2. To what extent was the League of Nations a success? Flashcards
What does ACDC stand for?
The aims of the League - discourage Aggression, encourage Cooperation and Disarmament, improve living Conditions.
Example(s) of success for the A in ACDC
Upper Silesian Settlement - Poland and Germany both wanted ownership, plebiscite organized, divided based on votes
Example(s) of failure for the A in ACDC
Lithuania seized control of Memel in 1923 - the area surrounding Memel was given to Lithuania, but insisted that the port itself remain an “international zone” - suggested that they would give in to force.
Also the Manchurian and Abyssinian crises
Overall, did the A in ACDC succeed or fail?
Fail (though it could be considered a gray area)
Example(s) of success for the first C in ACDC
- Simply existed - encouraged leaders to collaborate rather than compete
- Marked out shipping lanes to increase trade
Example(s) of failure for the first C in ACDC
- America came up with the League to encourage cooperation then didn’t join
- During the Corfu incident, Mussolini invaded Corfu & got compensation from Greece - Britain and France couldn’t work together to stop him
- Powerful members looked out for themselves and their empires
Overall, did the first C in ACDC succeed or fail?
Fail
Example(s) of success for the D in ACDC
At the Washington conference (1921), USA, France, Japan, and Britain agreed to limit the size of their navies
Example(s) of failure for the D in ACDC
- Germany was the only one to disarm (a lot) and only did so because it was forced to
- No other country was prepared to give up their armies or be the first to disarm
Overall, did the D in ACDC succeed or fail?
Fail - no one disarmed (except Germany but then they rearmed)
Example(s) of success for the second C in ACDC
- Repatriated 400,000 prisoners of WW1
- Banned poisonous white lead from paint
- Capped children’s (and other people’s) working hours
- Worked to defeat leprosy, exterminate mosquitoes, and prevent plague
- Worked against drug trafficking, slavery, and prostitution
- Marked shipping lanes
Example(s) of failure for the second C in ACDC
Not all countries adopted the positive changes
Overall, did the second C in ACDC succeed or fail?
Succeeded - living conditions did improve
Why did the US refuse to join the League? (eating children tastes slimy stroke)
Empire, Casualties, Treaty, Sanctions, Wilson had a stroke and the new president wanted isolationism
What does eating in eating children tastes slimy stand for?
Empire - America didn’t want to be part of Britain/France’s empire (again) or anything like that
What does children in eating children tastes slimy stand for?
Casualties - Too many casualties in WW1 (116000+ Americans) - the US didn’t want to send their soldiers to every little conflict on earth, which would result in more
What does tastes in eating children tastes slimy stand for?
Treaty - America didn’t want to support the Treaty of Versailles
What does slimy in eating children tastes slimy stand for?
Sanctions - America believed that sanctions would make them suffer more than anyone
What does stroke in eating children tastes slimy stroke stand for?
Woodrow Wilson had a stroke and died, and the new president wanted a policy of isolationism
What was Article 10 of the the covenant and what did it mean?
Collective security - key principle of the LON that all members would be safe because the other members would defend them from attack
What was isolationism?
Don’t get involved in international alliances, follow own policies and self interests - it’s what America did which stopped them from joining the League
Why was it bad that the US didn’t join?
Britain and France were the most powerful members of the League because the US wasn’t there
- Bad message - US came up with it then didn’t join
- Britain and France weren’t as powerful as they used to be - insufficient resources
- Trade sanctions only work if US is on board
Britain priorities in the League
Rebuild British empire and trade rather than policing world justice
France priorities in the League
Protect France against Germany even if it means bypassing the league
The Council’s purpose in the LON
Main body
- met 5x per year
- 4 permanent members
- Temporary members elected once every 3 years
- Each perma member had 1 veto
- Resolved problems by talking and using a range of powers
What could the Council do to solve disputes if talking them through didn’t work?
Moral condemnation - tell the aggressor to stop it
Economic and financial sanctions - no trading with aggressor
Military force - persuade member countries to use their armed forces to go up against aggressor
Appoint a commission to check out the situation
Plebescite
In 1920, who were the permanent members of the League of Nations?
Italy, Japan, Britain, France
How many countries were at the first League of Nations meeting?
42, not including USA, USSR, and Germany
What was the Assembly’s purpose in the League of Nations?
- Had a representative from every country
- Met once a year
- Recommended action to Council
- Decided whether to admit new members to the League
- Decisions had to be unanimous
What was the Permanent court of International Justice’s role in the LON?
- Based in Hague in the Netherlands
- Made up of judges
- Settled disputes and border disputes
- Couldn’t enforce ruling
What was the Secretariat’s role in the League of Nations?
- Civil service to all bodies in League
- Kept records and prepared reports
- brought together experts from around the world to discuss key issues
What does the ILO stand for?
International Labour organisation
What was the ILO’s role in the League?
- Brought together employers, governments, and workers’ representatives
- Aim was to improve working conditions worldwide
- Persuaded member countries to adopt suggestions
What were the League of Nations commissions?
Mandates commissions, refugees committee, slavery commission, health committee
Mandates commissions role in LON
Deal with former colonies of Germany - made sure they were being treated fairly and not as Britain and France’s colonies
Refugees committee role in LON
Repatriating and helping refugees who had fled from areas of conflict, especially former Russian territories - hundreds of thousands of people
Slavery commission role in LON
Abolish slavery worldwide and help those who weren’t technically slaves but treated like them
Health committee role in LON
Combat dangerous diseases, educate about health and sanitation - work with charities, help with medicine, that sort of thing
When was the Upper Silesian Settlement?
1921
Problem in Upper Silesian Settlement
Germany and Poland both wanted ownership of Upper Silesia
How did the Upper Silesian Settlement get solved?
The League set up a peaceful plebiscite and divided the land based on where people wanted to live.
Was the upper silesian settlement a success or a failure?
Success - the League solved its problem peacefully and avoided war, upholding its values
When was the Corfu incident?
1923
Causes of Corfu incident
Italian general Tellini was ambushed and killed while surveying Greek side of border between Greece and Albania - Mussolini was furious and blamed Greek government for murder and occupied Corfu, killing 15
What was the League’s initial decision in the Corfu Incident?
September 7 - Mussolini condemned, Greece pays compensation which Italy receives if and when Tellini’s killers were found
Why was the League’s initial ruling during the Corfu incident rejected?
Mussolini thought the ruling was incompetent, the British were prepared to kick Mussolini out of Corfu if he didn’t accept it, but since France’s forces were occupying the Ruhr at this time, they weren’t prepared to tackle a dispute with Italy, and the British didn’t want to act without the French.
What was the final ruling of the Corfu incident?
The conference ordered that the Greeks apologise and pay compensation directly to Italy, meaning that Italy left on September 27, triumphant
Was the Corfu incident a success or failure?
Failure - as Zara Steiner said, “The dispute showed that the weakest of the great powers could get its way when Britain and France agreed to sacrifice justice for cooperation”
What was the Geneva protocol
In 1924, Britain and France came up with the Geneva Protocol, which said that if 2 members of the league had a dispute they had to ask the League to sort it out and accept its decision - Britain then refused to sign it (new conservative government) and it weakened the League
When was the Bulgaria situation?
1925
Causes of Bulgaria situation (and when was it?)
October 1925 - Greece invades Bulgaria after border incident where Greek soldiers were killed, Bulgaria only slightly resists and lets the LON deal with it
Ruling of LON during Bulgaria situation
- Stop fighting
- Get Greece out of Bulgaria
- Britain and France fully supported decision
- Observers from LON judged and ruled in favor of Bulgaria - Greece had to pay 45,000 pounds and would get sanctions if they didn’t follow the ruling
- Greece obeyed
Was the Bulgaria incident a success or failure?
Seen as a success - League makes ruling, violence averted.
Sort of a failure - Greece was in the same situation as Italy but got a totally different result, this was less about the League and more about the powerful countries
What and when was the Washington Conference?
1921 - USA, Britain, France, and Japan limit navies
What and when was the Rapallo Treaty?
1922 - USSR and Germany re-establish diplomatic relations
What and when was the Dawes Plan?
1924 - USA lends money to Germany to help it pay reparations
What and when was the Kellogg-Briand Pact
1928 - 65 nations agreed not to use force to settle disputes - aka the Pact of Paris
What and when was the Young plan?
1929 - Reduced Germany’s reparations payments
What was the Wall street crash and how did it affect the LoN?
Inflation in the USA gets so crazy that it wipes 30 billion $ from the US economy - it then recalls loans and makes the rest of the world super poor, starting off the great depression - other countries decided became more nationalist because they needed to sort their own problems out (rearming, TARIFFS)
How did the great depression affect the USA?
Usa didn’t want to help with economic sanctions because its top priority was fixing its economy
How did the great depression affect Japan?
Japan was selling less silk to the US, so it had less money for food and raw materials. The Leaders (all army generals) decided to build an empire and take over weaker countries to trade and take their raw materials - started with Manchurian crisis
How did the great depression affect Germany?
Adolf Hitler was elected to make Germany great again bc of his aims and to solve unemployment, poverty, and chaos
How did the great depression affect Britain?
Made Britain unwilling to help sort out disputes bc its top priority was fixing its economy (eg didn’t support economic sanctions during Manchurian crisis)
How did the great depression affect Italy?
Mussolini tried building an overseas empire do distract people’s attention from the difficulties the government faced
Causes of Manchuria crisis
Great depression hits Japan hard - tariffs go up, money goes down - leaders decide to build an empire to provide resources and markets for Japanese goods
When was the Manchurian crisis and how did the League initially react?
1931 - Chinese groups “attacked” a Japanese controlled railway - Japan invades despite civilian government not liking it. China appeals to LON, and the league investigates - it takes a full year for the League to decide to kick Japan out of Manchuria
How did Japan further the Manchurian crisis?
Feb 1933 - Japan decides to invade more of China out of “self defense” - the report from the league’s officials (to get out of China) was unanimous except for Japan. They decided to resign from the League on Mach 27, 1933, and they kept invading China.
How did the League respond to Japan furthering the Manchurian crisis?
Couldn’t agree on any sanctions and didn’t want to risk war - powerless. No cooperation, and the US and USSR not being there caused a lot of problems.
Consequences of Manchurian crisis
Showed that league was powerless when a strong nation wanted to be aggressive, despite coming up with a ton of excuses. Mussolini and Hitler were interested and followed Japan’s lead
Germany disarmament in July 1932
July - Germany proposes all countries disarm to its level - it’s rejected, Germany walks out.
Germany disarmament in September 1932
British anger Germany by sending a note which goes some way to agree equality with a superior tone
Germany disarmament in December 1932
Agreement reached to treat Germany equally
Germany disarmament in January 1933
Germany returns to conference
Germany disarmament in February 1933
Hitler becomes chancellor, starts secretly rearming Germany
Germany disarmament in May 1933
Hitler promised not to rearm Germany if all other nations destroyed their arms in 5 years
Germany disarmament in June 1933
Britain comes up with ambitious disarmament plan but it fails to gain support at the Conference
Germany disarmament in October 1933
Hitler leaves conference and then the whole League soon after
Why did the Disarmament fail in the 1930s?
- Not much clarity - bombing of civilians prohibited, all attempts to abolish bombing planes shot down
- No one was that serious about disarmament anyway
- Britain and France were divided - Britain signed an agreement with Germany that let it build up its navy so long as it was <35% of Britain’s
Abyssinia Crisis causes
- Rebuilding Italian empire and getting glory
- Knew it would be safe - Stresa pact left Britain and France on good terms with Italy, Countess Ciano’s visit proved that there would be no war if Italy invaded
- Wanted land and minerals in Abyssinia
- Wanted to avenge Abyssinian victory over Italians at Adowa in 1896
- Invades Wal-Wal oasis - Haile Selassie (Abyssinian Emperor) appeals to League for help
LON reaction to Abyssinian crisis (January - October 1935)
- British and French don’t take it seriously at first (early 1935)
- Public outcry against Italy’s actions - British people want to use Military force, politicians want to ‘get tough’
- September 4 - League makes plan to give Mussolini some of Abyssinia, which he rejects. Nothing actually happens to him.
LON reaction to Abyssinian crisis (October 1935)
Mussolini launched a full scale invasion of Abyssinia - better weapons, stronger army, war crimes
- Pressure to act because it’s nearby and built for disputes like these
- Committee to decide what sanctions to give Italy
- Arms sales, loans, imports, rubber, tin, metals banned
- Oil sanctions dilly dallied for 2 months
- Suez canal not closed - Italy got to Abyssinia just fine
Why was the league bad at sanctions during the Abyssinia crisis?
- Wanted to keep Italy from going to war with them
- Scared America wouldn’t support sanctions
- Worried members’ economies would be damaged (30,000 British coal miners would lose their jobs because of Italy coal sanctions)
- Needed an ally against Hitler
What was the Hoare-Laval pact?
December 1935 - secret treaty between Mussolini, Hoare, and Laval (foreign ministers of Britain and France) which gave Mussolini 2/3 of Abyssinia to call the invasion off - leaked to french press. Britain and France seen as treacherous, Hoare and Laval sacked, sanctions discussions ruined
What were the outcomes of the Abyssinian crisis?
- There were never any oil sanctions - the H-L pact made the USA so mad they stepped up oil sales to Italy
- March 7, 1936 - Fatal blow delivered, Hitler marches troops into Rhineland
- France desperate to gain Italy’s support
- Mussolini takes over Abyssinia but doesn’t even gain much
- Haile Selassie → Exile
- League of Nations proved as useless
- Rome-Berlin axis in November 1936
