1. Collective Security. TAKE ONE.
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Collective Security. TAKE ONE.
Smith/MBSS

2. THIS sounds like a GREAT ORGANIZATION!
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
The aims were to:
preserve international peace
quickly settle disputes
promote Disarmament
Deal with aggressors
Operated through a council which
met several times a year, and had
an annual assembly.
Based on the principal of Collective Security.
World is interdependent and national self interest must give way to common interests of all nations.
Security for individual nations would be achieved through group solidarity.
THIS sounds like a GREAT ORGANIZATION!

3. LEAGUE OF NATIONS The Failure of the League
The League required unanimous decisions on matters
The League didn’t meet often enough, and as a result it took too long to make decisions
Economic sanctions were ineffective (not all nations were members).
Important nations absent:
USA never joined
The USSR joined in 1934, but was expelled in 1939
Germany joined in 1926, but left in 1933
Japan left in 1933
Italy left in 1937
No army or enforcement mechanism.
The League was bound to uphold the terms of the Treaty, which was increasingly seen as unfair.

4. LEAGUE OF NATIONS Crisis of Will
The post-war idealism soon evaporated.
Extreme politics led to aggressive individuals gaining power.
When push came to shove, Britain and France were not committed to collective security. (Hoare-Laval Pact)
League seemed powerless and reluctant to act.
Events unfolded that proved the failure of the League:
Manchurian Incident
Invasion of Abyssinia
German violation of Versailles
Spanish Civil War

5. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 1st MAJOR FAILURE: MUKDEN (Manchurian) INCIDENT
Japan was looking to secure its interests in Manchuria.
Sept. 18, a section of Japanese railroad in Southern Manchuria (near Mukden) was suspiciously dynamited (~Japan was behind it).
Japan used the event as a pretext to invade Manchuria.
Sept. 19, China protested to the LoN; Oct. 24, the LoN passed a resolution calling for Japan’s withdrawal.
Japan rejected the LON resolution.
The LON decided to establish a commission to determine the facts; it was headed by the UK’s Earl Lytton.

6. LEAGUE OF NATIONS
1st MAJOR FAILURE: MUKDEN (Manchurian) INCIDENT (continued)
The Lytton Report was not published until Oct. 1932!
By that time, Japan had solidified its position, established a puppet state, (Manchukuo), and had installed the last emperor of China, Puyi, as Emperor.
The Lytton Report found that Japan was the aggressor.
In Feb of 1933, the LON condemned Japan and refused to recognize Manchukuo as an independent nation.
Japan again refused to accept the League’s position.
In March 1933, Japan left the League in protest.
This is a major failure of will, action, and membership!

7. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 2nd MAJOR FAILURE: Abyssinia
October 1935, Italy, led by Fascist dictator Mussolini, invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
Italy waged a brutal war; using chemical weapons and bombing medical facilities.
In Nov. 1935, the LoN condemned Italy, and imposed economic sanctions.
The sanctions did not work because they did not include oil, and they didn’t close the Suez Canal to the Italians.

8. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 2nd MAJOR FAILURE: Abysinnia (continued)
To make matters worse, Britain and France signed a pact (1935 Hoare-Laval Pact to surrender 2/3 of Abyssinia to Italy, in an attempt to end the conflict).
Most European countries were interested in appeasing Mussolini, to avoid driving him into an alliance with Hitler.
The Hoare-Laval Pact was dropped when it was made public, but Mussolini succeeded in capturing Addis-Ababa in May1936.
The League failed to act decisively, and its leading members worked together against its own principles.

9. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 3rd MAJOR FAILURE: German Violation of Versailles
Hitler was to challenge the Treaty of Versailles. In 1935, during the Depression, the British opted for good relations and avoiding conflict. This was “APPEASEMENT” France was investing in a defensive position behind the fortified Maginot Line.
1935: Hitler announced he was rearming Germany.
2,500 planes in the Luftwaffe, 300,000 men in its Wehrmacht, and due to conscription, the army would increase to 550,000 men.
1935: Anglo-German Naval Agreement
Germany’s navy to be 1/3 Britain’s, with equal submarines.
1936: Rearmed the Rhineland

10. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 3rd MAJOR FAILURE: German Violation of Versailles
1938: Union with Austria (Anschluss)
1938: Occupy Sudetenland
At the Munich Conference, Hitler promised it was his last demand; Britain & France gave in. British PM Chamberlain returned to London, claiming that he had secured “Peace for our time”.

11. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 4th MAJOR FAILURE: The Spanish Civil War
In July 1936, a group of nationalist generals attempted a coup d’etat against the government of the Spanish Republic.
The sides were supported by various groups
Nationalists: Monarchists, Fascists, Catholics
Republicans: Marxists, Liberals, Anarchists
This was seen as a war between Communists & Fascists.
The LoN established a Non-Intervention Committee, which tried to prevent the conflict from growing into a proxy war (USSR vs Germany)
Despite being officially neutral, Britain prefered a nationalist victory, fearing the spread of Communism.

12. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 4th MAJOR FAILURE: The Spanish Civil War
They allowed Italy and Germany to supply the Nationalists with money, arms and troops.
Officially neutral nations did not participate, but many left-leaning Republican supporters travelled to Spain to fight on their side. (International Brigades)
The Fascists were successful due in part to the ineffectiveness of the LoN and the direct/ indirect support of neutral nations, and largely due to military support from non-LON nations.
The LoN was not effective at all.

14. LEAGUE OF NATIONS CONCLUSIONS: Condemnation of the LON
FAILURE IN: Manchurian Crisis, Abyssinia, German Re- armament, the Spanish Civil War
Members didn’t respect the rules. When challenged they simply left. (Japan, Germany & Italy)
No strong leadership
Slow process to make decisions
All main members were guilty of secret alliances
Aggressive individuals/powers weren’t dealt with effectively (lack of sanctions or ineffective sanctions)

15. LEAGUE OF NATIONS CONCLUSIONS: In Defence of the LON
Britain and France were not strong enough themselves to offer leadership or enforcement.
Economic crisis, combined with the emergence of fascism and communism altered the political climate
No organisation could have stopped aggressive individuals such as Hitler and Mussolini.
The League was put in a position of defending a peace settlement that was unfair.
***Watch 20th Century History: Appeasement
***Work on LON Political Cartoons