Lesson AimLesson Aim

To find out what the successes and failures of the League of Nations were

Success 1: Solving Small Disputes Success 1: Solving Small Disputes Between CountriesBetween Countries

Aaland 1921 - both Finland and Sweden claimed these islands as their own

These islands were traditionally part of Finland but most islanders wanted to be with Sweden

The League of Nations stepped in and awarded the islands to Finland which both countries agreed to

Silesia (1921)Silesia (1921)

Both Germany and Poland claimed this area and a referendum in 1921 was very close but was won by the German side

The Poles were unhappy and went to the League

The League divided Silesia between Germany and Poland which was accepted by both

Bulgaria 1925Bulgaria 1925

Greece invaded Bulgaria in 1925 over a border dispute

Bulgaria appealed to the League and Greece was forced to withdraw

Success 2: Humanitarian WorkSuccess 2: Humanitarian WorkAfter a war in Turkey in 1922

there were 1.4 million refugees The League sent doctors

through the Health Organisation to stop the spread of disease

More than £10 million was spent on rebuilding the country

Work and homes were found for 600,000 people

Humanitarian Work (cont)Humanitarian Work (cont)The League took home half a million First

World War prisoners of war (1920)The League approved the Slavery

convention; altogether, the League freed 200,000 slaves. (1926)

The League worked to prevent malaria and leprosy.

Success (Partial) 3: Success (Partial) 3: Kellogg-Briand Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 Pact 1928

The League was committed to ending wars and disarming countries

In 1928, 23 countries signed an agreement to no longer go to war. The agreement was supported by a further 65 countries

The agreement wasn’t a long term success as countries ignored it later

Failure 1: Major Countries not Failure 1: Major Countries not Members Members

Even though the League was President Wilson’s idea, the USA never joined the League

The President lost control of congress of Congress and it voted not to join

This was a return to the US policy of ISOLATIONISM from before WW1

Other countries not includedOther countries not includedGermany was excluded from the League until 1926

due to bad feeling over WW1 and left in 1933 when Hitler came to power

The USSR (Russia) was excluded until 1934 as it was a Communist country

Membership of the LeagueMembership of the League

Failure 2: Lack of Military PowerFailure 2: Lack of Military PowerThe League had no standing

army which meant it had no way of enforcing its decisions militarily

On many occasions countries simply ignored the League and did what they wanted including important members such as France

Lack of PowerLack of PowerSanctions were the main method that

the League could use to force countries to obey its decisions. Economic sanctions meant not trading with other countries.

However, the League had no means of organising an army of its own, so if a country ignored the league’s decisions then very little could actually be done.

Vilna 1921 Vilna 1921 Poland invaded the

Lithuanian city Vilna (Vilnius today) in 1921 as most of the population was Polish

Lithuania asked the League for help but Poland ignored the League and kept the city under World War 2

Invasion of Corfu 1923 Invasion of Corfu 1923 Italy invaded the Greek

island of Corfu in 1923 as part of a border dispute over Albania

The League was shown to be weak in this crisis and went along with Italy’s demands that they be paid money by the Greeks to withdraw

Invasion of the Ruhr 1923Invasion of the Ruhr 1923German fell behind in its war

repayments in 1922France demanded they pay

up and used this as an excuse to invade the resource-rich region of Germany called the Ruhr and claim it for France

The League could do nothing and it confirmed that the League was dominated by France and the UK

Invasion of Manchuria 1931 Invasion of Manchuria 1931 Another League member, Japan,

invaded the Chinese region of Manchuria in 1931

The League tried to get Japan to withdraw but it refused and the League couldn’t agree on sanctions / actions to stop Japan

Japan ended up leaving the League in 1933 as did many other countries throughout the 1920s and 1930s

Failure 3: Structural WeaknessesFailure 3: Structural Weaknesses

Many of the big nations never joined or left early so it was dominated by France and Britain

Votes for action had to be UNANIMOUS among nine council members which was difficult to achieve and often paralysed decision making

The Covenant and DisarmamentThe Covenant and DisarmamentThe Covenant consisted of the rules which

members had to agree to obey when they joined. The rules included accepting the League's decisions and not using force to solve disputes.

However many countries ignore this and the League couldn’t agree what to do

The League set to disarm countries but they also ignored this despite agreements being signed to disarm.

Make the following table in your Make the following table in your jotterjotter

Successes

FailuresSuccesses Failures

Work with a partner to think Work with a partner to think of three ways you could have of three ways you could have improved the Leagueimproved the League