League of Nations Flashcards

1
Q

Vilna crisis

A

1920
Poland vs Lithuania
Poland invaded vilna - capital of Lithuania
league did nothing - FAILURE

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2
Q

upper silesia crisis

A

1921
people in silesia
deciding whether to join poland or germany
divided amongst the two countries
SUCCESS

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3
Q

aaland islands crisis

A

1921
Sweden vs finland
over ownership of islands
league gave islands to Finland and Sweden accepted decision
SUCCESS

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4
Q

corfu crisis

A

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

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5
Q

bulgaria crisis

A

1925
greece vs bulgaria
greece invaded bulgaria
Greece paid compensation to Bulgaria and withdrew- SUCCESS and failure

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6
Q

why was the Bulgarian crisis a success and a failure?

A

success- avoided conflict
failure- demonstrated that the league could only handle small conflicts, also showed the league was biased, weak and unreliable

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7
Q

international agreements/plans

A

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

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8
Q

the impact of economic recoveryin the 1920s on international relations and the league

A

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

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9
Q

humanitarian work - what problems did the league tackle?

A

refugees
working conditions
health
transport
social problems

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10
Q

humanitarian work- refugees

A
  • 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
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11
Q

humanitarian work- working conditions

A
  • introduced maximum 48 work hours per week
  • international labor organization limited hours that small children could work
  • encouraged employers to improve working conditions
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12
Q

humanitarian work- health

A

the health committee helped defeat leprosy, and reduced malaria and yellow fever

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13
Q

humanitarian work- transport

A

international highway code for road users and marking of shipping lanes

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14
Q

humanitarian work- social problems

A

targeted illegal drug trade
freed 200,000 slaves
improved working conditions on building of Tanganyika railway in Africa

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15
Q

failure of disarmament in the 1930s

A

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

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16
Q

why did disarmament fail in the 1930s?

A

there was no way of enforcing the restrictions promised in the July 1932 disarmament conference

17
Q

Manchurian crisis

A

in september 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria
feb 1932- Japan set up a puppet gov. in Manchuria
china appealed to the league
took ONE YEAR for the league to produce a REPORT- September 1932- which condemned japan’s actions
report was approved by the league except for Japan who resigned
league could do nothing to stop Japan

18
Q

why was the Manchurian crisis an epic fail?

A
  • took way too long for league to act
    (one year just to produce a report)
  • Japan simply ignored the report and resigned from the league
  • the league was powerless (due to the economic depression, significant countries in the league like Britain and France did not have the resources, military, public support, or money to act)
  • hitler and Mussolini saw the league’s failure to act
19
Q

Abyssinian crisis

A

1935
Mussolini wanted to invade Abyssinia to expand Italian empire
league condemned the potential invasion and suggested a partition of Abyssinia
however, this was rejected by mussolini
1935- Musso launched a full scale invasion- league failed to act and BRIT and FRA tried to make a private arrangement with ITA
1936- hitler saw the league’s failure to act and this encouraged him to invade the Rhineland

20
Q

why was the Abyssinian crisis a major fail?

A
  • neither Britain or France were prepared to prevent mussolini from taking over Abyssinia
  • the league’s failure to act showed weakness and lack of power
  • the Abyssinian crisis encouraged hitler to invade the rhineland- a weak league made it easier for hitler to start a war
21
Q

what were the main bodies of the league and what did they do?

A

the assembly- all member states, represented on equal footing. unanimous decisions. met once a year. recommended action to the council

the council- resolving conflicts through discussion. perm members included: BRIT, FRA, ITA and JAP
(these had veto power)

the permanent court of international justice- meant to solve border disputes peacefully

the secretariat- body of experts that make reports on all sorts of issues

The international labour org.- trying to improve working conditions

22
Q

why did Japan want to invade Manchuria?

A

for raw materials- the depression hit Japan badly as China and the USA put up tariffs against Japanese goods

23
Q

The council- strengths and flaws

A

strengths: peaceful approach to resolving conflicts
flaws: veto- disregard of decisions because of one country’s interests (vested interest)
language is vague (recommend, advise etc.)

24
Q

The permanent court of international justice - strengths and flaws

A

strengths: peaceful approach to solving boarder disputes
flaws: had no way of making sure that countries followed its rulings

25
Q

secretariat- strengths and flaws

A

strengths: body of experts producing reports on conflicts - important because these conflicts would be resolved more fairly
flaws: will these reports turn into actions?

26
Q

International labour organization - strengths and flaws

A

strengths: trying to improve working conditions
flaws: can’t command, only persuade and if they fail to persuade, no action is taken

27
Q

impact of depression on league

A

UNEMPLOYMENT- meant that countries would be less willing to get involved in international disputes
USA x ECONOMIC SANCTIONS- USA would be unwilling to agree to economic sanctions from the league
MILITARISM- some countries turn to militarism to solve economic problems ex. Manchuria
RISE OF NAZIS X FRANCE- rize of nazis in germany scared France into building up border defenses
EXTREME POLITICAL PARTIES- became popular ex. nazis in germany

28
Q

how far did the depression make the work of the league more difficult?

A

increased aggression- nazis, militarism
decreased international cooperation and honorable relations between nations- decrease in cooperation (more self-interest, people are suffering)
discourage in the improvement of living and working conditions around the world- lack of support
no disarmament “to the lowest point consistent with national safety”- FRA x nazis (wouldn’t close the industry of armament)

29
Q

Spanish civil war

A

1936-1937: hitler sent support to spanish general Francisco franco and his nationalist forces- he wanted to test new weapons and defeat the communists in Spain
1937: German forces made devastating air raids against Spanish cities
again, the league did nothing despite already having prohibited any nation from intervening in the Spanish civil war

30
Q

anschluss with Austria (1938)

A

1934- first attempt at Anschluss that failed because Musso stopped him
1936/37: hitler and musso become allies
1938- hitler asked Austrian nazis to cause problems in Austria. he then claimed that the Anschluss would be a solution. the Austrian chancellor called a plebiscite to decide what to do.
march 1938- German troops marched into Austria to ‘keep an eye’ on the elections. 99.75% voted for Anschluss

31
Q

Anschluss with Sudetenland (1938)

A

29 september- Munich agreement agreed by FRA, BRIT, ITA and GER that hitler could have the whole of sudetenland
Czechoslovakia not even consulted
1 October- German troops marched into Sudetenland

32
Q

reasons for appeasement

A
  1. hitler stood against communism- BRIT saw GER as a buffer against the Soviet Union
  2. many people felt that the treaty of versailles had been too harsh
  3. neither britain or france could afford another war - unemployment and economic problems from ww1 and depression. did not want a repeat of WW1
  4. germany was rearming publicly and quickly year by year. people could see that germany was better armed than Britain or France
  5. USA’s isolationalism- Britain was not sure it could face up to germany without the guarantee of American help, American leaders were determined not to be dragged into another European war
33
Q

appeasement

A

1935- BRIT signed agreement with GER allowing them to build up navy 35% size of British navy
1936- invasion of rhineland
1938- Anschluss with austria
1938- Anschluss with Sudetenland

34
Q

results of appeasement

A

hitler became increasingly aggressive
germany became stronger
Soviet Union knew they could not rely on British and French support against hitler -> nazi-soviet pact

35
Q

nazi-soviet pact

A

24 August 1939
1. they agreed not to attack each other
2. they would divide up Poland amongst each other

note: both sides knew it was only a temporary agreement, but it bought them both time

36
Q

reasons for failure of L of N

A
  • French and British self-interest: weren’t in favor of sanctions because it would cause them economic problems
  • Absent powers: USA (IMAGE), Japan
  • Ineffective sanctions
  • Lack of armed forces (no way of ensuring suggestions
  • Unfair treaty (t of v): Disarmament clause (GER felt it was unfair as they were the only ones who disarmed)
  • Reaching decisions too slowly (eg. 2 months to decide to sanction Italian oil) - linking to idea that the league was only effective when treating with small nations
  • economic depression: made people more aggressive, countries didn’t want to spend money as the world was in an Econ. crisis