THE FAILURE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS The Rise of Dictators

The Birth of the League of nations Originally proposed by the United States at the end of WWI (Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points) Designed to be a place to discuss international conflict and ensure peace through mutual defense Flawed from beginning - USA didn’t join - Soviet Union and Germany were not allowed in - The Spirit of Locarno (avoid war at all costs) The League was just the will of England and France (both withdrew from aggressive foreign policy after the war)

Imperial Japan In the 1930’s, Japan’s government was lead by the Military Driven by their lack of natural resources and their dependence on foreign trade (especially with the USA), Japan attempted to expand its empire into Asia Japan conquers Manchuria (North of China) in 1932 Japan attacks China in 1937

Japanese Atrocities The Japanese Imperial Army was extremely brutal in their treatment of the enemy They routinely killed prisoners of war, murdered civilians, kidnapped girls to be used as “comfort women,” and used chemical and biological weapons against defenseless people The world was outraged but the League of Nations did nothing to stop them

Fascist Italy Benito Mussolini, a former newspaper editor, comes to power in Italy after the “March on Rome” in 1922 He is riding the people’s anger over Italy’s treatment at the treaty of Versailles, crushing poverty and a failing Italian government Mussolini creates fascism – a combination of dictatorship (one person in charge), nationalism, imperialism, militarism with work creation schemes and social programs to provide for the people Mussolini become wildly popular and served as a model for Hitler and other dictators

Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia) As part of his idea to “rebuild the Roman Empire” Mussolini invades Ethiopia (the last free African State) The Ethiopians have few advanced weapons but effectively fight a guerilla style war The Italians became frustrated with the lack of progress and decided to force Ethiopia’s surrender by attacking civilians Hundreds of thousands are killed as the Italians bomb and shell innocent people in their homes Again, the world is outraged but nothing is done to stop the horror

The Rise of Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin comes to power in the Soviet Union (formerly Russia) Perhaps the most brutal dictator in history Starves to death, imprisons and executes millions of his own people

Spanish Civil War Francisco Franco, Spanish General, invades Spain from Morocco A civil war starts between Franco’s supporters and the rest of Spain Italy and German sent troops and weapons to help Franco Franco seizes power in 1939

In Summary Dictators (Franco, Mussolini, Hitler etc.) rise from poverty and discontent They use brutal methods at home and against other nations The League of Nations does not have the strength or will power to stop them Since these dictators are not stopped, they only become more bold and aggressive The failure of the League of Nations to act created a situation where dictators eventually gained so much power that it took a full scale war to stop them