the interwar years: part two - LoN and international peace

Covenant

26 laws that all members agreed to follow which include:

Disarmament - avoid future arms races

Registration of all treaties to avoid secret alliances

Collective security (if one state attacked another, all members would join together and act against the aggressor)

Membership for the League of Nations

Dominated by Britain, France, Japan and Italy.

42 founder members.

defeated countries Like Germany and Russia were not allowed to join at first.

USA failed to join- most Americans hated the idea and pursued the policy of isolationism

(wanted no more involvement in Europe)

Assembly

Each member country sent a rep.

Met once a year at HQ in Geneva.

Decisions had to be unanimous!

Discussed general topics e.g. revision of treaties, admission of new members.

Council

Smaller group of 4 permanent members

(Britain, France, Italy, Japan).

Met several times a year & in emergencies

Aim was to resolve disputes be negotiation if possible. Had the power to veto decisions.

Secretariat

International civil service- record keeping, etc.

Not always effective.

Permanent Court of International Justice

Court of 15 judges chosen from LoN countries.

Dealt with disputes between countries over international law e.g. terms of treaties.

Aimed to settle disputes peacefully.

Had no means of enforcing its decisions, relied on the goodwill of member countries to enforce decisions.

Agencies

Dealt with world's major problems e.g. health and disease, slavery, refugees, labour.

Hoped that if world problems were tackled e.g. slavery then there wouldn't be conflict.

Types of sanctions and how were they enforced?

Moral sanctions- turn opinion against the guilty country

Economic sanctions- league members refuse to trade with guilty country

Military force- member countries' armed forces could unite against the guilty country

Special Commissions

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

The Disarmament Commission

The Health Organisation

The Slavery Commission

The Commission for Refugees

The Permanent Central Opium Board

International Labour Organisation aim

Bring workers, employers and governments together to improve working conditions

Was the International Labour Organisation a success?

By 1928, 77 countries agreed to set a minimum wage.

In Africa, slave labour was used to build a new railway, the conditions led 50% of workers to die, the League challenged this and reduced the death rate to 4%

Was the International Labour Organisation a failure?

In 1919, they tried to stop children under 14 from working.

This was ignored by most member nations because they thought it would cost too much.

The permanent central opium board aim

To stop the creation of and distribution of opium.

Opium was legally used as a painkiller but some drug companies also sold it illegally.

Was the permanent central opium board a success?

Blacklisted 4 large companies that were involved in trading illegal drugs.

Was the permanent central opium board a failure?

Some historians claim that key members of the League were not really dedicated to stopping the sale of opium, as they made large amounts of money from it so could of gone further.

Why were the Locarno treaties made?

In early 1920s the relationship between Germany and France were still hostile.

France even invaded Germany when it failed to make reparation payments in 1923.

In 1925, German foreign minister, Gustav Stresemann, invited France foreign minister to meet and improve relations.

Since Germany wasn't a member of the LoN the meetings were organised independently

They signed 7 treaties collectively known as the Locarno treaties.

What was the term of the Locarno treaties?

Germany accepted the borders set up in the ToV; also signed by Britain, Italy, Belgium and Czechoslovakia.

They had agreed not to go to war with any of the others and if one of the countries broke the treaty they would support the country and invade.

Were the Locarno treaties a failure or success for the League of Nations?

Treaty marked the failure for LoN.

LoN should have been at the forefront of international peace but had nothing to do with it.

The Kellogg- Briand Pact

Made in 1928.

65 countries met in Paris.

Agreed not to use war as a way to solve disputes.

Signed by Germany and USA who were not apart of the LoN.

Was the Kellogg- Briand Pact a success or failure of the League of Nations?

Once again individual countries acted independently of the League, making it look like a place where countries air their problems and not a place where practical solutions could be found.

What happened in Corfu in 1923?

In 1923 a group of Italian surveyors working in Corfu were murdered.

Mussolini blamed Greece and demanded compensation and when Greece refused to pay he attacked the island.

Greece turned to the LoN

What was the League of Nations response to the Corfu crisis?

LoN told Mussolini to remove his troops from Corfu and demanded another international body, the Conference of Ambassadors, to deal with the incident.

Greece was forced to pay compensation and apologise to Italy.

Was the Corfu crisis a success or failure?

Mussolini did withdraw his troops.

In this instance when a larger country had threatened a smaller one with military action, the LoN had proved they could be ignored and overturned by other international groups.

Bulgaria Crisis 1925

Greece and Bulgaria shared a border.

In 1925 patrolling sentries shot at each other, Greek soldiers killed.

Greece invaded Bulgaria.

Bulgaria appealed to the League.

How did the League help the Crisis in Bulgaria

LoN ordered the fighting stop and Greeks leave.

After sending experts to the area, decided Greece was to blame and it was fined £45,000.

Both nations accepted the League's decision

Vilna Crisis 1920

Poland and Lithuania were new countries created by the post war treaties.

Vilna was the capital of Lithuania but it had a largely Polish population.

In 1920 a private Polish army took control of it.

Lithuania appealed to the League

How did the League help the Crisis in Vilna?

LoN didnt help the Crisis.

LoN asked Poland to withdraw.

Poland refused, troops should have been sent in but France didn't want to upset Poland as they were an ally against Germany and Britain wouldn't act alone.

So the League did nothing and the Polish kept controlling Vilna.

What happened in Upper Silesia? 1921-25

Upper Silesia was on the border between Germany and Poland at the end of the First World War and both Germans and Poles were living there.

Both nations wanted to claim the area, as it was important to iron and steel production.

In 1921 a plebiscite was organised to decide who would own Upper Silesia.

Germany won 60% of the votes, but Poland claimed that many of the people who voted for Germany no longer lived in Upper Silesia.

How did the League help the Upper Silesia crisis?

Britain and France sent troops to police voting stations and to make sure the vote was fair and calm.

At the end Poland still complained LoN decided to split Upper Silesia into regions according to how people had voted. Germany received most of the rural areas, whilst Poland received the industrial zones.

The outcome was accepted by both Germany and Poland.

However later on Poles and Germans were upset as Poles lost land and Germans lost 3/4 of coal mines.

When the treaty ended in 1925, tension worsened.

What happened in the Aaland Island 1921

Both Sweden and Finland claimed the Aaland Islands, which were between two countries, and both threatened war on each other.

How did the League of Nations help Aaland Island?

The League of Nations investigated each country's claim.

They decided that the islands should go to Finland.

However, Finland was not permitted to build forts of the islands, so that they could not be used a base from which to attack Sweden.

Sweden agreed to these terms.

How did the Great Depression affect the League of Nations?

The Great Depression affected attitudes towards international relations, peace, aggression, and the League of Nations.

Members of the League were not keen to impose economic sanctions because they were worried about losing trade.

The poverty and unemployment in nations created by the Great Depression led to support for political parties that promised extreme solutions.

e.g Nazi party in Germany.

Nations became more likely to use military force to protect their economies and trade.

As a result of the Great Depression, many governments, such as Germany's, turned to rearmament as a way of offering more stability and jobs in a time of crisis.

Nations wanted to find new resources and markets to boost their economies.

This meant they were more likely to try and take land belonging to other countries.

e.g Abyssinia

What happened in Manchuria?

Manchuria was a province of China- had raw materials that Japan lacked.

Wall St Crash meant Japan was keen to gain resources to trade goods and recover economy.

Japanese army wanted an empire.

China was weak at the time- in chaos since the 1911 revolution.

Japan owned the South Manchurian railway.

Ideal opportunity for Japan to seize full control of Manchuria while China is in no position to act.

How did the explosion affect Japanese control on Manchuria?

In September 1931, there was an explosion on a Japanese railway.

The Japanese blamed Chinese and used it as excuse to take over the area.

February 1932 the Japanese set up a puppet government in Manchuria.

What was the League of Nations reaction to Japan taking over Manchuria?

China appealed to the League but Japan claimed it was simply restoring order.

The League had to act carefully as Japan was a leading member of the League.

The League told Japan to withdraw its troops but Japan refused.

The League set up a Commission of Inquiry under Lord Lytton. Took a whole year to issue report.

Lytton said Japan had acted unlawfully & Manchuria should be a self governing state.

Japan ignored this & renamed Manchuria 'Manchukuo'.

By 1933 they controlled all of Manchuria.

Later 1933 - League of Nations formally condemned Japan's actions and Japan ignored this and left the League.

In 1937 Japan launched a major invasion of the rest of China.

How did the League of Nations show the League Of Nations weakness?

Membership limited power of sanctions: Economic sanctions would've been useless as Japan's main trading partner was the USA who wasn't a member.

USSR could have sent troops to resolve the issue but they had not been allowed to join.

British self interest - They was worried about taking any further action in case British trade in Asia was harmed.

No formal army made the League weak - Britain and France were not willing to risk war and send troops.

If a country didn't like a decision, they could ignore it or leave the League.

What happened in Abyssinia?

Abyssinia was a poor country in North East Africa.

Near Italian colonies- Italy had tried but failed to conquer it in 1896.

Mussolini now keen to avenge that defeat, get its rich resources, and get glory for Italy.

The Manchurian Crisis gave Mussolini the impression that the League would not act so invaded Abyssinia.

How did the League of Nations help the crisis in Abyssinia?

LoN was anxious to avoid a clash with Mussolini.

Britain and France thought he was their best ally against the growing threat of Hitler and were permanent members of the council.

December 1934 clash at Wal-Wal between Italy and Abyssinia. Dispute passes to League for a decision.

Britain shows signs it will oppose this aggression.

The Peace Ballot 1935 was held in Britain:

British public say they believe that support for the League would keep peace.

Britain states that they will support the idea of collective security if aggressive action does occur.

Italy ignores Britain and the League.

October 1935- Italy attacked Abyssinia causing destruction.

This was a clear sign of aggression = under League rules actions should be taken.

What was the League of Nations reaction to the October 1935 attack on Abyssinia?

The League agreed on limited sanctions:

- banned loans & sale of arms to Italy, & imports from Italy

- banned members from selling arms to Abyssinia as well as Italy

- This left Abyssinia with nothing to defend itself against Mussolini's modern army.

However the league did not ban:

-iron, steel ,coal or oil

Mussolini later said that if coal and oil had been banned he would have stopped his invasion.

They didn't ban coal exports as feared affect on British mining industry.

France continued to trade iron and steel.

Stresa Front Pact

Signed in 1935 by Britain, France and Italy, promising to unite against Germany's attempts to change the ToV.

Hoare-Laval Pact

Britain & France foreign ministers made a plan to end the fighting.

It was a secret agreement between Britain, France & Italy.

The pact would give Italy 2/3rd Abyssinia including the best areas.

But- plan was leaked and leaders were forced to resign.

This showed Britain & France self-interests were put before LoN interests.

By May 1936, Italians captures capital of Abyssinia.

The league did nothing and Abyssinia became part of the Italian empire.

What was the Impact of the Abyssinia crisis?

Mussolini triumphed.

Withdraws Italy from LoN in 1936

This signalled the end of the LoN.

Smaller countries knew the League wouldn't protect them from invasion by aggressive dictators and realised it was powerless in stopping war.

Hitler saw this and exploited its weaknesses & was confident he could get away with acts of aggression.

Britain and France lost Italy as an ally against Hitler - end of Stresa Front.

Reasons for League's failure

Poor organisation and slow decision making

-decisions had to be unanimous; infrequent meetings; delays in decisions, power of veto.

Sanctions were ineffective (especially without USA as a member)

e.g. Abyssinia could have been resolved if the US were involved.

No army relied on member countries- reluctant to commit troops e.g. Manchuria.

Self-interests of member countries prevailed rather than impose sanctions on Mussolini)

Lack of support during crises such as Manchuria.

Implications of League's failure

Violence & aggression shown to pay: Mussolini & Hitler learned from Japan's example (aggressors kept land gained with no penalties)

Victims suffer- Manchuria & Abyssinia occupied by foreign powers, abandoned by League

Britain & France saw the League's weaknesses so chose to pacify Hitler instead (appeasement)