Lesson 2 - The League of Nations
A good place to begin is to read through this official, illustrated history of the League of Nations provided by the United Nations website.
A good place to begin is to read through this official, illustrated history of the League of Nations provided by the United Nations website.
Links: John D Clare on the weaknesses of the League and BBC Bitesize
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Activity 1 - Watch the video 'International Relations, Weaknesses in the foundation and structure of the League of Nations'. Textbook 234-5. What were the main structural weaknesses of the League of Nations?
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1. Absence of key powers. The USA never joined the League, even though President Wilson had been its main architect. Without America, the League lacked economic and military strength. Germany was excluded at first, and the USSR did not join until 1934. This meant the League looked like a club for the victors of 1919. 2. Decisions had to be unanimous. In the Assembly and Council, every decision required the agreement of all members. This made quick, decisive action almost impossible. Even when most countries agreed, one member could block action. 3. No armed forces of its own. The League had no army to enforce its decisions. It relied on member states, especially Britain and France, to provide troops or impose sanctions. In practice, both countries were often reluctant to act, especially if their own interests were not directly involved. 4. Complex organisation The League had a Council, an Assembly, and a range of agencies and commissions. While these bodies sometimes did good work (on health or refugees), the structure made decision-making slow and confusing in times of crisis. 5. Dominance of Britain and France With the USA absent, Britain and France were the leading members. But both were weakened by the war and the Depression, and both often put their national interests first. The League’s authority depended on two powers that were often unwilling to lead.
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Activity 2 - Watch the video International Relations, The League of Nations in the 1920s'.
The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was meant to keep Germany weak and prevent another war. Yet in the 1920s and 1930s, the actions of Britain and France often weakened the treaty instead of enforcing it. |
1. Britain’s sympathy for Germany. Many British politicians believed Versailles had been too harsh. When Hitler began to break the treaty in the 1930s, Britain often tolerated it. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935) is the clearest example: Britain allowed Germany to build a navy up to 35% the size of its own, directly violating Versailles. This deal was made without consulting France, and it showed Germany that Britain was willing to compromise on the treaty. 2. France’s inconsistency. France wanted to keep Germany down but was often too weak or divided to act. In 1923, France invaded the Ruhr to enforce reparations, but this only created hostility and economic chaos. Later, in the 1930s, French governments hesitated to confront Hitler over rearmament or the Rhineland unless Britain would help. This failure to enforce the treaty encouraged Hitler to take further risks.
The League of Nations under pressure - Manchuria and Abyssinia
The League of Nations faced its most serious tests in the 1930s when Japan invaded Manchuria (1931) and Italy invaded Abyssinia (1935). In both cases, the League failed to take decisive action. These failures revealed its structural weaknesses, the lack of commitment from Britain and France, and the impact of the Great Depression.
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Manchuria, 1931–33 - In September 1931, Japan staged the Mukden Incident — an explosion on the South Manchurian Railway, which it blamed on Chinese bandits. Using this as a pretext, Japanese troops occupied Manchuria and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo under the former Chinese emperor, Puyi. China appealed to the League for help. The League condemned Japan’s actions but moved very slowly. It sent a commission under Lord Lytton, but this took almost a year to report. By the time the Lytton Report (1932) declared Japan’s invasion unjustified, the Japanese army was firmly in control. When the League voted to accept the report, Japan simply walked out (March 1933).
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The League’s weakness was obvious: it had no army of its own, and Britain and France were unwilling to send troops or impose tough sanctions. Both were distracted by the Depression and valued trade with Japan. Britain in particular had strong commercial interests in Asia and feared that taking action might provoke conflict in the Far East. The United States, which was not in the League, also refused to join any sanctions.
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Abyssinia, 1935–36 - Italy was a founding member of the League, but Mussolini dreamed of building a new Roman Empire. In October 1935, Italian forces invaded Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia), one of the few independent African states. The Abyssinian Emperor, Haile Selassie, appealed directly to the League. This time the League did impose sanctions, but they were limited and ineffective. Bans were placed on arms sales, loans, and some imports, but crucial materials such as oil, coal, and steel were excluded. Britain and France feared that cutting off oil might push Mussolini into an alliance with Hitler. They also kept the Suez Canal open, which allowed Italy to transport troops and supplies to East Africa.
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The real scandal was the Hoare–Laval Pact (December 1935), a secret deal between the British and French foreign ministers to give Mussolini two-thirds of Abyssinia in exchange for peace. When this became public, it caused outrage, but it showed that Britain and France were more concerned with keeping Mussolini as an ally against Hitler than with defending the League’s principles. In May 1936, Italian forces captured Addis Ababa, and Abyssinia was fully conquered.
Why the League Failed. The failures in Manchuria and Abyssinia came down to the same reasons:
- The League had no army and relied on its members to enforce decisions.
- Britain and France were unwilling to risk war or damage their own economic interests.
- The Great Depression made countries more concerned with domestic recovery than with collective security.
- The USA, outside the League, refused to support sanctions.
- Appeasement and fear of confrontation encouraged compromise rather than firm action.
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IB students should also see Kognity on Manchurian and Abyssinia Crisis.
Activity 3 - Watch the two films above about the Manchurian and Abyssinian crises and consider the diagrams. Write 300 words explaining why the League of Nations gradually lost influence in the 1930s. IB students will return to both these important events later, but the more effort and thought you put into this now the better.
Extension and IB 'Road to Global War'.
One of the less well known consequences of the First World War was the creation of the world's first international schools. Built in order to educate the children of the diplomats who worked at the LoN, the International School of Geneva was established in 1924. Their history teacher Paul Dupuy, pioneered a history and geography course that emphasised global interconnectedness and critical thinking. He wrote:
"We want to exclude all verbalism and mere memory exercise, we want to increase students' contacts with what is real, concrete and directly observable, and through these contacts stimulate their personal activity, accustom them to observation, comparison and generalisation, and through the Socratic method, develop in them the mental faculties which serve to discover and understand”.
It was this philosophy that would ultimately lead to the International Baccalaureate and an approach to history teaching that you have been experiencing over the last two years. More...
"We want to exclude all verbalism and mere memory exercise, we want to increase students' contacts with what is real, concrete and directly observable, and through these contacts stimulate their personal activity, accustom them to observation, comparison and generalisation, and through the Socratic method, develop in them the mental faculties which serve to discover and understand”.
It was this philosophy that would ultimately lead to the International Baccalaureate and an approach to history teaching that you have been experiencing over the last two years. More...
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Activity - Watch the film from the People's Century series. Explain, with examples, how the dominant mood of Europe in the interwar years was one of pacifism and a desire for disarmament. Why in the 1930s did the rise of Hitler and Mussolini present serious problems for the League of Nations? Churchill is shown in the film warning that war was coming. Why did so many people continue to believe war could be avoided? |
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The Rise and Fall of the League of Nations Looks at the rise of the League of Nations after World War 1 and how the absence of Russia and USA as members and the League's failure to take decisive action over the Japanese invasion of Manchuria led to its eventual failure as a force for world peace. This film was first broadcast by ITV: 13 March 1991 |