CT2 To what extent was the League of Nations a success? Flashcards
1
Q
What were the Big Three’s aspirations for the League of Nations?
A
- Wilson wanted the LoN to be a world parliament where representatives could meet regularly to decide on any matters that affected them and solve international disputes
- British leaders thought the best League would be a simple organisation that would only meet in emergencies
- France wanted a strong League with its own army
2
Q
What were the aims of the League?
A
- To discourage aggression from any nation
- To encourage countries to cooperate, especially in business and trade
- To encourage nations to disarm
- To improve the living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world
- To stop future war
3
Q
What was the membership of the League?
A
- The USA was not part of the League because Congress repeatedly voted against and the American citizens were isolationist
- Britain and France were the most powerful countries in the League
- Italy and Japan were also permanent members of the council
- There were 42 members in January 1920 when the League was founded
- Germany was not allowed to join until it proved it was a peaceful nation: it joined in 1926, but later left in 1933
- The USSR was prevented from joining until 1934 as many member states did not trust communist states, but then left in 1939
- Japan left the League in 1933
- Italy left the League in 1937
- Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Britain and France guided policy
- British politicians were more interested in rebuilding British trade and looking after the British empire than in being an international police force
- France’s main concern was still Germany. It was worried that without an army of its own, the League was too weak to protect France
4
Q
What was the Structure of the League
A
The Assembly
- The assembly was the League’s “parliament”.
- Every country in the League had a representative.
- The assembly could recommend action to the council and vote on admitting new members to the League.
- The assembly only met once a year, and their decisions had to be unanimous.
The Council
- The council was a smaller group than the assembly, and met 5 times a year, or more often in the case of an emergency
- It included permanent members (Britain, France, Italy, Japan) and temporary members elected by the assembly for 3-year periods.
- Each permanent member had a veto.
- The council was meant to resolve disputes by talking.
- However, if that failed, they could use moral condemnation, economic and financial sanctions, and military force.
The Secretariat
- The Secretariat was a sort of civil service serving all the other bodies within the League.
- It kept records of League meetings and prepared reports.
- It brought together experts from across the world on key issues such as health, disarmament and economic matters.
The Attached Organisations
- The Permanent Court of International Justice was based at the Hague in the Netherlands.
- It was made up of judges from the member countries.
- It was meant to help settle disputes between countries peacefully.
- If asked, it would give a decision on a border dispute between countries.
- However, the Court had no jurisdiction to enforce its rulings.
- The International Labour Organisation brought together employers, employees and governments to improve working conditions
5
Q
What were the League of Nations Agencies and Commissions?
A
The Mandates Commission
- It reported to the League how people in the former German and Ottoman colonies (mandates) were being treated
- It was meant to make sure Britain and France acted in the interests of the people of that territory
The Refugees Committee
- It helped hundreds of thousands of refugees return home or find new homes to go to
The Slavery Commision
- They worked to abolish slavery around the world
- It was a particular issue in East Africa
- They also worked to abolish slavery-esque programs across the world
The Health Committee
- They attempted to deal with dangerous diseases
- They also attempted to educate people about health and sanitation
- The health committee brought together experts and worked with charities and many other independent agencies to collect statistics about health issues, to spread new ideas, and to develop programs to fight disease
6
Q
How important was the League’s humanitarian work - Refugees?
A
- In the first few years after the war ended, approximately 400,000 prisoners were returned to their homes by the League’s agencies
- The League acted quickly to stamp out cholera, smallpox and dysentery in refugee camps which were created due to war in Turkey in 1922
- However, in the 1930s, the Refugees Committee was short of funds and its work became more difficult as the international situation became tenser and the authority of the League declined
7
Q
How important was the League’s humanitarian work - Working conditions?
A
- The ILO succeeded in banning poisonous white lead from pain and in limiting the hours that young children were allowed to work.
- It also campaigned strongly for employers to improve working conditions.
- It introduced a resolution for a maximum 48-hour week and an eight-hour day, but a majority of members refused to adopt it because they thought it would cost their industries too much
- The ILO was hampered by a lack of funds and a lack of power
- It could not do much more than name and shame countries or organisations that broke its regulations
8
Q
How important was the League’s humanitarian work - Health?
A
- It collected statistical information and spread good practice
- It sponsored research into infectious diseases at institutes in Singapore, London and Denmark
- These institutes helped develop vaccines and medicines to fight deadly diseases such as leprosy and malaria
- The Health Committee is generally regarded as one of the most successful of the League’s organisations and its work continued after 1945 in the form of the WHO
9
Q
How important was the League’s humanitarian work - Slavery and forced labour?
A
- It helped free 200,000 slaves in British-owned Sierra Leone
- It organised raids against slave owners and traders in Burma
- It challenged the use of forced labour to build the Tanganyika railway in Africa, where the death rate among the African workers was 50%
- League pressure brought this down to 4%, which was considered a much more acceptable figure
10
Q
What happened in Vilna in 1920?
A
- On 7 October 1920, Vilna became the new seat of the Lithuanian government after negotiations with the League and the withdrawal of Soviet troops
- Vilna had a largely Polish-speaking population, and so on 9 October, Vilna was annexed by the Polish army
- Lithuania appealed to the league, who ordered the Polish army to withdraw from Vilna and wait for a plebiscite
- Poland refused and the League was powerless to stop the conflict, as Britain and France were not prepared to escalate the situation
- This was a failure for the league
11
Q
What happened in the Aaland Islands in 1921?
A
- The Aaland Islands were located in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden
- It was a Finnish territory but was largely population by Swedes
- Many islanders wanted independence from Finland, which almost led to conflict sparking
- The League intervened, investigating the dispute
- They awarded the Aaland Islands to Finland, but with protections for Swedish Islanders, including the removal of Finnish troops
- Both countries accepted the decision
- This was a success for the League
12
Q
What happened in Corfu in 1923?
A
- One of the borders that had to be finalised was that between Greece and Albania
- The Conference of Ambassadors were given the job, and appointed Italian General Tellini to supervise it
- On 27 August 1923, whilst surveying the Greek side of the frontier area, Tellini and his team were ambushed and killed
- The Italian leader Mussolini was furious and blamed the Greek government for the murder
- On 31 August Mussolini bombarded and then occupied the Greek island of Corfu, resulting in 15 deaths
- Greece appealed to the League for help. Fortunately, the Council was already in session, so the League acted swiftly.
- By 7 September the council had prepared its judgement.
- It condemned Mussolini’s actions. It also suggested that Greece paid compensation, but that the League would hold it and only give it to Italy if and when Tellini’s killers were found.
- Mussolini refused to let the matter rest. He believed the League to be incompetent, and wanted the Conference of Ambassadors to settle the issue.
- Mussolini likely got his way because the British and the French disagreed, as records from the council meetings show the British wanted to condemn Italy, whilst the French supported them, likely as their forces were tied up in the Ruhr.
- Mussolini got his way in the end, and the Greeks had to apologise and pay compensation to Italy.
- Mussolini withdrew from Corfu, boasting of his triumph.
- The Geneva Protocol was made to stop this result from happening again: when two members were in dispute they would have to ask the League to sort out the disagreement and they would have to accept the Council’s decision.
- However, the Protocol wasn’t signed by Britain after a general election gave rise to a new government. As such, the protocol weakened the League.
- This was a failure for the League
13
Q
What happened in Bulgaria in 1925?
A
- In October 1925, Greek troops invaded Bulgaria after a skirmish on their border resulting in the deaths of some Greek soldiers
- Bulgaria appealed to the League for help
- It also sent instructions to its army to let the League deal with the issue
- The secretary-general of the League acted quickly and decisively, calling a meeting of the council in Paris
- The League demanded both sides stand down and Greek forces withdraw from Bulgaria
- Britain and France both backed the League’s judgement
- The League sent observes to assess the situation and judged in favour of the Bulgarians
- Greece had to pay compensation of £45,000 to Bulgaria, with the threat of sanctions
- Greece obeyed, although stating that larger countries (Italy) had a separate standard to smaller ones (Greece)
- However, the League still considered this a success, and the failure of Corfu was forgotten by many observers
- This was mostly a success for the League
14
Q
How successful was the League at enforcing disarmament
A
- The League largely failed to bring about disarmament
- In the Washington Conference, 1921, the USA, Japan, Britain and France agreed to limit the size of their navies
- Disarmement never got any further
- Part of this was due to the League’s reputation in Germany, which was the only country who (were forced to) disarmed
- Also, no country was ready to disarm first, for fear of being attacked
15
Q
What happened in the economic depression?
A
- In the late 1920s, international trade prospered.
- The USA was a market for international export and helped economic recovery with many loans, particularly to Germany
- In 1929, disaster struck: the Wall Street Crash in the USA started a long depression that quickly caused worldwide economic problems
- In the 1930s, as a result of the Depression, much goodwill of the late 1920s evaporated
- As US loans dried up, businesses in many countries went bankrupt, leading to unemployment
- Some countries tried to protect their own industries with import tariffs, but trading partners did the same thing and trade got even worse
- Many countries (incl. Germany, Japan, Italy and Britain) started to rearm as a way of trying to get industries to work and to giving jobs to the unemployed.
- These new armies caused alarm and tension
- The internationalist spirit of the 1920s was replaced with a more nationalistic approach in the 1930s
16
Q
What was the Background to the Manchurian crisis?
A
- Since 1900, Japan’s economy and population had been growing rapidly
- By the 1920s, Japan was a major power with a powerful military
- The Depression hit Japan just as badly as other countries and the USA put up tariffs against Japanese goods
- Army leaders in Japan decided Japan would not face these problems if it expanded its empire to provide resources and markets for Japanese goods
17
Q
What happened during the first invasion of Manchuria in 1931?
A
- In 1931 an incident in Manchuria gave them an ideal opportunity
- The Japanese controlled the South Manchurian Railway.
- When Chinese troops allegedly attacked the railway the Japanese armed forces used this as an excuse to invade and set up a government in Manchukuo (Manchuria) which they controlled.
- This was known as the Mukden Incident.
- Japan’s civilian government protested but the military was now in control
18
Q
What was China’s response to the first invasion of Manchuria?
A
- China appealed to the League
- The Japanese argued that China was in such a state of anarchy that they had to invade in self-defence to keep peace in the area
- For the League, this was a serious test: Japan was a leading member, and the situation needed careful handling.
- Britain and France did not want to provoke a war with Japan, as they both had colonies in SE Asia
- Investigation of the Mukden Incident was finally entrusted to Lord Lytton and the Lytton Commission. It took them over a year to present the Lytton Report in September 1932
- It was detailed an balanced, but the judgement was very clear: Japan had acted unlawfully; Manchuria should be returned to the Chinese
19
Q
What caused the second invasion in 1933?
A
- In February 1933, instead of withdrawing from Manchuria, the Japanese announced they intended to invade more of China.
- They still argued that this was necessary in self-defence
- On 24 February 1933, the report from the League’s officials was approved by 42 votes to 1 in the Assembly. Only Japan voted against
- As a result, Japan resigned from the League on 27 March 1933. The next week it invaded Jehol (SW to Manchuria)
20
Q
What was the League’s response to the second invasion of Manchura?
A
- The League was powerless. Economic sanctions would not work with the USA not part of the League, as they were Japan’s main trading partner.
- Additionally, Britain wanted to keep a good relationship with Japan
- The League also discussed banning arms sales to Japan, but member countries could not even agree on that. They had a fear of Japanese retaliation
21
Q
What were the consequences of the Manchurian Crisis?
A
- Many excuses were offered for the failure of the League
- However, the significance of the Manchurian Crisis was obvious: it proved that the League was powerless if a strong nation decided to invade its neighbours
- Japan had committed blatant aggression and got away with it
- Back in Europe, this was a sign to Hitler and Mussolini, who would both follow Japan’s example within 3 years
22
Q
What was the background of the Abyssinian Crisis?
A
- In 1896, Italian troops had tried to invade Abyssinia but had been defeated by a poorly equipped army of tribesmen in the Battle of Adowa. Mussolini wanted revenge for this defeat
- He also had his eye on the fertile land and mineral wealth of Abyssinia.
- However, most importantly he wanted glory and conquest – his style of leadership needed military victories
- In December 1934 there was a dispute between Italian and Abyssinian soldiers at the Wal-Wal oasis, 80km inside Abyssinia
- Mussolini claimed that this was actually Italian territory.
- He demanded an apology and started preparing forces for an invasion of Abyssinia
- The Abyssinian emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League for help
23
Q
How did the League respond to Haile Selassie’s appeal?
A
- From January to October 1935, Mussolini was supposedly negotiating with the League to settle the dispute
- However, he was shipping his vast army to Africa simultaneously and whipping up war fever among the Italian people
- To start with, the British and French failed to take the situation seriously and played for time
- They were desperate to keep good relations with Mussolini, who seemed to be their strongest ally against Hitler
- Mussolini might have believed that Britain and France had promised to turn a blind eye in response to the Stresa Pact, which was a formal statement against German rearmament and a pact that the countries would stand together against Germany
- However, the League of Nations Union held a ballot with showed that the majority of British citizens supported the use of military force to defend Abyssinia if necessary
- In August 1935, there was much negotiating, but no direct discouragement to Mussolini
- On 4 September, after eight months’ deliberation, a committee reported that neither side could be held responsible for the Wal-Wal incident and the League put forward a plan to give Mussolini some of Abyssinia. Mussolini rejected it
24
Q
What happened after Mussolini rejected the plan for Abyssinia?
A
- In October 1935 Mussolini’s army was ready
- He launched a full-scale invasion of Abyssinia
- Despite brave resistance, the Abyssinians were no match for the modern Italian army
- This was what the League was created to stop. There was no doubting the seriousness of the issue either
- Sanctions had to be introduced against the aggressor
- A committee was immediately set up to agree on what sanctions to impose
- Sanctions would only work if imposed quickly and decisively
- Each week a decision was delayed would allow Mussolini to build up his stockpile of raw materials
- The League banned arms sales to Italy; banned loans to Italy; banned imports from Italy; and banned the export to Italy of rubber, tin and metals
- However, the League delayed a decision for two months over whether to ban oil from Italy out of fear the Americans would not support the sanctions
- More importantly, Britain and France didn’t close the Suez Canal, which they owned, which could have stopped Mussolini’s supply ships from reaching Abyssinia and stopped the campaign very quickly: they did this out of fear of war with Italy
- The Hoare-Laval pact was made: a secret plan to give Mussolini 2 thirds of Abyssinia in return for his calling off his invasion.
- It was leaked to the French press and a League debate was called about this.
- Hoare and Laval were sacked by their respective countries, and the sanctions discussions lost all their momentum
- Oil sanctions, as a result, never went ahead, as the US blocked them due to disgust at the Hoare-Laval pact
25
Q
What were the outcomes of the Abyssinian Crisis?
A
- In March 1936, the fatal blow was delivered: Hitler marched his troops into the Rhineland, an act prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles
- The French as a result were desperate for Italy’s support, and no longer cared about Abyssinia
- Italy continued to defy the League’s orders and by May 1936 had taken the capital, Addis Ababa
- On 2 May, Haile Selassie was forced into exile
- On 9 May, Mussolini formally annexed the entire country
- The League watched, helpless to stop anything.
- Collective Security had been shown up as an empty promise
- In November 1936, Mussolini and Hitler signed an agreement of their own called the Rome-Berlin Axis
