Topic 4: The League of Nations Flashcards
How did the League of Nations form?
The formation of the league of nations was one of Wilson’s fourteen points of peace. Their aims were on:
- get countries to collaborate to help prevent war
- encourage disarmament
- improve living and working conditions
- tackle deadly diseases
Membership of the league changed over time, with Germany joining the league after agreeing to the Locarno treaty (1925). Russia joined in 1934, by which time there were 58 member states. The league would deal with aggression through its covenant which included:
- mitigation
- moral condemnation
- economic sanctions
- military force
The League had many powerful countries, so these sanctions could be intimidating. However the league didn’t have an army of its own to enforce its decisions: it had to rely on its members providing a force.
What was the structure of the league?
The Assembly: An international parliament. Each member state had to send a representative to meet once a year. They would vote on issues and decisions had to be unanimous.
The Council: They meet more frequently than the assembly. 4 permanent members: Britain, France, Italy and Japan, plus 4 other countries that were elected to sit on the council for 3 years. The council could veto rulings made by the assembly.
The Permanent Court of International Justice: An international court of law that could give hearings and advise the parties involved in an argument, but rulings weren’t compulsory so were easily ignored.
The Secretariat: They are in charge of administration and arguing any action that the League wanted to take.
Special Commissions: They were special groups formed to tackle specific issues, such as the international labour organisation (ILD) and the health organisation.
What work did the league’s organisations do?
- International labour organisation
Aim: Improve working conditions.
Successes: In the 1920s, the death rate of workers on Tanganyika railway reduced from over 50% to 4%.
Failures: In 1919: most members refused to stop children under the age of 14 from from working as it would be too expensive. - Commission for Refugees
Aim: To help people who had lost their homes because of war, by improving refugee camps, helping them to return home, or finding new homes.
Successes: Helped free around 427,000 of the 500,000 prisoners of war imprisoned after WW1.
Failures: During the 1930’s they failed to help Jews trying to flee Nazi Germany. - Slavery Commission
Aim: To end slavery.
Successes: During the 1920’s, the league set free 200,000 slaves from Sierra Leonne. - Economic and Financial Committee
Aim: To improve living conditions.
Successes: Sent financial advisers to Austria and Hungary to rebuild their economies when went bankrupt in 1921.
Failures: Unable to cope with the great depression after 1929. - Organisation for Communications and Transport
Aim: To improve how countries worked together.
Successes: Introduced shipping lanes and an international highway code. - Health Organisation
Aim: To cure diseases.
Successes: Sent doctors to help in Turkish refugee camps. - Permanent Central Opium Board (became permanent central narcotics board after 1925)
Aim: To tackle the trade of illegal drugs.
Successes: The blacklisted 4 large companies involved in trading drugs illegally.
Failures: Some countries in the league didn’t want to stop trade of Opium as they made lots of money from it.
How did the league contribute to peace in the 1920’s?
Vilna, 1920-1921: Failure
- Problem: Vilna was the capital of Lithuania, a new country, but there were many Polish people living there. The Polish army invaded and Lithuania asked for help from the league.
- League’s actions: The league asked Poland to withdraw their troops but Poland refused. France did nothing as Poland was a strong ally against Germany, and Britain didn’t want to send troops alone.
- Outcome: Vilna was invaded.
Åaland islands, 1921: Success
- Problem: Sweden and Finland both wanted the Åaland islands.
-League’s actions: The league gave the islands to Finland, but forbid the building of forts on them.
- Outcome: Both countries accepted this decision.
Upper Silesia, 1921-1925: Failure and Success
- Problem: Both Poland and Germany wanted Upper Silesia.
- League’s Actions: The league held a plebiscite was held to decide whether it would be German or Polish. Germany won 60% of the vote, but Poland claimed this had been fixed. The league split Upper Silesia into areas according to how they had voted: Germany complained that Poland got most of the industrial areas and Poland complained that they had around half of the population, but only one third of the land.
- Outcome: However, both countries had to accept the league’s decision which could be seen as a success.
Corfu, 1923: Failure
- Problem: An Italian general and his team were murdered while surveying land in Greece. Mussolini demanded compensation and for the murderers to be executed, but Greece didn’t now who the murderers were so couldn’t do this. Mussolini invaded Corfu. Greece appealed to the League for help.
- League’s actions: The league condemned Mussolini, but he undermined them by complaining to the Conference of Ambassadors.
-Outcome: Greece was forced to apologise to Mussolini and to pay compensation. Mussolini had shown that the league couldn’t enforce justice when one country was involved with a larger, stronger country. The league could be ignored or bullied by strong countries.
Bulgaria, 1925: Failure and Success
- Problem: Greece invaded Bulgaria wen Greek soldiers were killed on the border.
- League’s actions: The league forced Greece to withdraw and pay compensation.
- Outcome: Greece withdrew, but this seemed hypocritical since the league had allowed Mussolini, a much more powerful leader, to get away with something very similar in Corfu.
