8 How successful was the League in the 1930s? Flashcards
What are the arguments that the League was a success in the 1930s?
- The continuing good work of the agencies, committees and commissions. The Saar Commission, for example, successfully organised the plebiscite which led to the return of the region to Germany in January in 1935
- The contribution made towards the resolution of border disputes in South America between Bolivia and Paraguay over the Chaco and between Peru and Columbia over Leticia
What can we easily describe the 1930s as for the League of Nations?
a disaster
Which 3 permanent members of the Council leave the League in the 1930s?
Italy, Japan and Germany
Which country was expelled from the League in November 1939?
Soviet Russia for invading Finland
When was the next time the League met after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and what happened?
The next time was April 1946, when it was wound up and its assets transferred to the newly formed United Nations
What are the three main events that collectively demonstrated the complete inadequacy of the League in the face of determined action to pursue national rather than international interests during the 1930s?
1) The Japanese invasion of Manchuria
2) The failure of the Disarmament Conference
3) The Italian invasion of Abyssinia
What happened to the League in 1936?
The League had become an irrelevancy and was thereafter largely ignored by European statesmen
How was Japan affected by the Depression?
Very badly as it is an island trading nation.
Japan was not self-sufficient in food and depended upon imports to feed its rapidly rising population
These imports had to be paid for with exports, but Japan’s main export commodity was silk.
As exports declined due to falling overseas demand, Japan faced a growing economic crisis
Why did Manchuria look promising to Japan?
As it could provide a source of food and raw materials, a market for Japanese exports, as well as land for the surplus Japanese population
What did Japanese soldiers do along the Mukden Railway line and when was it?
They staged an incident in September 1931
What was the incident that Japanese soldiers staged along the Mukden Railway line?
Using the excuse of Chinese banditry, they launched an invasion of the local area
What did the Chinese government do after the incident along the Mukden Railway line occurred?
They appealed to the League
What did the Japanese Government do after the Chinese government appealed to the League about the incident along the Mukden Railway line?
They promised to to withdraw their troops. It soon became clear, however, that the civilian government was no longer in control of events and the Japanese army preceded to occupy the whole province
When and what to did the Japanese Government renamed Manchuria?
In March 1932, they renamed Manchuria to Manchukuo
What was the League’s response to the Mukden Railway line crisis and why?
The League could have called for sanctions but it failed to do so. There were several reasons for this:
1) None of the European powers wanted to reduce their trade with the Far East, especially since American firms could have taken over the lost business
2) The alternative of military sanctions was even less appealing. This would have involved European states sending a naval task force to the other side of the world with very uncertain prospects of success
3) Both Britain and France possessed colonies in the Far East, including Hong Kong and Singapore, and feared sanctions might provoke a Japanese attack
Who did the League appoint to lead a commission of enquiry to Manchuria?
They appointed Lord Lytton
With who and for how long did Lytton spend in the province?
He spent 6 weeks with four other men, including a representative from the United States
What was Lytton’s conclusion after his 6 week period in Manchuria?
He concluded that although the Japanese were provoked in various ways by the Chinese, the invasion was not justified.
What response did the Lytton Report have on the League?
The Lytton Report was considered by the Assembly in February 1933 where the findings were accepted by a vote of 42 to 1. Japan’s response was to terminate its membership of the League
What were the main problems with the League’s response to the Manchuria crisis?
1) League didn’t act quickly enough - Lytton arrived at Far East in April 1932, Japanese were busy strengthening their hold on the province by this time - Assembly of the League voted on report 18 months after crisis
2) The European powers were unable to call upon nearby military forces (as Soviet Russia and US weren’t part of League) and the chances of economic sanctions achieving a positive result at a time of world recession looked remote
How did the rest of the world react to the League’s response to the Manchuria crisis?
Because of the two reasons, the rest of the world were willing to give them another chance. However, if it was a European power instead of Japan, other countries would have regarded their conclusion differently.
Why did the members of the conference fail to agree about Global Disarmament?
- France, Poland and Czechoslovakia were all worried about their future defensive security in the event of an attack by Germany and were reluctant to place their faith in a system of collective security that had already shown flaws
- France were willing to disarm, but only if additional guarantees were provided by Britain and the United States. This is something that the latter countries were not prepared to give
- Hitler, who had no intention of disarming, was able to exploit these fears and claimed that France was not serious about disarmament, using this as an excuse to withdraw from the conference altogether. Shortly afterwards, Germany left the League.
- With the exit of Japan over the League’s attitude to its conquest of Manchuria, it soon became apparent that general disarmament was going to remain a pipe dream
When did Germany’s rearmament begin and which other countries started to rearm?
Hitler announced it in 1935, and therefore, Italian and Japanese rearmament soon followed
What caused Mussolini to begin build-up of Italian forces in Eritrea and Somaliland?
The border incident at Wal Wal in December 1934
