Germany felt that the treaty’s provisions were too harsh Could not make reparation payments Lack of jobs and increasing prices for food and basic goods left Germans very dissatified Ended up voting Hitler into power as he said he would “rip up” treaty

Invaded Chinese province of Manchuria China appealed to the League of Nations for help LofN condemned actions and tried to negotiate terms of withdrawal Japan withdrew from LofN and continued policy of expansion

Wanted to expand territory and power Still upset that it did not receive more land in the aftermath of WWI Looked to Africa to expand empire Attacked independent Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) LofN imposed sanctions against Italy, but were ineffective

Hitler, first in secret, then in the “open”, increased Germany’s army and weapons Britain and France became aware of Hitler’s actions, but did nothing at first because felt a stronger Germany would prevent the expansion of Communism Systematically broke Treaty of Versaille provisions (re-militarized Rhineland, union with Austria {Anschluss}) Austria asked for help from Britain and France, but they did nothing when Hitler promised his expansion was complete

Hitler then set his sights on the Sudatenland (home of German speaking citizen in Czechoslovakia) British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler 3 times Chamberlain met with Hitler 3 times to stop further expansion to stop further expansion Signed Munich Agreement Continued policy of Appeasement Appeasement Hitler broke his word again, taking over the rest of taking over the rest of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia

Giving in to someone provided their demands are seen as reasonable Many felt Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany Hitler’s demands were seen as understandable and justifiable Chamberlain felt that giving in to Hitler’s demands would prevent a war that the British and French were not prepared to fight

Chamberlain claimed that Munich Agreement would create “Peace in our time!” Less than a year later, Hitler broke pact, taking over the rest of Czechoslovakia Poland became the final “line in the sand” for German agression

Not all countries were members Some countries were forbidden to join (Germany, Russia/Soviet Union Others opted not to join (United States) Still others joined and then pulled out (Japan) Poor membership made it difficult to enforce rules League lacked real power Main punishment was trade sanctions Offending countries still could trade with Non- member countires Countries did not want to lose/offend trading partners during the Great Depression

League lacked military presence Soldiers were supplied by member countries Were hesitant as they did not want to provoke the aggressor into taking direct action against them Inability to react quickly to issues League was not a permanent body Would need to be called together in order to make decisions Unable to act quickly enough to stop a nation’s act of aggression