1. The League of Nations

2. This complicated structure of the League made decisions slow and therefore the League was often ineffective in dealing with crises

3. The League in the 1920s
Success?

4. The Successes

5. Disputes
1920: Yugoslavia invades Albania. League intervenes and draws up new borders forcing the Yugoslavs to withdraw
1921: Upper Silesia – Germany and Poland both lay claim to this area rich in natural resources. After much violence the case was referred to the League who decided to divide it fairly between the 2 countries.
1925: Greek invasion of Bulgaria: Greek soldiers crossed into Bulgaria so the Bulgarians appealed to the League. The League ordered Greece to withdraw and pay compensation, which they did.

6. Important agreements
Locarno Pact 1925: Germany agreed to accept its borders and the pact settled some disputes between the bitter Germans and the Allies. All agreed to respect borders and to avoid war with each other at all costs. Germany was then accepted into the League.
Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928: 45 countries all agreed not to go to war as a way of settling disputes.

7. Peace and disarmament
1926: Germany is allowed to join the League of Nations and make decisions with the victorious powers.
The League facilitated much of the treaties and conferences during the 1920s which helped encourage co-operation and peace.

8. Other successes…
The League’s Commission for Refugees helped refugees turned out by war return to their homes.
The Health Committee did a lot to help reduce diseases across the world.
The International Labour Organisation helped stop slave labour and the use of dangerous chemicals in workplaces (such as using lead in paints). It also helped stop child labour, improve women’s rights in the workplace and encourage many countries to adopt the 8-hour working day and the 48-hour week. The ILO survived after the League was suspended after WW2.

9. The Failures

10. Vilna, 1921 A dispute between Poland and Lithuania.
Poland wanted to control the disputed town of Vilna and so invaded it in Lithuania insisted it was theirs.
The League tried to persuade Poland to pull out, they refused.
Eventually the Big 4 met at the Conference of Ambassadors and gave it to Poland anyway.

11. Russian-Polish War
The League failed to prevent the outbreak of war between Poland and the communist-controlled Russia.
After it broke out, the League’s two key members, Britain and France did not remain neutral and backed Poland against the communist Russia.

12. Disarmament
The League had some successes in disarmament talks but ultimately failed when Britain refused to support a disarmament treaty in 1923.

13. Memel, 1923
The League had kept the port town of Memel as a League Mandate under international control since 1918 but Lithuania wanted it for their new country. Lithuania seized it and the League had no choice but to agree on the condition that the port itself was kept as an international port.
Lithuania kept the land around the port.

14. The Ruhr Valley Crisis, 1923
In 1923, Germany stopped paying its war reparations as it could no longer afford them. France and Belgium were very angry and so invaded the industrial Ruhr Valley and took the resources for themselves to pay the reparations. This angered the Germans and caused a lot of tension in Europe. The League was powerless to do anything as France was one if its leading members. It also caused friction with Britain and America. Eventually the British forced the French and Belgians to pull out, however damage had been done.

15. Corfu, 1923
In 1923, a success turned into a disaster for the League. As the League settled a dispute in Albania, an Italian boundary official working on behalf of the League was killed by an unknown gunman. Mussolini blamed the Greeks and demanded compensation from them. When Greece refused, Italian troops invaded the Greek island of Corfu. The League failed to mediate the dispute and the Allied Powers stepped in separately, forcing a humiliated Greece to pay the compensation.

16. Important questions to consider…
Were the 1920s a period of success or failure for the League?
What impact would the 1920s have on the reputation of the League?
Who or what was to blame for the League’s failures?

17. The League in the 1930s
Failure?

18. Some success… The League did have some successes in the 1930s.
In 1932 they settled a border dispute between Colombia and Peru.
In 1934 the Soviet Union finally joined the League.
The League’s organisations continued to have their own successes.
HOWEVER….in 1929 the US Stock Exchange crashed (known as the Wall Street Crash) caused an economic crisis and leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Now many countries began to look inward rather than to co-operating with others.

19. Some success… The League did have some successes in the 1930s.
In 1932 they settled a border dispute between Colombia and Peru.
In 1934 the Soviet Union finally joined the League.
The League’s organisations continued to have their own successes.
HOWEVER….in 1929 the US Stock Exchange crashed (known as the Wall Street Crash) caused an economic crisis and leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Now many countries began to look inward rather than to co-operating with others.
The Great Depression also encouraged many people to support extremist leaders to solve their problems, mostly in the powerful countries of Germany (Hitler), Italy (Mussolini) and Japan (the Military).

20. Manchuria 1931 (aka the Mukden Incident)
In 1931, the Japanese were expanding their empire into China. China was a weak country and bitterly divided. In September they seized control of Manchuria (a province of China) after claiming that the Southern Manchurian Railway (used and operated by Japan) had been sabotaged by Chinese soldiers.
The Chinese Government appealed to the League for help. The League were slow to respond but eventually sent officials to China and then published the important Lytton Report declaring Japan to have invaded illegally and ordered a withdrawal. Japan refused and legalised their control of Manchuria, renaming it Manchukuo and placing the ousted Emperor of China as puppet ruler.
The League were powerless to do anything against a major power such as Japan. Economic sanctions without US support would be useless and none of the major League powers were prepared to send troops as far as China. Japan resigned from the League and marched on into China. The League had failed to help the Chinese.

21. Abyssinia 1935
In 1935, Italy under their right-wing fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, invaded the independent African country of Abyssinia. Italy had wanted to expand its empire and recreate the Roman Empire of ancient times. The other major European powers had territory in Africa and Italy wanted the same.
The Emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie, was powerless to stop the mighty Italian Army and appealed to the League for help.
Officially the League condemned Italy for the invasion. However by 1935 Hitler had taken power in Germany and Britain and France were concerned about the land he was taking in Europe. They saw Mussolini as a potential ally against Hitler. As such they tried to appease Mussolini and signed a secret deal with him through the Hoare-Laval Pact giving 2/3 of Abyssinia to Italy. They also did not close the important Suez Canal allowing Italy to continue trading.
Italy, however, ignored Britain and France and took control of all of Abyssinia and then left the League in The USA and Germany continued trading with Italy and so any economic sanctions against Italy were worthless.