1. The Abyssinian Crisis 1935-36 The Manchurian Crisis 1931-33
The Great Depression
Conflict and Tension
Part 2b:
The League of Nations
in the 1930s
Businesses and banks collapsed, less trade, unemployment and poverty
Oct 1929 – The Wall Street Crash
In some countries, people voted for extremist and Fascist leaders e.g. Hitler in Germany
Many people blamed their governments
The Abyssinian Crisis
The Manchurian Crisis
Causes
Mussolini wanted to expand the Italian empire.
Revenge for the Battle of Adowa in 1896 (where Abyssinia defeated Italy).
Gain raw materials and farmland.
To distract public’s attention from suffering caused by the Great Depression.
Events
Dec 1934 – Italian soldiers clashed with Abyssinians at Wal Wal.
Oct 1935 – Italy invaded Abyssinia, using bombs and chemical weapons.
May 1936 – Italian troops took the Abyssinian capital, Addis Ababa.
Consequences
Showed that the League would give in to powerful countries e.g. the Hoare-Laval Pact and Britain not shutting the Suez Canal
Showed that economic sanctions were ineffective without the USA,
Showed Britain and France were concerned about their own economic problems.
Encouraged Hitler that he would get away with remilitarising the Rhineland, which he did in March 1936.
Causes
The Great Depression caused the Japanese silk trade to collapse.
Japan’s growing population and a lack of space.
Farmland and raw materials in Manchuria.
The Japanese army controlled the country and wanted to expand Japan’s empire.
Events
1931 – Explosion at Mukden on the South Manchurian railway
– The Japanese army invaded Manchuria
1932 – The Japanese set up a puppet government
Consequences
Showed the League was slow to act. The Lytton report investigating the incident was not published until a year after the invasion.
Showed that the League could not stop a powerful, aggressive country.
Encouraged Mussolini that he could get away with acts of aggression.
Showed that economic sanctions would not work as the USA was not a League member.
Showed that Britain and France were more concerned with their own economic problems.