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  • Created by: sana.aaa
  • Created on: 30-12-17 14:34

Vilna Dispute-1920

  • Vilna belongs to Lithuania, it is taken over by Poles- polish people.
  • LON tells them off, but Poland don't listen.
  • Nothing is done about it, and it is a failure.
  • The Poles were supported by Britain and France. The league ultimately couldnt do anything.
  • It was a huge failure for the League because it showed the world just have weak they were,  it just reinforced the idea that the League ultimately had no control.
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Aaland Islands Disputes- 1921

  • These islands are near enough equal distant between Finland and Sweden. They had traditionally belonged to Finland but most of the islanders wanted to be governed by Sweden. Neither Sweden nor Finland could come to a decision as to who owned the islands and in 1921 they asked the League to adjudicate. The League’s decision was that they should remain with Finland but that no weapons should ever be kept there. Both countries accepted the decision and it remains in force to this day.
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Upper Silesia- 1921

  • The Treaty of Versailles had given the people of Upper Silesia the right to have a referendum on whether they wanted to be part of Germany or part of Poland. In this referendum, 700,000 voted for Germany and 500,000 for Poland. This close result resulted in rioting between those who expected Silesia to be made part of Germany and those who wanted to be part of Poland. The League was asked to settle this dispute. After a six-week inquiry, the League decided to split Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland. The League’s decision was accepted by both countries and by the people in Upper Silesia.
  • This was a success because both of the countries agreed and dispute was avoided
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Corfu Dispute- 1923

  • One of the borders to be sorted out after the war was the boundary between Greece and Albania. The Conference of Ambassadors were given the job and an Italian general was to supervise it. However, in August the Italian general was ambushed and killed on the Greek side of the border. Mussolini - the Italian leader was furious and blamed Greece for the murder - he demanded that they pay compensation to Italy and kill the murderers
  • However, the Greeks didn't know who killed the general, so Mussolini bombarded and occupied the Greek island of Corfu and 15 people were killed. Greece appealed to the League and they acted swiftly by condemning Mussolini's actions and suggesting that Greece pay compensation for the death of the Italian general if the killers were found
  • Officially Mussolini accepted the decision but went behind there back to get the Conference of Ambassadors to overrule the League's decision
  • The Greeks had to apologise and pay compensation to Italy and Mussolini withdrew from Corfu boasting of his success
  • Violence had been avoided but Italy had gone behind there back and changed the League's decision to the League was not as powerful as they seemed
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Locarno Treaty- 1925

  • In October 1925 representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia meet in Locarno, Switzerland
  • After many days of negotiation they came to some important agreements:
    • Germany accepted the borders with France and Belgium that were decided in the Treaty of Versailles and Britain and Italy said they would protect France if Germany violated these borders
    • Germany accepted that the Rhineland would remain a demilitarised zone
    • France and Germany agreed to settle any disputes through the League
  • The agreements were greeted with enthusiasm especially in France as the agreements seemed to resolve the problems left by WW1
  • France felt it was at last secure of its borders and Germany had shown more goodwill to France than ever before
  • The agreements paved the way for Germany to join the League of Nations and in 1926 they did join
  • This meant that the only major European power  that was not in the League was the USSR
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Who wanted the Locarno Treated? Why?

  • Britain felt that Germany had been harshly punished.
  • France wanted a guarantee of safety/ security for future attacks.
  • Germany wanted pride again, even though it meant that they would have to accept blame for starting the first world war- it also meant that he would be allowed into the League.
  • Germany wanted to stop some of the treaties but had to be peaceful.
  • Britain wanted Germany and France to be allies again, he wanted there to be peace between them.
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Kellogg-Briand Pact- 1928

  • After World War One, many Americans were determined that the United States should not become involved in another war.
  • The Kellogg-Briand Pact, also known as the Pact of Paris, was a treaty that attempted to outlaw war. The treaty was drafted by France and the United States, and on August 27, 1928, was signed by fifteen nations.
  • Kellogg-Briand contained no sanctions against countries that might breach its provisions. Instead, the treaty was based on the hope that diplomacy and the weight of world opinion would be powerful enough to prevent nations from resorting to the use of force. This soon proved to be a false hope; though Germany, Italy, and Japan were all signatories, the treaty did not prevent them from committing aggressions that led to world war ii.
  • France and the USA wanted it, and it was a way to prevent war.
  • The primary problem was that the treaty provided for no means of enforcement or sanctions against parties who violated its provisions. In addition, it did not address the issues of what constituted self-defense and when self-defense could lawfully be claimed. Because of these large loopholes, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was ultimately an ineffective method for achieving the ambitious and idealistic goal of outlawing war.
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Manchurian Crisis- 1931

  • The American Great Depression in 1929 had a devasting impact on Japan. Japan could not feed its population, most of their food had to be imported. To pay for the rice, they had to import silk. Silk prices collapsed. Millions went hungry. Japan turned to a drastic solution.
  • In 1931, they blew up a section of the Manchurian railway, in which they owned it commercially. In September 1931, the Japanese claimed that Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the Manchurian railway in Korea, which Japan controlled. Japan attacked and by February 1932, had brutally conquered Manchuria.
  • Meanwhile, in January-March 1932, Japan attacked and captured the city of Shanghai in China itself. In March 1932, China appealed to the League of Nations.
  • In April 1932, a League investigator, Lord Lytton, arrived in Manchuria to see what was happening, and in October 1932 it declared that Japan should leave. In February 1933, a special assembly of the League voted against Japan, so the Japanese left the League.
  • The League, however, could not agree on sanctions, and Britain and France were not prepared to send an army. Not only did the Japanese stay in Manchuria, but in July 1937 they also invaded China.
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Abyssinian Crisis- 1935

  • In December 1934, a dispute about the border between Abyssinia and the Italian Somaliland flared into fighting.In January 1935, Haile Selassie, the emperor of Abyssinia, asked the League to arbitrate. In July 1935, the League banned arms sales to either side and in September 1935, it appointed a five-power committee to arbitrate.
  • In October 1935, the League's committee suggested that Italy should have some land in Abyssinia. Instead, Italy's 100,000-strong army invaded Abyssinia. The Italian troops used poison gas and attacked Red Cross hospitals.

  • Britain and France refused to intervene. In December 1935, news leaked out about the Hoare-Laval Pact - a secret plan made by the foreign secretary of Britain and the prime minister of France to give Abyssinia to Italy. In the end, the League did almost nothing. By May 1936, Italy had conquered Abyssinia.

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The Effects of The Crises.

  • It became clear that if a strong nation was prepared to ignore the League, the League could do nothing about it.
  • The League's delays and slowness made it look scared.
  • Sanctions were shown to be useless.
  • Everybody realised that Britain and France were not prepared to use force.
  • The four major powers - Japan, Italy, Britain, and France - all betrayed the League.
  • Smaller nations realised that the League could not and would not protect them.
  • Britain and France decided that the League was useless to stop the war, and followed instead the policy of appeasement.
  • Hitler was encouraged to move ahead with his plans.
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Dates and Events: 1932- 1939

  • 1932-1933: Japan attacks and conquers Manchuria. The League objects, but can do nothing
  • 1933: Hitler announces that Germany is leaving the League.
  • 1935-1936: Italy attacks and conquers Abyssinia. The League objects, but can do nothing.
  • 1935: Hilter renounces the Treaty of Versailles, and starts re-arming in defiance of the League.
  • 1936: The League's Disarmament Conference fails.
  • 1936: German army re-occupies the Rhineland in defiance of the League.
  • 1937: Italy leaves the League.
  • 1938: Germany informs the League that Germany and Austria are uniting, in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles.
  • 1938: Munich Agreement- Britain and France, ignoring the League, follow the policy of appeasement and give Hitler the Sudetenland.
  • 1939: The fascists win the Spanish Civil War and Spain leaves the League
  • 1939: Second World War.
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