conflict and tension- part 2, the LoN and international peace Flashcards
chapters 4-6 (league of nations, diplomacy outside the league, collapse of the league)
who’s idea was the LoN?
Woodrow Wilson (14 points)
when was the LoN formed?
Jan 1920
what were the 4 aims of the League?
- get countries to collaborate to help to prevent war (collective security)
- encourage disarmament
- improve living and working conditions
- tackle deadly diseases
how many countries initially joined the LoN, and which didn’t?
- 42
- countries who lost the war- Germany (until 1925) and Russia (originally not allowed as it was Communist, until 1934- by which time there were 58 member states), USA refused
which countries were permanent members of the Council in the LoN?
Britain, France, Italy, Japan
where was the League based?
Geneva, Switzerland
what were the main components of the LoN?
The assembly, International Court of Justice, Council, special commissions, secretariat
what was the covenant of the LoN?
- the set of rules for how it was to work- it had 26 laws- main two were:
- Article 10- collective security
- As the league of nations was a peaceful organisation it didn’t have its own army
what was the problem with the assembly in the LoN?
- hard to deal with issues as they only met once a year
- with over 50 members, coming to a unanimous vote was difficult so making decisions took a long time
how often would the Assembly meet in the LoN?
Once a year (first Monday of September)
describe the assembly in the LoN
- an international parliament
- each member state sent a representative to meet once a year
- would vote on issues and decisions had to be unanimous
what did the assembly decide on in the LoN?
- new countries joining
- election of judges in Permanent Court of International Justice
- how the League spends money
- change existing peace treaties
- admit permanent members
who made up the Council in the LoN?
4 permanent members- Britain, France, Japan, Italy
4 temporary- elected for 3 years
what power did the Council have on the League?
- Power of Veto- could stop a decision made by the assembly
- also met more frequently (5x a year) to discuss big decisions or large emergencies
what 2 main countries joined the LoN in the 1920s?
- Germany- 1926 after the Locarno treaty
- Soviet union, 1934
what was the Permanent Court of International Justice?
- set up in 1920 by the LoN
- was an international court of law that could give hearings and advise the parties involved in an argument, but rulings were not compulsory (easily ignored)
what was the Secretariat in the LoN?
- a civil service of the League
- in charge of administration and arranging any action that the League wanted to take
how many members did the LoN have when it was first founded in 1920?
42
what countries didn’t initially join the LoN?
USA, Germany, Soviet Union
by 1934 did the membership increase or decrease in the LoN?
increase to 58
by 1939 what countries had left the LoN?
1933- Germany and Japan
1937- Italy
1939- Soviet Union was expelled
how did the League deal with aggression?
through its Covenant
- mitigation
- moral condemnation
- economic sanctions
- military force
what 4 powers did the League have
(to remember: 4 Ms)
mitigation, moral condemnation, economic sanctions (Money), military force
what was mitigation in the LoN?
get disagreeing countries to talk through their problems
what was the weakness of mitigation in the LoN
countries could simple ignore the League’s advice
what was moral condemnation in the LoN?
a public telling off for offending countries- all countries in the League would put pressure on the aggressor in order to make them feel guilty and shame them into stopping their actions
what was the weakness of moral condemnation in the LoN?
countries could simply ignore it
what were economic sanctions in the LoN?
members of the league could stop trading with countries not keeping the peace- all countries would stop trading with the aggressor
what were the weaknesses with economic sanctions in the LoN?
- some countries didn’t want to stop trade as they would lose money
- offending countries could still trade with missing members of the league (USA, Soviet union)
what was military force in the LoN?
countries in the league would contribute to an armed force that would act against the aggressor
what was the weakness of military force in the LoN?
due to the absence of other nations, this relied on Britain and France to supply troops. They didn’t want to- memory of WW1 was still fresh in people’s minds, self interest (especially after Great Depression)
what were the Special Commissions in the LoN? (7 groups)
- special groups formed to tackle specific issues
e.g.
* International Labour Organisation (ILO)
* Health Organisation
* Slavery Commission
* Commission for Refugees
* Permanent Central Opium Board
* Organisation for Communications and Transport
* Economic and Financial Committee
what did the International Labour Organisation (ILO) do?
+ positive and negative actions
aim: to improve working conditions
1920s- death rate of workers on Tanganyika railway reduced from over 50% to 4%
1919- most members refused to stop children under the age of 14 from working as it would be too expensive
what did the Commission for Refugees do?
+ positive and negative actions
aim: to help people who had lost their homes because of war, by improving refugee camps, helping them to return home, or finding new homes
helped free around 427,000 of the 500,000 prisoners of war still imprisoned after WW1
1930s- failed to help Jews trying to flee Nazi Germany
what did the Slavery Commission do?
+ positive actions
aim: to end slavery
1920s- League set free 200,000 slaves from Sierra Leonne
what did the Economic and Financial Committee do?
+ positive and negative actions
aim: to improve living conditions
sent financial advisors to Austria and Hungary to rebuild their economies when they went bankrupt in 1921
unable to cope with global depression after 1929
what did the Organisation for Communications and Transport do?
+ positive actions
aim: to improve how countries worked together
Introduced shipping lanes and an international highway code
what did the Health Organisation do?
+ positive actions
aim: to cure diseases
sent doctors to Turkish refugee camps
what did the Permanent Central Opium Board do?
+ positive and negative actions
aim: to tackle the trade of illegal drugs
blacklisted four large companies involved in trading drugs illegally
some countries in the League did not want to stop the trade of opium as they made so much money from it
describe the Aaland Islands dispute, 1921, and if the League was a success or failure
- success
- Sweden and Finland both claimed the Aaland Islands. the League gave the islands to Finland, but forbid the building of forts on them
- both countries accepted the decision
describe the Upper Silesia dispute, 1921-25, and if the League was a success or failure
- failure and success
- a plebiscite was held to decide whether U.S (on Germany-Poland border) should be Ger or Pol
- Ger won 60% of the votes, but Pol claimed this was fixed
- the League split U.S into areas according to how they had voted
- Ger complained that Pol got most of the industrial areas
- Pol complained that they had around 1/2 of the population, but only 1/3 of the land
- however, both countries did grudgingly accept the League’s decision
describe the Vilna dispute, 1920-21, and if the League was a success or failure
- failure
- Vilna was the capital of Lithuania (new country), but there were many Polish people living there
- the Polish army invaded and Lithuania asked the League for help
- League did nothing as Poland was a strong ally against Germany
describe the Bulgaria dispute, 1925, and if the League was a success or failure
- failure and success
- Greece invaded Bulgaria when Greek soldiers were killed on the border
- the League forced Greece to withdraw and pay compensation
- however, this seemed hypocritical since the League had allowed Mussolini (much more powerful leader) to get away with something very similar in Corfu
describe the Corfu dispute, 1923, and if the League was a success or failure
- failure
- Italian general and team were murdered while surveying land in Greece
- Mussolini demanded compensation and for the murderers to be executed, but Greece did not know who the murderers were so couldn’t do this
- Mussolini invaded Corfu
- the League condemned Mussolini, but he undermined them by complaining to the Conference of Ambassadors
- Greece was forced to apologise to Mussolini and to pay compensation
- Mussolini had shown that the League could not enforce justice when one country was a larger, stronger country- the League could be ignored or bullied by strong countries
what year did Polish soldiers invade Lithuania (Vilna)
1920
why did Poland invade Vilna?
as it was a new country and had many Polish speaking people that wanted to move to Poland
when Lithuania (Vilna) asked the LoN for help, what did they do and what was Poland’s reaction?
the league told Poland to remove its army, but Poland refused
was Vilna a success for the LoN?
no, this was the first time the league was asked to settle a dispute and they did nothing and Poland took Vilna
what years did Upper Silesia dispute take place?
1921-25
where was Upper Silesia based?
border between Germany and Poland
why did both Germany and Poland want to claim Upper Silesia?
as it was rich in iron and steel production
in 1921, what action did the League take to determine who should have Upper Silesia?
a plebiscite (whole country vote)
what did the League do after the plebiscite in Upper Silesia?
they split the country in half
why was Germany unhappy with how Upper Silesia had been split?
as Germany mainly got rural areas whilst Poland got more industrial areas
how did Germany and Poland react to the Upper Silesia outcome to start with?
they accepted it up until 1922
why did Germany and Poland complain to the League in 1922
as Germany weren’t satisfied with their portion of Upper Silesia as they lost 3/4 of their mines
Poland weren’t happy as they received half of Upper Silesia’s population but only 1/3 of the land
in 1925 what did the League end up giving Germany based on Upper Silesia that worsened Poland’s and Germany’s relationship?
gave Germany the right to import coal at a heavily discounted rate from the mines in Upper Silesia
what year did the Aaland Island dispute take place?
1921
what countries fought over the Aaland Islands?
Finland and Sweden
why did the League intervene in the Aaland Island dispute?
as they threatened war on each other
what country did the League award the Aaland Islands too, and what conditions did they have to accept?
Finland
weren’t allowed to build any forts that could be used to attack Sweden
was the Aaland Islands dispute successful for the LoN?
yes- Sweden and Finland both accepted the terms and avoided war
what year did the Corfu incident take place?
1923
why did Italy invade Corfu 1923
as a general named Tellini and his team were murdered and Mussolini blamed the Greek government
what date did Mussolini invade Corfu
31st August 1923
when Greece appealed to the LoN about Corfu, what did they do?
the League condemned Mussolini’s aggression but said that Greece should pay compensation and the league would look after the money until the killers of Tellini were found
when Mussolini wasn’t satisfied with the Corfu agreement, what did he get the League to do?
he got Britain, France and Japan to undermine the League and made Greece directly give the money to Italy
was Corfu successful for the League?
No it showed that when a larger military power threatened a smaller one, they proved they could be ignored and overturned by international groups
what year did the Bulgaria incident happen?
1925
why did Greece invade Bulgaria in 1925?
as a Greek soldier was killed on the Bulgaria border
what did the League tell Greece to do when Bulgaria appealed to them in 1925?
remove their troops from Bulgaria and pay compensation
did Greece listen to the LoN in 1925 over the Bulgaria incident?
eventually yes, but at first they thought the League was being hypocritical as Mussolini had got away with it in 1923. But as a smaller nation they didn’t want to risk bad relations with big countries so they obeyed
was the Bulgaria dispute in 1925 successful for the LoN?
yes
what were the successes and failures for peace for the LoN in the 1920s
successes:
- Aaland Islands, 1921
- Upper Silesia, 1921-25
- Bulgaria, 1925
failures:
- Vilna, 1920-21
- Corfu, 1923
- Upper Silesia, 1921-25
- Bulgaria, 1925
what year did the Wall Street Crash happen?
1929
what was the Wall Street Crash?
it was when the American banks crashed leaving the economy to crash as well. It put America into a depression throughout the 1930s.
how did the Wall Street Crash affect America and the rest of the world?
- America traded and lent money to many countries after the war and wanted it back leaving many countries economies also to crash.
- the whole world went into a depression and it left people not believing in their governments and they turned to extremist parties such as the Nazis.
how did the LoN deal with the Wall Street Crash?
they couldn’t do anything and were powerless, which led to countries and people using violence to help themselves
when was the Locarno Treaty signed, and where?
1925
Locarno, Switzerland
what countries were involved in the Locarno Treaty?
Main- France and Germany
Britain and Italy signed as guarantors
what was the aim for the Locarno treaty?
- Germany to publicly accept their new borders from the T.O.V
- improved relationships between Germany and other nations
- reassure both France and Germany that they wouldn’t invade each other
what were the negatives of the Locarno Treaty for the LoN?
they didn’t agree it as Germany wasn’t yet a member
the LoN should have led this, especially as France and UK were involved
when and where was the Kellogg-Briand pact signed?
1928, Paris
who was involved in the Kellogg-Briand pact?
65 countries including Germany, France, USA
what was the aim of the Kellogg-Briand pact?
they wouldn’t use war as a way to solve disputes- world peace
negatives of the Kellogg-Briand pact for the LoN?
- agreed without the LoN as Germany and USA weren’t members
- starting to make the LoN appear as unimportant as they weren’t involved in many international relationships
what did the Wall Street Crash in 1929 cause for the rest of the world?
mass unemployment, starvation, homelessness
what type of parties did people turn to during the Great Depression in the 1930s?
extremist
what leader came to power during the Great Depression in Germany in 1933
Hitler
what leader came to power due to the Great Depression in Italy?
Mussolini
what party strengthened their power in Russia due to the Great Depression?
the Communists (Stalin)
what was the issue with extremist parties and their views on the LoN?
- the dictators didn’t care for collective security e.g Hitler walked out of the World peace meeting in 1933
- the dictators would use war to increase their popularity- the LoN didn’t have an army making it hard for them to stop these leaders
why was Hitler popular in Germany in 1933?
he was good at offering simple solutions that sounded less complicated than other parties to fixing the economic crisis
causes of the Manchurian Crisis?
- Japan was a rising power looking to expand
- had very few natural resources
- population boom
- due to the great depression, their main export (silk) a luxury item, sales and trade of it dropped
- countries such as USA were putting tariffs on goods coming from overseas to get people to buy their own countries products during the great depression
- mass unemployment (dropped by 30%)
- becoming more militaristic
- wanted the raw materials in other countries
- history of confusion over who owned Manchuria
what were the events of the Manchurian crisis?
- September 1931, Japan staged an explosion on their railway in Manchuria and blamed the Chinese
- Japanese army invaded Manchuria
- invasion succeeded and a “puppet leader” was put in charge of the area now called Manchuko
- in 1932- China appealed to the league for help
- ignored the leagues advice and later in 1937 invaded the rest of China
what happened in September 1931 (Manchurian crisis)
Mukden Incident
- Japan staged an explosion on the Japanese-owned Railway
- Japan blamed China but they denied they were involved
what happened in February 1932 (Manchurian crisis)
- Japanese army invaded Manchuria
- a ‘puppet leader’ was put in charge of Manchuria
- was renamed to ‘Manchukuo’
what happened in March 1932 (Manchurian crisis)
- China appealed to the LoN, which was reluctant to act
why was the League reluctant to act during the Manchurian crisis?
- as Japan was one of its leading members and Manchuria was far from Europe, where the League was based
- they issued moral condemnation
what happened after the League issued moral condemnation during the Manchurian crisis?
- Japan ignored the League
- there was little the LoN could do (didn’t have an army- members didn’t want to send their own armies so far away)
- economic sanctions would be useless as Japan’s main trading partner was USA (not part of LoN)
what happened in April 1932 (Manchurian crisis)
- the League sent British politician Lord Lytton to investigate- he took nearly a year to write his report (published in Oct 1932)- by which time Japan had invaded Manchuria
- Lytton concluded that Japan was in the wrong
- Japan ignored the report and left the League- went on to occupy more Chinese territory from 1933-37
what were the consequences of the Manchurian crisis?
- one of the League’s own members had ignored its moral condemnation and instructions to withdraw
- League was powerless without an army of its own
- however, most people continued to still have faith- thought if a similar event happened in Europe then the League would be able to deal with it
- other militaristic countries like Italy and Germany saw how powerless the LoN were
why did the League fail during the Manchurian crisis?
- the Lytton report took far too long; by the time it was finished Japan was in control of Manchuria
- the Depression was already damaging world trade, and League members were unwilling to impose economic sanctions
- Asia was far away and not viewed as vital to the countries in Europe as a result, they did not want to commit resources to dealing with the issues there
- countries were unwilling to take military action because it would be expensive and unpopular with the public
what was the significance of the Manchurian crisis for the LoN?
- marked the end of the beginning for the LoN
- one of the main members ignored the leagues actions
- without an army the league were powerless
- economic sanctions were weak as the USA were Japan’s biggest trade partner
- Britain and France showed they were willing to undermine the league for their own wants
- the league failed to prevent aggression. Encouraged aggression from other nations later (Italy and Germany)
what year did the Abyssinian crisis happen?
1935
causes of the Abyssinian crisis, 1935?
- Mussolini wanted to rebuild the Roman Empire- gain African colonies
- Abyssinia was one of the only African countries not to be colonised, was surrounded by other Italian colonies
- were lots of natural resources there- useful (Italy suffered from both Depression and WW1)
- Italy wanted revenge from their failed attempt in 1896
- was confident League wouldn’t stop him (like in Corfu)
- 1935 GBR and Fr signed agreement with him to form Stresa Front- didn’t think they would endanger this by stopping him
what was the Stresa Front agreement
- signed 1935 just before Abyssinia Crisis
- between Italy, France and Britain
- purpose: to oppose German rearmament and to reaffirm the Locarno treaty
- The agreement collapsed after Britain and Germany signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and when Italy and Germany signed the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936, and the Pact of Steel in 1939/
events of the Abyssinian crisis in 1935?
- December 1934, Italian and Abyssinian troops clashed at the Wal Wal waterhole over borders
- the French foreign minister allowed Mussolini to do what he wanted without French interference
- October 1935, Italian troops invaded Abyssinia
what happened in Dec 1934 (Abyssinian crisis)
- Italian troops clashed with Abyssinians at Wal Wal. the League failed to stop Mussolini, who was intent on war
- 150 Abyssinians and 2 Italians were killed
what happened in January 1935 (Abyssinian crisis)
the French foreign minister, Pierre Laval, made a secret agreement with Italy: Mussolini could deal with Abyssinia however he wanted and France would not interfere
what happened on the 30th June 1935 (Abyssinian crisis)
the Abyssinian emperor, Haile Selassie, addressed the League, but still the League did nothing
what happened in October 1935 (Abyssinian crisis)
Italian troops entered Abyssinia. The League condemned the invasion, but Mussolini ignored them and even used chemical weapons (small Abyssinian army only had spears)
what happened on 5th May 1936 (Abyssinian crisis)
Italian troops entered the capital, Addis Ababa
what happened in September 1937 (Abyssinian crisis)
Italy left the League of Nations
what actions did the LoN take to condemn Mussolini on his invasion of Abyssinia?
- condemned him + economic sanctions
- sanctions didn’t include the stop of steel, coal or oil so Mussolini was able to get the supplies he needed for the war
- banned the sale of arms which actually left Abyssinia defenceless
why was the league hesitant to act on Mussolini over Abyssinia?
- France and Mussolini didn’t want to offend Mussolini and drive him closer to Hitler and Germany
- didn’t close the Suez canal- as if they did Italy wouldn’t have been able to move troops as easily- making him annoyed
- in 1936, Hitler invaded the Rhineland so France was now more worried about Hitler than Mussolini- feared Italy would ally with Germany over the league
consequences for the LoN over the Abyssinian crisis?
- Italy captured Abyssinia in 1936
- Italy left the LoN in 1937
significance of the Abyssinian crisis for the LoN?
- became clear that strong nations were prepared to undermine the league, and that the league couldn’t stop them
-the leagues delays and slowness made them look scared - sanctions were shown to be useless
- everybody realised that Britain and France wouldn’t use force
- all 4 major powers betrayed the league
- smaller nations realised that the league couldn’t protect them -> no one regarded the league as a powerful or serious organisation
- showed Britain and France would only use the method of appeasement
- Hitler was encouraged to move along with his plans
what was the Hoare-Laval Pact
- secret agreement suggested by the British and French foreign ministers
- they wanted to give Mussolini land in Abyssinia
- the pact was leaked by the press and there was a public outcry -> leading members had proven they were willing to undermine the LoN for their own self-interest
what were the reasons for the failure of the LoN? (11)
- French and British self interest
- absent powers- such as the USA
- ineffective sanctions- they didn’t work or weren’t used
- lack of armed forces- the league has no troops of its own
- unfair treaty- Some members thought many of the LoNs treaties were unfair
- reaching decisions too slowly- slow to act and ineffective
- economic depression- Led countries to turn to extremists and the league and other countries didn’t want to risk their own financial cost to oppose others
‘The main reason the LoN failed was due too…..how far do you agree’
paragraph ideas:
- depression
- absence of USA
- self interest of Britain and France
- structure of the League
what to say about ‘Depression’ being a reason why the LoN failed:
- started in 1929, Wall Street Crash-> led to mass unemployment, starvation, homelessness
- countries were more likely to attack each other- desperate- economies failed- e.g. Manchurian crisis 1932 (rich in natural resources), as well as the Abyssinian crisis 1935 (Mussolini promised to rebuild Roman Empire + natural resources in Abyssinia)
- meant that countries became more worried about themselves (self interest)
- also led to support for extremist parties (like Nazis) in the hope of change and rebuilding their countries’ economies -> so less likely to support LoN aims of cooperation and peace -> e.g. Hitler stormed out of the LoN disarmament conference, 1933, he vowed to ‘make Germany great again’ by invading other countries (promised would end Depression by providing employment in weapons factories and army)
what to say about ‘absence of USA’ being a reason why the LoN failed:
-
what to say about ‘self interest of Brit and Fr’ being a reason why the LoN failed:
what to say about ‘structure of League’ being main reason why the LoN failed:
