League of Nations Flashcards
Vilna crisis
1920
Poland vs Lithuania
Poland invaded vilna - capital of Lithuania
league did nothing - FAILURE
upper silesia crisis
1921
people in silesia
deciding whether to join poland or germany
divided amongst the two countries
SUCCESS
aaland islands crisis
1921
Sweden vs finland
over ownership of islands
league gave islands to Finland and Sweden accepted decision
SUCCESS
corfu crisis
1923
mussolini invaded corfu after murder of Italian general
greece appealed to league
league condemned mussolini
BUT musso used his influence to change decision
greece had to pay Italy compensation and apologize - FAILURE
bulgaria crisis
1925
greece vs bulgaria
greece invaded bulgaria
Greece paid compensation to Bulgaria and withdrew- SUCCESS and failure
why was the Bulgarian crisis a success and a failure?
success- avoided conflict
failure- demonstrated that the league could only handle small conflicts, also showed the league was biased, weak and unreliable
international agreements/plans
disarmament (1920s):
GER was the only country that was disarmed - no other country willing to disarm
Dawes Plan (1924):
USA gave loans to Germany in order to pay reparations and to avoid further economic crisis
the Locarno treaties (1925):
GER accepted borders with France and Belgium and accepted demilitarization of the Rhineland
as a result, GER was invited to the league in 1926
Kellog-briand pact, 1928:
65 nations agreed to reject war, and to use the league in the case of disputes BUT did not state what would happen
Young Plan (1929):
reduced Germany’s reparations payments
the impact of economic recoveryin the 1920s on international relations and the league
the improving economy in the 1920s improved trade and international relations
countries were far less likely to go to war with each other if they needed each other’s trade
humanitarian work - what problems did the league tackle?
refugees
working conditions
health
transport
social problems
humanitarian work- refugees
- 400,000 prisoners returned to their homes due to work of league
- in 1922 there was a crisis in turkey and the league worked quickly to prevent cholera, smallpox and dysentery in refugee camps
humanitarian work- working conditions
- introduced maximum 48 work hours per week
- international labor organization limited hours that small children could work
- encouraged employers to improve working conditions
humanitarian work- health
the health committee helped defeat leprosy, and reduced malaria and yellow fever
humanitarian work- transport
international highway code for road users and marking of shipping lanes
humanitarian work- social problems
targeted illegal drug trade
freed 200,000 slaves
improved working conditions on building of Tanganyika railway in Africa
failure of disarmament in the 1930s
July 1932- disarmament conference. promised to limit artillery, tanks and prohibit chemical weapons
October 1933- hitler withdrew from the league, protesting about the inequality of disarmament across Europe- Germany felt they were being singled out