Manchuria and Abyssinia

 The Great Depression is the single greatest reason for the collapse of international peace.  It led to aggression and the collapse of international co-operation.  The Manchurian crisis exposed both the L of N and collective security as hollow concepts.

 It brought Hitler to power and undermined the Geneva disarmament talks.  It weakened the UK and France.  This made it possible for Mussolini to engage in aggression in Africa ending hopes for preserving peace.

 The causes of the Great Depression are not the focus but how it influenced international relations.  The Great Depression had an impact on events in Manchuria and Abyssinia.  It also had an impact on the ability of the world to continue seeking peace and harmony.

 It was not caused by the Wall Street crash of 1929 this was a signal that it had arrived.  The roots can be found in the weakened states of many nations after WW1, in particular – Germany and the UK.  The turmoil in the USSR and Eastern Europe had further weakened trade and world markets.  The burden of war-debts, government deficits, and the political and social turmoil caused by WW1 all played a role.

 The Depression devastated the spirit of the world.  It resulted in a terrible struggle to survive by any means.  Nations were no longer willing to co- operate through trade and exchange.

 Countries adopted a bomb-shelter mentality.  They cut off contact with their neighbors, raised tariffs and cared little for affairs outside of their own borders.  This insular attitude was worse in the democratic countries.

 Citizens demanded that their govts give money to domestic problems and ignore the problems of the world.  No resources and energy should be wasted on international agreements or enforcing them.  Domestic hardship was to be the focus not armaments to control aggressive foreign states.

 Those who were driven to extremes of hardship saw war as a solution to their problems.  Japan’s attack on Manchuria was an example of this.  The Japanese argued that without Manchuria they would starve – it was every nation for himself.

 The great Depression, more than any other reason, brought Hitler to power.  His primary goal was the destruction the of Versailles settlement by whatever means.  His solution to economic weakness was to advocate Lebensraum – territorial expanses – to seize resources.

 It is important to understand the impact of the Depression on the efforts to maintain world peace.  It is the single greatest reason for the collapse of the previous efforts to develop international understanding and co-operation.  It destroyed the economic welfare of the world.

 It also destroyed the optimism created by Locarno, Kellogg-Briand, the L of N and other attempts at international co-operation.  These progressive idealistic agreements were forgotten or ignored in the selfish, cynical world of the 1930’s.  Survival of the fittest was becoming the order of the day.

 The Depression created the reasons for aggression in the Manchurian crisis.  It also took away the ability and motivation of nations to work together to preserve the peace.  The League and its founding principle of collective security was exposed as a hollow idea unable to guarantee a peaceful future.

 The powers that had pledged to uphold collective security were now even less likely to stand behind it and had no desire to do so.  The Depression seriously weakened GB and France who had tried to defend Versailles and the precepts of the League.  Their weakness was exposed by the Manchurian crisis which encouraged Mussolini to attack Abyssinia which gave Hitler an ally in his desire for conquest.

 A wide range of issues caused the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.  Japan had become the largest industrial power in Asia.  This growth and development was based on the success of her exports to the rest of the world.

 Japan has few natural resources and because of her growth population could not feed herself.  She depended on the export of goods, primarily to the US, to maintain her prosperity.  The collapse of the US markets created enormous hardship in Japan with massive unemployment and starvation in rural areas.

 The disastrous economy led to a decline in the popularity of the liberal democrat government.  It led to demands of action by radical nationalist groups often made up of army officers.  They demanded the govt take action to protect the population from the failure of the liberal capitalist economic system.

 The specific objective was to take over the Chinese province of Manchuria.  Manchuria held a vast wealth of natural resources of all kinds.

 The decision to invade was made easy because Japan had made economic investments in the region since the Russo-Japanese War.  It had also kept troops in Port Arthur to protect her interests.

 As a result of the civil war in China, Manchuria had become its own autonomous province under a warlord.  Japan had been looking to expand into China and had increased her presence there under the T of V.  It had also increased its territory in concessions forced from a weak Chinese govt during WW1.

 It made sense to invade Manchuria and posed very little risk.  Manchuria is very close to Japan and its colony Korea. (Japanese since 1910)  China was involved in civil war and offered no resistance.

 Since the Washington Conference of 1922, Japan had military supremacy in E Asia.  None of the Great Powers had forces or bases in the region to oppose her.  The Depression had caused cuts in armaments spending in the West and the UK, France and the US were in no position to intervene.

 Japan invaded Manchuria claiming that her property and citizens had been attacked by Chinese troops.  This was completely fabricated by the radical nationalists to force the civilian govt to support military action.  The Chinese were defeated and in 1932, Japan created the puppet state of Manchukuo.

 The invasion was a clear challenge to the principle of collective security and the League.  China was a member and asked for help against Japan.  The league sent officials to study the problem (this took a year.)  In Feb 1933 it ordered Japan to leave Manchuria.  Japan refused and instead left the league.

 The Japanese withdrawal did not lead to the end of the L of N.  Japan and Manchuria were not important concerns of European powers.  No vital European interest had been at stake in Manchuria.  It did not threaten Europe.

 The USA and the UK were not able to co- operate on a policy with respect to Manchuria.  Neither country wanted to take the lead.  This made it even less likely that any effective response could be mounted against the Japanese violation of the Covenant.

 The UK and the USA had entered into a policy of appeasement. (Pg 69)  They hoped this would accommodate the demands of the revisionist powers.  In the hopes they would become less aggressive and not create conditions for another world conflict.