How successful was the League in the 1920’s?

Successes Aaland Islands, 1921 Upper Silesia, 1921 Economic collapse in Austria & Hungary, Greek-Bulgarian dispute, 1925 Failures Vilna, 1920 Corfu, 1923

The Successes

Aaland Islands, 1921 Austria and Hungary were on the brink of bankruptcy due to reparations and weak economies after the war The league arranged international loans and helped them manage their finances They were able to begin economic recovery Dispute over possession of the Aaland Islands between Sweden and Finland Took it to the league, and they decided Finland should have the islands Both countries accepted the league’s decision Economic Collapse, Austria & Hungary,

Upper Silesia, 1921 A plebiscite area with large numbers of Germans and Poles living in it Voted to rejoin Germany by 700,000 to 420,000 League split it: –Germany got most of the land & population –Poland got most of the industry –Germany bitter about this, but both countries accepted the decision (messy compromise) The Greek-Bulgarian Dispute 1925 Greek-Bulgarian border the source of dispute After some violent incidents, Greece invaded Bulgaria League condemned Greece’s actions and pressurised them to withdraw They did so

The Failures

Vilna, 1920 Vilna was part of the state of Lithuania, but had a mainly Polish population. Both countries wanted it. Was occupied by Poland during the Russo-Polish war, and troops later refused to leave. The league was reluctant to get involved as it would require armed forces, and Poland was seen as a useful ally against Germany and the Soviet Union In the end, the League confirmed Poland’s occupation of Vilna Showed League as weak and basically useless

Corfu, 1923 Italian surveyors working on the Greek side of the Greek-Albanian border were shot Mussolini demanded compensation When it didn’t come, he bombarded and occupied Corfu League wanted to condemn Italy, but major powers wouldn’t allow it Instead they pressurised Greece to accept Italy’s terms Only when they did, did Mussolini withdraw Showed League’s weakness in the face of a strong member state