The League of Nations Flashcards
Which League committee aimed to improve conditions for working people?
International Labour Organisation
What did the Mandates Commission do?
Dealt with the running of former German and Ottoman (Turkish) colonies put under League of Nations control.
Describe the work of the Refugees Committee.
It aimed to return refugees (mainly from former Russian and Ottoman territories) to their homes or help them to settle and find work in new countries. 400,000 prisoners returned to their homes after the War.
Who were the permanent members of the League Council in 1920?
Britain, France, Italy, Japan
Roughly how many times a year did the League Council meet?
5
How many times a year did the League Assembly meet?
Once
What was the key problem with the decision making process in the League Assembly?
Decisions had to be unanimous, and it was often difficult to get all members to agree.
In 1921, the League ruled on a dispute over the Aaland Islands. What was the outcome?
The League ruled that the islands should belong to Finland, and Sweden accepted this.
How did the League resolve the dispute over Upper Silesia (1921)?
The League oversaw a peaceful plebiscite (referendum) and divided the region between Germany and Poland.
What was the Geneva Protocol?
This said that if two LoN members were in dispute, they had to ask the League to sort out the disagreement, and they had to accept the Council’s decision. Britain refused to sign up to this after it was drawn up in 1924.
In which year was the Vilna incident? And what happened?
- 1920
- Poland took control of the Lithuanian capital, Vilna. Lithuania appealed to the League and the League protested to Poland. The Poles did not pull out. Britain and France unprepared to act.
In which year did the Corfu incident take place, and between which countries?
1923; Greece and Italy
Who was the Italian general murdered in Corfu, which sparked Mussolini’s occupation of the island?
Tellini
How, broadly, did the Great Depression in the US affect the economies of other countries?
- US loans dried up, negatively affecting the economies of many European countries, and leading to unemployment
- Many countries started to rearm as a way of trying to get industry going, and to provide jobs
How did the Great Depression affect Japan?
- Main export was silk to the US; this dried up
- Consequent economic downturn meant Japan had less money to buy food and raw materials
- Japan’s military leaders decided that building an empire and taking over weaker countries could help recover the economy
How did the Great Depression affect Germany?
- There was unemployment and poverty
- Germany’s political leaders seemed unable to do anything about the chaos
- Adolf Hitler was elected as Germans saw his ideas as potentially able to provide some sort of solution to these problems
When was the Wall Street Crash?
October 1929
Where, and in which year, was the explosion that gave Japan the excuse to invade Manchuria?
Mukden, on the South Manchurian Railway; 1931
When China appealed to the League after the invasion on Manchuria, what did the League do?
- Sent a commission to report on the crisis
- Took a full year to report
- Their conclusions = Japan had acted unlawfully and Manchuria should be returned to China
Who led the League of Nations commission that looked into the invasion of Manchuria?
Lord Lytton
What was Japan’s response to the League’s condemnation of their actions in Manchuria?
They left the League (in March, 1933)
Why did the League not want to intervene in Manchuria?
- Countries not willing to risk their armed forces in a war with ‘far away’ Japan
- Economic sanctions meaningless without the USA
- Britain keen to maintain a good (trading) relationship with Japan
When did the Disarmament Conference begin?
February, 1932
How did Hitler respond to the discussions during the Disarmament Conference?
Left the Conference (Oct, 1933), and soon after took Germany out of the League altogether
When was the Anglo-German naval agreement, what did it say and how did it undermine the League?
- Allowed Germany to build up its navy to no more than 35% the size of Britain’s. Britain did not consult the LoN about this, even though it violated Versailles.
Give three reasons why Mussolini wanted to invade Abyssinia.
- Revenge for 1896 Italian defeat
- Fertile lands and mineral wealth
- Distraction from Italian domestic problems
Where was the dispute that began the Abyssinian crisis?
Wal Wal oasis
Describe the Stresa Pact.
- Formal statement, signed by France, Britain and Italy, against German rearmament, and a commitment that they would stand united against Hitler.
Which international body was not consulted about the Stresa Pact?
The League of Nations.
In which month and year did Mussolini launch his full-scale invasion of Abyssinia?
October, 1935
What four sanctions did the League place on Italy in the aftermath of the Abyssinian invasion?
- Banned arms sales to Italy
- Banned loans to Italy
- Banned imports from Italy
- Banned export of tin, rubber and metals to Italy
Why were League sanctions against Mussolini after the Abyssinian invasion ineffective?
- Decision to impose sanctions delayed for two months.
- Suez Canal not closed.
- Oil not part of any sanctions
- Little British enthusiasm for sanctions against Italy.
Which Pact was designed by the French and British foreign ministers in response to the Abyssinian crisis, December 1935?
Hoare-Laval Pact
When did Hitler march his troops into the Rhineland?
March 1936
When was the Dawes Plan and what was it designed to do?
- Aimed to help sort out Germany’s economic chaos by providing dollar loans to rebuild industry and help pay reparations.
When was the Locarno Treaty, and what did it do?
- Germany accepted its western borders as set out in the ToV. Paved the way for Germany to join the LoN.`
When, and what, was the Kellogg-Briand pact?
- 65 nations agreed not to use force to settle disputes.
What was the great weakness of the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
There were no punishments for anyone who broke it.
Give four aims of the League
- Discourage aggression from any nation
- Encourage cooperation between nations, especially in trade
- Encourage disarmament
- Improve living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world
Give three major countries that did not join the League when it was set up.
Germany, USA, Russia
Why did the USA not join the League?
- Didn’t want to get involved in European affairs.
- Didn’t like empires so did not want to have to defend Britain and France’s
- Many Americans had German heritage, and the TofV was seen as anti-German.
- Wilson fell ill and was unable to campaign for it.
- Fear that having to join in with League sanctions would harm the US economy.
- The American Senate rejected it.
What was the outcome of the Corfu incident of 1923, and how did it weaken the League?
Although Italy had invaded Corfu, the League ruled that the Greeks must apologise for the death of Tellini and pay compensation. This suggested that when a powerful League member was involved, other key members (Britain and France) would not act against them.
What agreement was drawn up as a result of the Corfu incident?
The Geneva Protocol.
In 1925 Greece invaded Bulgaria. Why did the League’s actions seem to prove it favoured larger states?
Greece was forced by the League to withdraw, and had to pay compensation. This seemed very different from the way the League had treated Italy over Corfu (a Greek territory).
When was the Young Plan and what did it do?
1929; reduced Germany’s reparations payments.
The Washington Conference of 1921 did what?
USA, Britain, France and Japan agreed to limit the size of their navies.
What was the period of peace and good international relations in the mid-1920s known as?
The Locarno Honeymoon.
What did the Hoare-Laval Plan propose, and who was not consulted?
- Give Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia in return for calling off the invasion.
- Abyssinia.
When did Germany join the League?
1926
