League of Nations Flashcards
What were the aims of the League of Nations?
The aims of the League of Nations were set out in the League of Nations Covenant
* Achieve international peace and security
* Promote international cooperation especially in business and trade
* Encouraging nations to disarm
* Improve living and working conditions of all nations
* Uphold and enforce the Treaty of Versailles
What was the role of the Assembly in the League of Nations?
- The assembly met annually at the League Headquarters and all members of the League were represented
- The assembly considered matters of general policy and recommended action to the Council. They also fixed the budget
- Every member had one vote and decisions had to be unanimous
What were the weaknesses of the Assembly in the League of Nations?
- The assembly only met once a year so in a fast-changing world this was too slow
- Decisions had to be unanimous which made it difficult for everyone to agree. When dictators came to power they became very difficult to bargain with and would veto decisions
- The League of Nations did not include major powers such as the USA who never joined, Germany who joined in 1926 and the USSR which joined in 1934
What was the role of the Council in the League of Nations?
- The Council met 4 times a year and for emergencies
- There were both permanent and non-permanent members of the Council
o In 1920 the permanent members were Britain, France, Italy and Japan. Germany became a permanent member in 1926
o The non-permanent members were elected by the Assembly for a 3 year period. The number of non-permanent members increased from 1920-26 - Each member country had one vote and decisions had to be unanimous
What were the weaknesses of the Council in the League of Nations?
- The Council’s work was often merged with the work of the Assembly so it was difficult to know who was responsible for certain events
What was the Permanent Court of Justice (PCJ)
- The Permanent Court of Justice was the court of the League of Nations
- It would give decisions on border disputes and pass any laws
- It gave legal advice to the Assembly and Council
- It was responsible for upholding and amending Peace Treaties
What were the weaknesses of the PCJ in the League of Nations?
- Although it passed laws it couldn’t enforce them
- It acted in an advisory role so there was no way of ensuring its laws got passed
What were the League of Nations Commissions and Committees?
- The Mandates Commission - Ensured that Britain and France acted in the interests of the people of the former colonies of Germany and its Allies
- The Refugees Committee - Assisted the in the return of refugees to their original countries.
- The Slavery Commission - Worked to abolish slavery around the world
- The Health Committee - Began to educate people on health and sanitation and started to deal with dangerous diseases
What were the League of Nations Secretariat?
- All the administrative and financial work of the League was performed by the Secretariat including record keeping
What were the weaknesses of the Secretariat in the League of Nations?
- All documents needed to be translated into numerous languages
- Departments were understaffed so work load was extremely high
What were the powers of the League of Nations?
The League of Nations could act in three ways to resolve disputes
- Moral Condemnation – The League could put pressure on a country guilty of failing to cooperate with the Leagues Aims by bringing world opinion against that country
- Economic and Financial Sanctions – Members of the League could refuse to trade with the uncooperative country
- Military Force – Armed forces from member countries could be used against an aggressor
How was the League of Nations able to be successful in the early 1920’s?
- There was no appetite for conflict, people and governments didn’t want another war so there was a high level of goodwill towards the League
- Disputes were often between smaller countries, they were willing to give the League a chance and accept its decisions
- Countries were rebuilding after WW1, they were in no position economically or militarily to start further conflicts
- The League of Nations was new and countries were giving it a chance to be successful. It was led by the victors of WW1 which gave it credibility
Give an example of Success of the League of Nations in the 1920’s in the Aaland Islands?
- In 1921 Sweden invaded the Aaland Islands, a collection of tiny islands which were part of Finland. Finland appealed to the League of Nations who decided the islands should remain with Finland which Sweden accepted
Give an example of Success of the League of Nations in the 1920’s in Upper Silesia?
- In 1921 there was a dispute between Germany and Poland over the Polish dominated Upper Silesia. A plebiscite was held and the area was divided between the two with Poland receiving 2/3 and Germany 1/3 of the territory
Give an example of Success of the League of Nations in the 1920’s in Bulgaria?
- Greece and Bulgaria fought over their borders. Greece was ordered to withdraw and pay Bulgaria £45,000 in compensation
What were the successes of the League of Nations Commissions and Committees in the 1920’s?
- The Refugees Committee – After WW1 around 400,000 prisoners and refugees were successfully returned to their homelands from Russia and Greece
- The Health Committee – The League helped Soviet Russia prevent a typhus epidemic. They worked hard to defeat leprosy. They started an international campaign to exterminate mosquitos in order to reduce the spread of malaria and yellow fever. The League banned poisonous lead paint and recommended limits of working hours for young children
- The Slavery Commission – 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone were freed. The League challenged the use of forced labour on the Tanganyika railway in Africa reducing the death rate from 50% to 4%. The League black listed large international companies involved in illegal drug selling
Give an example of Failure of the League of Nations in the 1920’s in Vilna?
- Vilna was the new capital of Lithuania with a significant Polish population
- The Polish army invaded in 1920 and Lithuania appealed to the League of Nations
- The League of Nations called for a plebiscite which Poland turned down and refused to withdraw
- The League of Nations didn’t send troops because France saw Poland as a future ally against Germany and Britain wasn’t prepared to intervene
- Later the Conference of Ambassadors overruled the League and endorsed Poland’s seizure
Give an example of Failure of the League of Nations in the 1920’s in Corfu?
- An Italian soldier was murdered while working on a border dispute between Greece and Albania on behalf of the League of Nations
- Mussolini blamed the Greek Government for the murder and demanded compensation and the murderers be caught and brought to justice by the Greeks. However they had no idea of who the murderers were
- Mussolini bombarded and then occupied Corfu resulting in Greece appealing to the League of Nations for help
- The League condemned Mussolini’s actions which he initially accepted
- However, behind the scenes he appealed to the League of Nations to overturn it
- The Greeks were required to apologise to Italy and pay compensation, after this Italy withdrew from Corfu
Give an example of Failure of the League of Nations in the 1930’s in Manchuria?
Background
- Japan was facing an economic slump from a declining export market for its silk partly due to the global depression. Japan invaded Manchuria in order to secure resources such as food and raw materials.
Actions By The League of Nations
- The League of Nations instructed Japan to withdraw but this was ignored
- A Commission of Enquiry was set up. This concluded that the invasion was not justified
- Japan responded by terminating its membership of the League of Nations
Failure to Introduce Sanctions
- No European country wanted to cut back its trade with the Far East including Japan
- Imposing military sanctions was less appealing as this would have meant sending a naval force the other side of the world with little chance of success
- Britain and France feared attack of their Far East colonies
- The League was Eurocentric in nature and did not see Asia as vital for Europe
Results
- Japan demonstrated blatant aggression as Hitler and Mussolini watched with interest
- The League of Nations looked weak when faced with a challenge from a strong country
- The League of Nations regarded Manchuria as a Japanese “sphere of influence”
Give an example of Failure of the League of Nations in the 1930’s in Abyssinia?
Background
- In October 1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia
- Mussolini was looking for ways to boost his popularity in Italy
- Abyssinia’s defences were relatively primitive
Actions By The League of Nations
The League immediate condemned the unprovoked aggression of Italy and imposed economic sanctions including:
* Banned arms sales to Italy
* Monetary loans to Italy
* Imports from Italy
* Exports to Italy of rubber, tin and metals
Failures of the League of Nations
- The League failed to ban oil and coal exports to Italy
- The League did not close the Suez Canal to Mussolini’s supply ships due to fear of reprisals against the British colonies of Gibraltar and Malta
Results
- On 9th May 1936 Mussolini formally annexed the whole of Abyssinia
- Britain and France showed self interest
- The incident showed the League of Nations was powerless against its most important members
- Mussolini and Hitler signed the Rome – Berlin Axis in November 1936
What was the World Disarmament Conference?
The World Disarmament Conference was a series of conferences put forward by the League of Nations. Its aim was to reduce the size of armies around the world. Leaders were keen to avoid another arms race like the one which had proceeded WW1
What did Hitler want from the World Disarmament Conference?
Hitler demanded the other League countries should reduce their armed forces to Germany’s size. He believed now that Germany was part of the League they should be treated equally
Why did France reject Hitler’s proposal at the World Disarmament Conference?
France did not want military parity with Germany following the invasions in 1871 and 1914. France believed it needed more armed forces than Germany to defend itself
How did Hitler react to the rejection of his proposal at the World Disarmament Conference?
Hitler walked out of the Conferences and pulled Germany out of the League. He announced that Germany would begin rearming at the Nuremberg Rally in 1935
