conflict and tension- the League of Nations and international peace

Question 1

who joined the League of Nations

Answer 1

when the league was founded there was 42 members and then this rose to 58 by 1934. there were four permanent members of the council who made all the big decisions- Britain France Italy and Japan

Question 2

what was the league of nations

Answer 2

the league of nations was a vision for bringing the world together in peace. it was to be a group of countries that would work together and solve problems like a world parliament.

Question 3

why was the League of Nations formed

Answer 3

so countries could work together to achieve for aimes-

• to stop war
• to encourage disarmament
• to improve working conditions
• to tackle deadly diseases

Question 4

where was the league based

Answer 4

in Geneva in Switzerland because Switzerland had not been involved in the war so was seen as a peaceful country. the Red Cross, an international organisation was also based there

Question 5

did all the powerful countries join

Answer 5

no Britain and France were suspicious of the new communist government in Russia so Russia couldn’t join. no countries which had lost the war could initially join. the use couldn’t join as the senate refused to agree as they wanted to isolate themselves from European issues

Question 6

what did Britain and France think of the league of nations

Answer 6

at the Paris peace conference Lloyd George had been critical of the idea but then on the 25th of march 1919 he issued the Fontainebleau memorandum in which he said he was in full support of it. France was glad of anything that might help protect it from another German invasion.

Question 7

how did the league maintain peace

Answer 7

it was thought that the league would work through collective security, the idea that all countries worked together to make sure that peace was kept and every nation were looked after. in 1920 the league also set up an international court which would establish international laws called the permanent court of international justice. if every country followed the same laws there would be a less chance of them disagreeing

Question 8

what if the league couldn’t prevent disputes

Answer 8

the covenant set out how the league would deal with aggression-

1) mitigation- getting countries to talk through their issues
2) if this didn’t work than a moral condemnation would be used (a good telling off)
3) finally economic sanctions would be enforced where members of the league would not trade with the warring countries

Question 9

who was part of the assembly in the league of nations

Answer 9

every member could send representatives to the assembly

Question 10

when did there assembly meet

Answer 10

every year on the first Monday of september

Question 11

what did the assembly do

Answer 11

discuss and vote on matters- if the vote wasn’t unanimous the motion couldn’t be passed and it would be referred to the council

Question 12

what was the assembly in charge of discussing

Answer 12

deciding when a new country could join, the election for judges in the permanent court of international justice, voting for non permanent members of the Council, deciding how the leagues money was to be spent

Question 13

who was part of the council

Answer 13

the four permanent members- Japan, Britain, france and italy
aswell as four other countries who would be chosen to sit on the council each for a three year term. this was later increased to 9 non permanent members

Question 14

what did the council do

Answer 14

the assembly was too big to meet frequently and to act in case of an emergency so the country was formed.the council had the power of veto even if the assembly did manage to make a unanimous ruling

Question 15

what was the permanent court of international justice

Answer 15

a court which was set up and funded by the league of nations. it was the court of law that would settle any international arguements.

Question 16

how did the permanent court of international justice work

Answer 16

any country could bring an issue to the court and eleven judges and four deputy judges would listen to both sides before reaching a verdict. the court could then advise the parties involved in the argument. however it was just advice not a compulsory filing and since the league had no army it was difficult to make countries agree unless they wanted too

Question 17

who elected the members of the permanent court of international justice

Answer 17

the court was elected by the assembly and the council and the judges would fill that role for 11 years

Question 18

what was the secretariat

Answer 18

the civil service of the league

Question 19

what was the secretariat in charge of

Answer 19

it was in charge of administration and organising any action the league wanted to take.

Question 20

who was on the secretariat

Answer 20

a body of experts from different areas such as finance who were responsible for carrying out any decisions taken by the league with the exception of military issues

Question 21

what was the special commissions of the league

Answer 21

they weee special groups that would tackle issues the league was worried about such as-

• the international labour organisation
• the disarmament commission
• the slavery commission
• the commission for refugees
• the permanent central opium board

Question 22

strengths of the league of nations

Answer 22

• it was written into all the peace treaties at the end of ww1 so all nations involved had signed an agreement that recognised the organisation
• it had vast membership
• as there were so many members, economic sanctions and moral condemnation were daunting punishments for many countries

Question 23

weaknesses of the league of nations

Answer 23

• many important countries didn’t join for example the usa so if a country faced economic sanctions it could still trade with some of the most powerful and richest countries
• the league had no army which meant they couldn’t force people to obey them
• the structure was very complex so it was confusing and slow
• decisions had to be unanimous so processes were very slow

Question 24

aims of the international labour organisation in the league of nations

Answer 24

to bring workers, employers and governments together to improve the conditions that people worked in

Question 25

successes of the international labour organisation in the league of nations

Answer 25

• 1922 recommended banning the use of white lead in paint as it was poisonous
• 1930 helped greece set up social insurance to help people who were unemployed because of an illness
• 1928 77 countries agreed to set minimum wage
• in Tanganyika, Africa slave labour was being used to build a new railway, but conditions were so bad that 50% of workers died, the league challenged this and reduced death rate to 4%

Question 26

failures of the international labour organisation in the league of nations

Answer 26

• 1919 tried to stop children under 14 from getting a job, this suggestion was not adopted by many because they thought it would cost too much money
• 1935 suggested that the working day should be limited to 8 hours when members voted on this issue only 4 voted in favour of if, saying it would cost industries too much, similarly, the suggestion that workers should be paid for their holidays was unpopular, one member even said that it would be industrial suicide

Question 27

aims of the commission for refugees in the league of nations

Answer 27

to return prisoners of war home and support refugees by improving camp conditions, finding new homes, or returning them to their own countries once the threat of conflict had passed

Question 28

successes of the commission for refugees because of the league of nations

Answer 28

• 1921 the league helped free around 427,000 out of 500,000 prisoners of war still imprisoned from ww1 and returned them to their homelands
• 1917 revolution led to civil war in russia, by 1921, 1.5 million people had fled russia to refugee camps and the league helped them find new homes
• 1922 turkey clashed with greece and the violence forced people to flee to refugee camps, the league set up refugee campus and sent doctors to help treat diseases such as cholera and smallpox in these camps, homes were found for 600,000 greeks fleeing from turkey between 1919 and 1923
• created nansen passport, a document that could be used as identification by refugees

Question 29

failures of the commission for refugees in the league of nations

Answer 29

-1933 the league tried to appoint a high commissioner for refugees who were mainly jewish fleeing from germany. germany rejected this proposal so a unanimous vote couldn’t be reached and the motion was defeated

Question 30

successes for the slavery commission in the league of nations

Answer 30

organised raids on the camps of slave traders in Sierra Leone, setting 200,000 people free. in 1927 sierra leone announced that slavery was to be abolished altogether

Question 31

successes of the economic and financial comitee in the league of nations

Answer 31

• austria and hungary had lost the war and were trying to rebuild their economies; the league sent financial experts to help so that the two countries would not go bankrupt
• developed codes for importing and exporting so that all members were following the same rules

Question 32

failures of the economic and financial committee in the league of nations

Answer 32

when global depression hit after 1929, this commission was unable to cope

Question 33

aims of the organisation for communications and transports in the league of nations

Answer 33

regulated transport developed during the war in order to keep people safe

Question 34

successes of the organisation for communications and transports in the league of nation

Answer 34

• introduced shipping lanes which meant that fewer collisions occurred
• produced an international highway code so that cad drivers followed the same traffic rules wherever they travelled

Question 35

successes of the health committee in the league of nations

Answer 35

• started an international campaign to kill mosquitoes which spread diseases such malaria and yellow fever
• worked with the government in russia to organise an education programme to teach people about how the disease typhus was spread
• sent doctors to look after refugees in turkey and helped improve living conditions in refugee camps in the 1920s
• the health committee was later renamed the world health organisation which still exists today

Question 36

aims of the permanent central opium board in the league of nations

Answer 36

• to stop the cultivation and distribution of opium

- after 1925 the board became the permanent central narcotics board and tackled other drugs as well

Question 37

successes of the permanent central opium board in the league of nations

Answer 37

• introduced a system where companies had to have a certificate to say that they were allowed to import opium for medical purposes
• blacklisted four large companies which were involved in trading illegal drugs

Question 38

failures of the permanent central opium board in the league of nations

Answer 38

-some historians claim that key members of the league were not really dedicated to stopping the sale of opium as they made large amounts of money from it

Question 39

vilna and the league of nations

Answer 39

in 1920 after ww1 countries that had been in austria hungary’s empire were given independence. lots of new countries were created including poland and lithuania. vilna was to be the capital of lithuania but the majority of people living there wanted to be polish. a polish army took control of the city and lithuania asked the league for help. the league told poland to remove its army, but was refused. france saw poland as a potential ally against germany and refused to help. britain would not send troops without the support of other countries. so the first time the league was asked to settle a dispute they did nothing and poland took vilna

Question 40

upper silesia and the league

Answer 40

1921-1925. Upper Silesia was on the border between Germany and Poland at the end
of the First World War and both Germans and Poles were living there. Both
nations wanted to claim the area, as it was important to iron and steel
production. In 1921 a plebiscite [a vote in which the whole country takes
part was organised to decide who would own Upper Silesia. Britain and
France sent troops to police voting stations and to make sure the vote was fair
and calm.
Germany won 60 per cent of the votes, but Poland claimed that many of
the people who voted for Germany no longer lived in Upper Silesia. They
complained and the League of Nations decided to split Upper Silesia into
regions according to how the people had voted. Germany received most of
the rural areas, while Poland received the industrial zones.
The outcome was accepted by both Germany and Poland, and the League
made sure that the partition went smoothly by ensuring that rail links, water
and electricity were still supplied to each side of Upper Silesia.
However, the final settlement was considered unfair by the Poles; they
received roughly half the population of Upper Silesia, but only a third of the
land. Around half a million Poles were now in confirmed German territory.
The Germans weren’t fully satisfied either. They lost three quarters of the coal
mines they had owned prior to the settlement - a valuable source of income.
In 1922 the German government complained to the League and was awarded
the right to import coal at a heavily discounted rate. When this agreement
ended in 1925 relations between Germany and Poland worsened.

Question 41

the aland islands and the league of nations

Answer 41

1921. Both Sweden and Finland claimed the land Islands, which were
      between the two countries, and threatened war on each other. The
      League investigated each country’s claim. They decided that the
      islands should go to Finland. However, Finland was not allowed to
      build forts on the islands, so that they could not be used as a base
      from which to attack Sweden. Sweden agreed to these terms, so the
      League had successfully avoided war.

Question 42

corfu and the league of nations

Answer 42

After the war the boundaries of Greece and Albania were still to be agreed upon. The League
gave the job to an Italian general named Tellini, but while he was surveying an area of
Greece, Tellini and his team were murdered.
At the time, Italy was ruled by a dictator named Benito Mussolini. When he heard about what
had happened he was furious and blamed the Greek government. He demanded that the
murderers should be executed and that he should be paid compensation, but the Greeks did
not know who had murdered Tellini and his team. On 31 August Mussolini invaded and occupied
Corfu, killing fifteen people. Greece appealed to the League, who condemned Mussolini’s act of
aggression but agreed that Greece should pay the compensation. The League would look after
this money and it would be awarded to Italy once the killers were found.
Mussolini still wasn’t satisfied. He complained to the Conference of Ambassadors, a
group of powerful countries including Britain, France and Japan, and persuaded them to
undermine the League. Greece was forced to apologise and pay compensation directly to
Italy. Mussolini did withdraw his troops from Corfu. In this instance, when a large country
had threatened a smaller one with military action, the League had proved that they could be
ignored and overturned by other international groups.

Question 43

bulgaria and the league of nations

Answer 43

1925. When Greek soldiers were
killed on the Bulgarian
border, Greece invaded.
Bulgaria appealed to
the League for help. The
League condemned the
Greeks and ordered them
to withdraw troops and
pay compensation. Greece
thought that the League
was being hypocritical, as
Mussolini had got away
with similar actions in
Corfu in 1923. However,
Greece was a small country
and unwilling to risk poor
relations with powerful
members of the League
such as Britain and France,
so they obeyed.

Question 44

the wall street crash and the league of nations

Answer 44

1929. In 1929 the American economy
      crashed. The country was plunged
      into a devastating depression. This
      would last throughout the 1930s.
      America traded with countries
      across the world and had lent a
      lot of money during and after the
      war, so global economies were
      also affected. The whole world
      faced economic depression and in
      desperate times people lost faith
      in their governments. Some people
      turned to extremist parties such as
      the Nazis in Germany who promised
      to make Germany strong again by
      overturning the Treaty of Versailles.
      The League was powerless to do
      anything to help people or to control
      these new party leaders who were
      willing to resort to violence to get
      their own way.

Question 45

relationship between germany and france in the 1920s

Answer 45

in the early 1920s the relationship between germany and france was still very hostile. france was rebuilding after the war and germany was rebuilding after the treaty of versailles. france had even invaded germany when it had failed to make a reperations pay in 1923

Question 46

fixing the relationship between france and germany in 1920s

Answer 46

in 1925 the german foreign minister, Gustav Stressmann, invited the french foreign minister, Aristide Briand to meet and sign a treaty to help improve relations between the two countries.

Question 47

who suggested the locarno treaties

Answer 47

germany and since they were not a member of the league of nations the meetings were organised independently

Question 48

where were the locarno treaties signed

Answer 48

locarno in switzerland

Question 49

who met in locarno to negotiate the treaties

Answer 49

france and german representatives met to discuss and they signed 7 treaties in which germany officially accepted the borders that the treaty of versailles had defined, giving up any claim on areas such as alsace lorraine. they also agreed to work together to try settle disputes peacefully

Question 50

who signed the locarno treaties

Answer 50

france, germany, britain, italy, belgium, czechoslovakia

Question 51

what did all the countries which signed the locarno treaties agree

Answer 51

not to go to war with the others even if one of the countries broke the treaty they would support the country which was involved.

Question 52

why was the locarno treaty significant

Answer 52

because many felt it represented the end to german resentment of the treaty versailles and signed voluntarily rather than the diktat of 1919. other countries saw it as germany trying to become a peaceful nation and relations improved so much than in 1926 germany was allowed to join the league of nations.

Question 53

the kellogg-briand pact

Answer 53

65 countries met in paris in 1928 where they signed an agreement saying g that they would not use war as a way to solve disputes. the first countries that were involved was germany france and the usa and since two of these members were not members of the league this took place outside of the league

Question 54

why were the locarno treaties and kellogg-briand pact marked as a failure for the league

Answer 54

because both pacts had nothing to do with the league of nations so they were doing nothing important at this time

Question 55

1929 finance

Answer 55

in 1929 a financial crisis known as the wall street crash hit america hard and thousands of businesses went bankrupt and banks collapsed

Question 56

american great depression

Answer 56

by 1933 around 15 million americans were unemployed and many had lost there homes. this time was called the great depression and lasted through the 1930s. it left people desperate and afraid

Question 57

depression affect on extremist party popularity

Answer 57

with families starving people started to search for answers to their problems. sometimes they turned to the policies of extremists such as the fascists in italy and the nazis in germans

Question 58

how did the nazis use the depression to their advantage

Answer 58

• hitler was very skilled at offering solutions using simple slogans such as ‘freedom, bread, work’. compared to the complex solutions that other parties offered these were very pleasing
• in a dictatorship the government runs everything so that meant they were more likely to take care of people such as the unemployed
• the promised to take land by force so that their populations would have space, food and resources
• they used promise of victories in wars overseas to distract people from problems at home. such victories would restore national pride and the population would support the government more. this meant hitler and mussolini looked at expanding their borders
• dictators found people to blame for their problems for example hitler said germanys problems were caused by jews and the treaty of versailles this encouraged racism and so countries were more likely to turn against eachother

Question 59

how did the great depression affect the league of nations

Answer 59

hitler and mussolini were not afraid to use violence to get what they wanted. they were no interested in collective security and weren’t scared by moral condemnation. to fight aggressive dictators the league would need an army and since it didn’t have one it would have to ask it’s members to use their armies but they were all suffering due to the depression. the only sanctions the league could impose were economic and in a time of economic crisis countries werent willing to stop trading with others as this would create more unemployment and hurt their own people

Question 60

how did japan suffer in the depression

Answer 60

japan was suffering in the great depression. much of its economy was based on exporting silk to rich countries like the usa but silk was a luxury item and people cut back on luxuries due to the depression so the japanese industry was in decline and many people were unemployed. by 1932 silk was worth 1/5 of what it used to be

Question 61

why was manchuria easy to invade

Answer 61

• manchuria was geographically close to japan
• japan already had large industries such as the south manchurian railway and kwantung army in the area and this made the invasion easier
• there was a history of confusion of who owned the area; russia japan and china had all claimed it in the past and in 1931 it was ruled by a chinese warlord but his power was weakening
• japan was scafed china might kick out japanese industry
• japan had fought russia in 1905 and so they were old enemies and so this would upset them and also distract the japanese people from domestic problems
• the japanese army was getting stronger and stronger

Question 62

the mukden incident

Answer 62

1) on the 18th september 1931 there was an explosion on the south manchurian railway. the japanese army claimed that the train had been attacked by chinese soldiers who had also shot at the railway guards
2) the chinese denied this. they said that all their soldiers had been asleep at the time
3) the kwantung army used the events as an excuse to take over manchuria
4) the people of japan were delighted by this victory and celebrated on the streets
5) in 1932 japan renames manchuria, manchukuo. they put Pu Yi an ex chinese emperor in charge as a puppet ruler so japan could control him

Question 63

why was the league reluctant to act to the manchuria crisis

Answer 63

although it was a clear case of japanese aggression the league didn’t want a big fight and many people felt that japan was owed manchuria and the chinese had even signed treaties that japan had economic rights in the region. china and japan were far away from the leagues headquarters and britain and france felt that the incident was too far away to be of real concern. japan had been a powerful member of the league and they claimed that chinese had attacked first so people chose to believe the japanese version of events so they didn’t have to get involved

Question 64

what did the league do at first in the manchurian crisis

Answer 64

the league issued a moral condemnation and told japan to withdraw its troops but when japan refused to there was really very little the league could do

Question 65

why couldn’t the league do anything for manchuria

Answer 65

• members of the league couldn’t afford to send troops so far away to fight someone’s battles and france and britain were still fighting the depression
• the league could issue economic sanctions but there wasn’t a lot they could do as japan could still trade with the usa
• the nearest powerful country to manchuria was the ussr and since they had not been able to join the league of nations they could not be called upon to help

Question 66

what did the league do about the manchuria crisis after the moral condemnation failed

Answer 66

the league put together a commission of inquiry led by the british politician named Lord Lytton. Lytton went to the area and investigated and then put together a report which was published in october 1932. it concluded what people already knew- japan was in the wrong. the leagues findings were official but japan still ignored them and left the league. in feb 1933 the japanese invaded Jehol another chinese region. they then used these bases to invade the rest of the country in 1937. in 1938 most major chinese cities were controlled by the japanese army

Question 67

the end of the league due to the manchurian crisis?

Answer 67

the league had failed. one of its own members ignored it and acted with aggression. the league had acted slowly and had achieved nothing. long term damage to the league was limited and many people believed that if there was a problem involving european countries the league could still deal with it. at the time many people didn’t see the failure of the league as a ‘fatal blow’ but looking back this failure to stop an act of war and in italy and germany Mussolini and Hitler began to wonder if they might be able to get around the league too.

Question 68

why did mussolini want abyssinia

Answer 68

as a fascist dictator mussolini had promised people to rebuild the ancient roman empires. britain and france had added much of africa to their own empires and mussolini felt that abyssinia, as an independent nation, would be an ideal target for an invasion. he didn’t think that britain and france would object as they took so many colonies themselves. he though the invasion would be easy as italy already owned small colonies bordering abyssinia, eritrea and somaliland. mussolini could build bases in these countries and launch his attack from there. abyssinia would be good for italys economy as it was rich in natural resources. in 1896 italy had tried and failed to take it and had faced a humiliating defeat as they expected an easy victory against an underdeveloped country. mussolini was sure that he could invade abyssinia without the league taking action as he had dealings with the league during the corfu crisis in 1923 and was also a lot more confident after the leagues failure in manchuria. mussolini was also convinced that britain and france wouldn’t stop him as in 1935 they signed an agreement called the Stresa Front agreeing to unite against hitler. france was afraid that hitler might invade them and gave mussolini the impression they would do anything to keep italy as an ally against hitler

Question 69

how did mussolini invade abyssinia

Answer 69

mussolini’s opportunity came in december 1934 when italian soldiers clashed with abyssinians at Wal Wal, 150 abyssinians and two italians were killed, the league tried to intervene but found it difficult to stop mussolini as both parties were members of the league but italy was intent on war. in jan 1935 the french foreign minister Pierre Laval met with mussolini and made a number of secret agreements. france promised italy to to interfere in Somaliland and Eritrea and gave it land in Chad but laval also promised mussolini a deal with abyssinia however he saw fit. in spite of moral condemnation from the league, mussolini’s troops entered abyssinian on 3rd of october 1935. the italians bombed tribal villages of abyssinia and used chemical weapons to terrorise the people into surrendering. the only resistance was the abyssinian army and some soldiers armed with nothing more than spears. on 30th of june 1935 Haile Selassie, the abyssinian emperor had addressed the league in geneva warning it of the effect it’s failure to deal with mussolini would have. but the league did nothing when on the 5th of may 1936 italian troops took the abyssinian capital, Addis Ababa: the league of nations had once against failed and from this point on peoples faith on the league was ruined.

Question 70

why did the league fail in abyssinia- trade sanctions against italy

Answer 70

Members of the League were forbidden from
importing Italian goods and from selling weapons
to Italy. However, it took two months to decide
what else to ban, and when the decision was made,
trade sanctions didn’t include oil, steel, iron or coal.
The British were worried that banning the trade in
coal would cause unemployment in British mining
areas, and the League felt that banning oil was
pointless because countries like the USA and the
USSR would continue to supply Mussolini.
Mussolini later said that if coal and oil had been banned he would have had
to stop his invasion, as he needed these to fuel war machines such as tanks.

Question 71

why did the league fail in abyssinia- failure to close the Suez Canal

Answer 71

The Suez Canal was built to connect the
Mediterranean and the Red Sea. It was
owned by the British and French and
meant that they could travel to Eastern
Africa or Asia without having to go
all the way around the Cape of Africa.
Britain and France could have closed
the canal to stop Mussolini moving
troops and supplies to invade Abyssinia,
but they didn't as they wanted to avoid
upsetting Mussolini. They were worried
that Mussolini would unite with Hitler
so they tried to keep him on their side.

Question 72

why did the league fail in abyssinia- the hoare laval pact

Answer 72

Britain and France sent their foreign
ministers, Pierre Laval and Samuel
Hoare, to come up with a settlement to
offer Italy. In December 1935 they met
in secret and agreed that Italy would be
given areas in Abyssinia. Abyssinia
would be reduced to half its size, and
the land it would keep would be mainly
mountain regions, while Italy would
gain the fertile areas. This land was not theirs to give and they did
not discuss their plan with Italy or Abyssinia.
Details of the Hoare-Laval Pact were leaked to the press, and
public outcry followed. The two politicians were forced to resign,
but the damage had been done: they had proved that Britain and
France were willing to undermine the League for their own self-
interest.

Question 73

why did the league fail in abyssinia- trade sanctions against Abyssinia

Answer 73

The
League
banned
members
from
selling
arms
to
Abyssinia
as
well as to Italy. Abyssinia
was left with nothing to
defend itself with against
Mussolini's modern army.

Question 74

the end of the league of nations

Answer 74

In May 1936 Italy left the League of
Nations. This left just Britain, France
and the USSR (which had joined in
1934) to run the League. However,
Britain and France had shown
that they were more interested in
their own welfare than protecting
the Covenant of the League. Many
historians say that from this time on
no one really respected the League
and its days as the international
police force had ended. Small
countries knew that the League
would not protect them from
invasion, and aggressive dictators
such as Mussolini and Hitler realised
that it was powerless to stop them
starting a war.

Question 75

why was the league destined to fail

Answer 75

• the league had no army
• the league had very ambitious plans and ideals which some could argue were too ambitious
• the league only met once a year, the council could veto proposals and decisions had to be unanimous so decision making was very slow
• the leagues structure was complex and there weren’t enough people to carry out decisions that were made
• american refused to join and other powerful countries such as germany and the ussr were not allowed to join when the league was formed
• trade sanctions didn’t work because people could still trade with the countries not in the league
• powerful countries weren’t scared of moral condemnation so the leagues sanctions were useless
• the great depression meant countries were concerned with their own problems
• depression meant people turned to extremists who gave simple solutions to peoples problems
• the league was slow to act in the manchurian crisis
• the british and french were too worried about keeping italy as an ally against hitler they didn’t do anything during the abyssinian crisis