League of Nations - 1920 to 30s Flashcards
Why and how did Mussolini come into power in 1922?
Mussolini and his fascist party staged a ‘march on Rome’, and fearing a civil war the King of Italy invited Mussolini to become the PM
As opposed to fascism, what was Mussolini’s view of a democracy?
He believed democracies to be weak and passive, whereas his fascist policies were more nationalistic and aggressive. One example of this is the Corfu incident in 1923, where he showed how aggressive he was willing to be. In his view the aggression was his fulfilment of fascism and proved democracies to be weaker
Why did Mussolini decide on invading Abyssinia?
Mussolini always had ambitions of expanding Italy’s territory, but in 1935 Hitler looked to be the dominating force in Central Europe. This led Mussolini to look elsewhere and he had the intention to dominate the Mediterranean south of Italy to prove Italy’s power. This brought him to Abyssinia
What was the revenge factor involved in choosing to invade Abyssinia?
In 1896, Italy were humiliated when they tried to invade and take over Abyssinia, but they were defeated by emperor Menelik. Mussolini was vengeful and wanted revenge, but he also wanted to bring glory to his regime. He believed the land in Abyssinia would provide living space for a population he was looking to expand.
What were the economic factors behind the invasion?
In the early 30s, Italy had started to suffer from the depression. Industrial production had fallen by 25% and unemployment had risen from 300,000 to over a million. Mussolini thought a successful war would boost morale and boost his reputation at home and boost his popularity
What was the spark that started the war?
In Dec 1934, a scuffle between Italian and Abyssinian troops at the oasis of Wal Wal gave Mussolini his justification to invade. The oasis was supposedly on the disputed border between Italy and Abyssinia however it was actually over 60 miles into Abyssinian territory. Mussolini didn’t care and demanded an apology and began preparing for an invasion.
What did Abyssinia do in response?
They went straight to the LoN and appealed to them for help
Why was this different to other crisis that the LoN had previously faced?
Similarly to Japan, Italy were a leading member of the LoN, however this was different to the Manchurian crisis, because this was closer to home for them, it was on their doorstep.
What sanctions were imposed on Italy? Were they effective?
The LoN did impose some economic sanctions on Italy, however they didn’t extend to include basic materials needed for war such as coal and iron. Mussolini himself said that had these been included in the sanctions the invasion would have been stopped in a week.
What was the Stresa front?
In 1935, Mussolini and the 2 PMs of France and Britain, Loval and Macdonald met in Stresa (small town in Italy) to condemn the breaches of the Treaty of Versailles committed by the Germans.
Why were the sanctions so lenient?
Britain and France were very cautious at this stage and were unwilling to provoke Italy. They still believed it was possible to keep Mussolini in the Stresa front and stop an alliance between him and Hitler. They made sanctions much more lenient in an attempt to keep Italy as an ally against Germany.
What was the Hoare-Laval pact?
The Hoare-Laval pact was a secret pact between the British foreign minister and the French PM. this was a deal that would’ve handed a large part of Abyssinia to Italy, more than what they had occupied. The logic behind this was that both Britain and France were both militarily and economically unprepared for war and Mussolini should not be provoked.
What was the public response when this plan was leaked?
There was complete uproar and in the end Hoare was forced to resign. When the plan collapsed, Britain and France, therefore the league were forced to take a harder stance against Italy. In March 1936, the league finally decided to ban the sale of oil and petrol to Italy, but by then it was too late.
What was the aftermath and implications for Italy and the league?
In May 1936, Italian troops entered Addis Ababa (capital of Ethiopia). The forces bombed civilians and used poison gas. A reluctant British govt. anxious to mend fences with Mussolini, took Haile Selassie (emperor of Abyssinia) and granted him asylum on account of a poison gas burn. Italy had succesfully conquered Abyssina, but only 3500 colonists ever settled there. The league had failed and on 15 July all sanctions had ended.
What did this mean for the LoN?
This crisis marked the end of the LoN as an important organisation: nobody would take it seriously from then on, most importantly Hitler, who was very unimpressed at the feeble response of the British and the French. Mussolini was angered by British and French response and in Nov. 1936, he signed the Rome-Berlin axis, linking the 2 fascist states
What was the Upper Silesia dispute? Was it success for the league?
Upper Silesia was on the Polish and German border. In the ToV it was given to Poland. Germany did then protest this because the mines there were responsible for over a quarter of their coal output. When the LoN took the issue they ordered a plebiscite (referendum) in which the people voted to be a part of Germany.
What was the dispute over the Aaland islands?
The islands belonged to Finland but the people of the island wanted to be owned by Sweden. The 2 countries started arguing about it and asked the LoN to intervene and decide. The decision was that Finland should keep them under the condition that no weapons were to be kept there. The decision still stands today.
What was the League’s refugee organisation?
The organisation, led by Nansen the Norwegian explorer, was very successful in helping 400,000 prisoners of war return home and also helped in dealing with the crisis in the aftermath of the Turkey-Greek war. In 1923, 20% of Greece’s population were homeless refugees. The league sent doctors to stop a spread of infectious diseases. It then set up a committee to find homes for the refugees; in 3 years it had found homes and jobs for 600,000 people.
What was the league’s initial failure?
One of the main failure’s for the league was it was seen to be too closely linked with the peace treaties post WW1. It was seen to be more of an organisation that benefited the victorious powers than an impartial body whose aim was to keep peace.
What was the thing the league lacked which prevented them for being able to show their teeth?
They lacked an army of their own. They were reliant on countries providing their own troops (and risks their own countries economies through sanctions). They lacked ‘teeth’
What was their most obvious failure when forming the LoN?
There were a lot of key countries missing. Woodrow Wilson, who came up with the idea of the league, failed to convince the US govt. to join the league. The senate voting against it, and Woodrow Wilson’s own health deteriorating meant the US didn’t join the league. America wanted to return to isolationism. The US not joining was a huge blow both financially, and for morale. It made collective security nearly impossible to impose and made the League over reliant on Britain and France.
What was the Corfu crisis and why did it set a bad precedent early on in the league?
In Aug 1923, Italian surveyors working for the LoN in mapping the Greece-Albanian border were shot and killed on the Greek side. Mussolini demanded compensation from the Greek govt. and when this wasn’t obtainable, he attacked and invaded Corfu, openly defying the LoN. The major powers in the League put pressure on Greece to accept Mussolini’s demands. The Greeks then had to apologise for Mussolini to leave and this showed the Leagues incapability in dealing with the big countries. One rule for big countries and another for small.
How did the league deal with the idea of disarmament?
Although all member states had agreed to reduce armament under the terms of the covenant, it proved to be a nearly impossible task. At the 1921 Washington conference, the US,, Britain, France and Japan agreed to limit the size of their navies but that was as far as disarmament ever got in the 20s. In 1926 the LoN finally planned a disarmament conference but it took 5 years to even agree a ‘draft convention’ for the conference, and in 1933 it was rejected by Germany.
Explain why some non-European countries believed there was racism in the League
They believed the LoN were failing to address the needs of non-whites people. Countries like Japan felt bitter that they failed to get racial equality clause written into the covenant. The LoN itself took a patronising view of non-European peoples, often viewing them as needing to be ‘looked after’ in mandates.
