paper 2 collapse of the league Flashcards
what caused problems for the league in the early 1930s
wall street crash followed by the great depression
what were the events leading to the problems for the league
1 US recalled loans and wanted nothing to do with Europe
2 British ecconomy suffered and didn’t want to spend its money on the league
3 Italy faced economic problems and Mussolini wanted to build overseas empires
4 Japan had little money
5 Germany was in turmoil leading to Hitler becoming chancellor and he criticised the league for the treaty of Versailles
what was the manchurian crisis 1931-33 and how did it show the weakness of the league
Japan wanted Manchuria for it’s raw materials and knew Chinease control was weak, Japan already had mining rights and controlled railways in the area, an incident on the railway line was used as an excuse for Japan to invade
1931-32 the league investigated after china asked the league for help. It sent lord Lytton on a fact finding mission. meanwhile Japan carried on it’s invasion
The Lytton commission found favour in China and League ordered Ja[an to leave Manchuria. Japan ignored the league and left and then invaded more of China
What was the Abyssinian crisis in 1935
Mussolini invaded Abyssinia because of it’s mineral wealth, the emperor appealed to the league for help. Legue condemded Italy and imposed economic sanctions
How did this crisis confirm how ineffective the league had become
1 the sanctions did not include oil so Italy continued to trade with US
2 Britain and France were desperate not to anger Mussolini as they feared that he would become closer to Hitler. They made a secret pact
Italy completed it’s invasion and left the league
why was the league powerless to stop aggressors
1 membership - league lacked key members from the start (USA) others left so Britian and France were only 2 world powers left
2 Depression - members were dealing with their own problems brought on by the depression and there was little money to deal with problems in western Europe
3 Slowness - the organisation of the league made it difficult to act quickly
4 Lack of support for sanction - sanctions were only applied half heartiely
5 No army - the league had no army to deter an aggressor
