in Montreux. The split endured for many years; the European Federalists joined WFM in 2004.
