Download The League in the 1920s

This complicated structure of the League made decisions slow and therefore
the League was often ineffective in dealing with crises
Success?
Disputes
 1920: Yugoslavia invades Albania. League intervenes
and draws up new borders forcing the Yugoslavs to
withdraw
 1921: Upper Silesia – Germany and Poland both lay
claim to this area rich in natural resources. After much
violence the case was referred to the League who
decided to divide it fairly between the 2 countries.
 1925: Greek invasion of Bulgaria: Greek soldiers
crossed into Bulgaria so the Bulgarians appealed to the
League. The League ordered Greece to withdraw and
pay compensation, which they did.
Important agreements
 Locarno Pact 1925: Germany agreed to accept its
borders and the pact settled some disputes between
the bitter Germans and the Allies. All agreed to respect
borders and to avoid war with each other at all costs.
Germany was then accepted into the League.
 Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928: 45 countries all agreed not
to go to war as a way of settling disputes.
Peace and disarmament
 1926: Germany is allowed to join the League of Nations
and make decisions with the victorious powers.
 The League facilitated much of the treaties and
conferences during the 1920s which helped encourage
co-operation and peace.
Other successes…
 The League’s Commission for Refugees helped refugees
turned out by war return to their homes.
 The Health Committee did a lot to help reduce diseases
across the world.
 The International Labour Organisation helped stop
slave labour and the use of dangerous chemicals in
workplaces (such as using lead in paints). It also helped
stop child labour, improve women’s rights in the workplace
and encourage many countries to adopt the 8-hour
working day and the 48-hour week. The ILO survived after
the League was suspended after WW2.
Vilna, 1921
 A dispute between Poland and Lithuania.
 Poland wanted to control the disputed town of Vilna
and so invaded it in 1921. Lithuania insisted it was
theirs.
 The League tried to persuade Poland to pull out, they
refused.
 Eventually the Big 4 met at the Conference of
Ambassadors and gave it to Poland anyway.
Russian-Polish War 1920-1
 The League failed to prevent the outbreak of war
between Poland and the communist-controlled Russia.
 After it broke out, the League’s two key members,
Britain and France did not remain neutral and backed
Poland against the communist Russia.
Disarmament
 The League had some successes in disarmament talks
but ultimately failed when Britain refused to support
a disarmament treaty in 1923.
Memel, 1923
 The League had kept the port town of Memel as a
League Mandate under international control since 1918
but Lithuania wanted it for their new country.
Lithuania seized it and the League had no choice but
to agree on the condition that the port itself was kept
as an international port.
 Lithuania kept the land around the port.
The Ruhr Valley Crisis, 1923
 In 1923, Germany stopped paying its war reparations as
it could no longer afford them. France and Belgium
were very angry and so invaded the industrial Ruhr
Valley and took the resources for themselves to pay the
reparations. This angered the Germans and caused a
lot of tension in Europe. The League was powerless to
do anything as France was one if its leading members.
It also caused friction with Britain and America.
Eventually the British forced the French and Belgians
to pull out, however damage had been done.
Corfu, 1923
 In 1923, a success turned into a disaster for the League.
As the League settled a dispute in Albania, an Italian
boundary official working on behalf of the League was
killed by an unknown gunman. Mussolini blamed the
Greeks and demanded compensation from them.
When Greece refused, Italian troops invaded the
Greek island of Corfu. The League failed to mediate
the dispute and the Allied Powers stepped in
separately, forcing a humiliated Greece to pay the
compensation.
1. Were the 1920s a period of success or failure for the League?
2. What impact would the 1920s have on the reputation of the
League?
3. Who or what was to blame for the League’s failures?
Failure?
Some success…
 The League did have some successes in the 1930s.
 In 1932 they settled a border dispute between
Colombia and Peru.
 In 1934 the Soviet Union finally joined the League.
 The League’s organisations continued to have their
own successes.
 HOWEVER….in 1929 the US Stock Exchange crashed
(known as the Wall Street Crash) caused an economic
crisis and leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Now many countries began to look inward rather than
to co-operating with others.
Some success…
 The League did have some successes in the 1930s.
 In 1932 they settled a border dispute between Colombia and Peru.
 In 1934 the Soviet Union finally joined the League.
 The League’s organisations continued to have their own successes.
 HOWEVER….in 1929 the US Stock Exchange crashed (known as the
Wall Street Crash) caused an economic crisis and leading to the Great
Depression of the 1930s. Now many countries began to look inward
rather than to co-operating with others.
 The Great Depression also encouraged many people to support
extremist leaders to solve their problems, mostly in the powerful
countries of Germany (Hitler), Italy (Mussolini) and Japan (the
Military).
Manchuria 1931 (aka the Mukden Incident)
 In 1931, the Japanese were expanding their empire into China. China was a
weak country and bitterly divided. In September they seized control of
Manchuria (a province of China) after claiming that the Southern Manchurian
Railway (used and operated by Japan) had been sabotaged by Chinese soldiers.
 The Chinese Government appealed to the League for help. The League were
slow to respond but eventually sent officials to China and then published the
important Lytton Report declaring Japan to have invaded illegally and
ordered a withdrawal. Japan refused and legalised their control of Manchuria,
renaming it Manchukuo and placing the ousted Emperor of China as puppet
ruler.
 The League were powerless to do anything against a major power such as Japan.
Economic sanctions without US support would be useless and none of the
major League powers were prepared to send troops as far as China. Japan
resigned from the League and marched on into China. The League had failed
to help the Chinese.
Abyssinia 1935
 In 1935, Italy under their right-wing fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini,
invaded the independent African country of Abyssinia. Italy had wanted to
expand its empire and recreate the Roman Empire of ancient times. The other
major European powers had territory in Africa and Italy wanted the same.
 The Emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie, was powerless to stop the mighty
Italian Army and appealed to the League for help.
 Officially the League condemned Italy for the invasion. However by 1935 Hitler
had taken power in Germany and Britain and France were concerned about the
land he was taking in Europe. They saw Mussolini as a potential ally against
Hitler. As such they tried to appease Mussolini and signed a secret deal with
him through the Hoare-Laval Pact giving 2/3 of Abyssinia to Italy. They also
did not close the important Suez Canal allowing Italy to continue trading.
 Italy, however, ignored Britain and France and took control of all of Abyssinia
and then left the League in 1937. The USA and Germany continued trading
with Italy and so any economic sanctions against Italy were worthless.