League of Nations (CAT) Flashcards
How many members were there originally in the League of Nations?
42
Who were the four permanent members of the council?
Britain
France
Italy
Japan
What was the Locarno treaty?
It allowed countries that had lost the war like Germany to join the league
What were the four aims of the league?
- stop war from breaking out
- encourage disarmament
- improve working conditions
- tackle deadly diseases
How did the league plan to keep peace?
- through collective security
- the idea that all countries would work together to keep peace
- they also set up the Permanent Court of International Justice which provided international laws
What were the responses to aggression?
- mitigation- getting countries together to talk through problems
- moral condemnation- a good telling off
- economic sanctions- the league members stop trade with that country
How often did the assembly meet?
Once a year
How did decisions have to be decided in the assembly?
- they had to be unanimous
* every one of the 42 countries had to agree
When did Russia join the league?
1934
What things did the assembly make decisions about?
- when new countries could join the league
- the election of judges to the Permanent Court of International Justice
- voting for non- Permanent members of the council
- deciding how the leagues money should be spent
What power did the members of the council have?
A veto this could stop any decision
How often did the council meet?
4/5 times a year
What could the Permanent Court of International Justice physically do?
They could offer advice to the countries involved but could not enforce anything as they had no army
What did the secretariat do in the league?
They were in charge of administration and organising any action the league wanted to take
What did the special commissions do in the league?
•they were special groups that tackled the issues the league was worried about
Strengths of the league
- it was written into all peace treaties do all nations involved recognised the organisation
- it had a lot of members
- because of the number of members economic sanctions were daunting
What are the weaknesses of the league?
- major countries like USA didn’t join so countries could still trade with economic powerhouses when they were sanctioned
- the league had no army so couldn’t force people to obey it
- the structure was complicated and slow
- decision making was slow
What disputes did the league successfully sort out?
- dispute between Poland and Germany over part of Upper Silesia asking the people to vote
- league decided Finland should have the Alan’s islands, Sweden accepted this
- the league was successful here because it didn’t involve the most powerful countries
What success did the Leagues commissions have?
- they returned 450,000 prisoners of war back home
- health commission began work which is now continued by the United Nations
- Britain and France were put in charge of Germany’s colonies as mandates
When did Poland march into vilna?
1920
What happened in vilna 1920
- Polish troops marched into vilna in Lithuania as the majority of people there were polish
- Lithuania asked the league for help
- the league told Poland to remove their army but they refused
- France saw Poland as an Allie against Germany so did nothing
- Britain didn’t want to send in troops without support
- league ultimately did nothing
When was there conflict between Germany and Poland over upper silesia?
1921-1925
What happened in upper Silesia 1921-1925
- both Germany and Poland wanted the area as it was important for iron and steel
- in 1921 the league held a plebiscite and troops were sent in to make sure the voting was fair
- they league spilt up the area into different zones for Poland and Germany
- both Germany and Poland accepted this at first
- over time Poland complained they didn’t have enough land and Germany because they didn’t have enough coal
- in 1922 the league gave Germany the right to import coal at s discounted rate
- over time the relationship between Poland and Germany worsened
When was the aaland islands dispute?
1921
What happened in the aaland islands dispute
- both Sweden and Finland claimed the land and threatened war in each other
- the league investigated both countries claims and gave it to Finland
- Finland weren’t allowed to build forts on the island so it could be used as a base
- Sweden agreed to this
When was the Corfu crisis?
1923
What happened in the Corfu crisis in 1923
- while Tellini was surveying an area in Greece in a dispute he was murdered
- Mussolini went mad and demanded the murderers should be executed and he should be paid in compensation but the Greeks didn’t know who the murders were
- Mussolini then invaded and occupied Corfu killing 15 people
- Greece appealed to the league who condemned Mussolini
- Mussolini was not satisfied so complained to the council who then changed their mind and forced Greece to apologise and pay compensation to Italy
- showed that a more powerful country wins
When was the Bulgaria dispute?
1925
What happened in Bulgaria in 1925?
- Greek soldiers were killed on the Bulgarian border so Greece invaded
- Bulgaria appealed to the league for help
- the league condemned Greece and ordered them to withdraw troops
- Greece thought the league was being hypocritical as Mussolini has got away with the same
- however Greece were a smaller country so obeyed not wanting war with France and Britain
When was the Wall Street crash?
1929
What happened in the Wall Street crash in 1929?
- in 1929 the American economy crashed
- global economies were affected as they traded with America and America asked for their loans back
- people turned to extreme parties like nazis
- the league was powerless to do anything or control these new leaders who resorted to violence
