10 What were the consequences of the failures of the League in the 1930s? Flashcards
What was so important about the League’s intervention and control of the Manchurian crisis?
That all eyes of the world were focus upon the League as it was the first time it had faced a serious challenge from a great power. If the League was firm and decisive then this would act as a warning to those powers seeking to expand their territory
What did Japan realise when the League failed to create firm and decisive control over the Manchurian crisis?
That without the membership of either the United States of America and Soviet Russia, there was little the League could do to prevent her from further expansion at the expense of China
Even with Soviet Russia joining the League in 1934, why did Japan still do whatever they wanted in Manchuria?
As it was clear that Stalin’s immediate concerns were agricultural and industrial reform. This meant that were no obstacles to prevent Japan from doing whatever it wanted and the invasion of China continued in 1937.
What did the League’s absence in the Manchurian Crisis mean for Hitler and Mussolini in Germany and Italy?
That the lessons of Manchuria were certainly encouraging, making them think that their territorial ambitious were feasible. But it would take a successful European challenge to the League to give Mussolini and Hitler sufficient confidence to take action
How was the League exposed guilty of double dealing during the Abyssinian crisis?
As at first the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in October 1935 meant that the League imposed economic sanctions on Italy. However, it became clear that these sanctions excluded certain key commodities such as coal and oil, the League was exposed as guilty of double dealing. The Hoare-laval Pact of December 1935 confirmed this impression
What were the reactions from Hitler and Mussolini after the League was exposed as guilty of double dealing?
Both Mussolini and Hitler were delighted with the outcome; the League appeared to be incapable of the effective action and it was proving impossible to put internationalism ahead of national interests. This meant that further aggressive behaviour from Italy was extremely likely and that Hitler would soon be furthering his policy of destroying the Treaty of Versailles.
How was Britain and France impacted by the failure of the League and rearmament?
Although they had never placed much confidence in the League, it was now obvious to both that collective security was dead and that alternative means had to be found to preserve world peace
How did Britain and France respond after acknowledging that the League was now dead?
They needed to rearm to deter Germany and Italy from taking further action
Why had rearmament not happened before?
- Following the world recession, money had been scarce and neither Britain nor France had spent what they should have on their defences
- Both countries had used collective security as an excuse of underspending on arms
- Public opinion was firmly against any major arms spending, partly because the public placed more faith in the League than politicians did
What was a top priority for countries by the summer of 1936 and what will it lead to?
It was clear that rearmament was a top priority, but it was unlikely to preserve world peace on its own
Why would rearmament not preserve world peace on its own and what was done?
As it would take several years for Britain and France to get rearmament programmes fully underway. Therefore, while defences were being repaired and reconstructed, a policy of appeasement was adopted towards the dictators.
