How far did the League of Nations succeed in the 1920s?
Slide 2
BORDER DISPUTES
Slide 3
1.Vilnius, 1920 Poland took control of Vilnius (capital of
Lithuania) Lithuania appealed to League League told Poland to leave
Vilnius Poland did not leave Br and Fr did not want to intervene 2.
Aaland Islands, 1921 Sweden & Finland: territorial dispute over
Aaland Islands Threatened to go to war League intervened: decided
that islands belong to Finland Sweden accepted ruling 3. Upper
Silesia, 1921 Area between Ger & Poland Dispute over who it
belonged to Plebiscite (vote) overseen by League Area divided
between the two countries
Slide 4
Homework Read the information under Corfu, 1923 on pg 33 Select
the points which you think are relevant/ that you need to know in
order to answer an exam question Write down those points in your
books.
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Corfu, 1923 Post-war boundary bet Greece & Albania needed
to be defined Leagues Conference of Ambassadors = responsible - An
informal meeting of the important members of the League (often made
decisions) Tellini = Italian supervisor of the team - Ambushed and
killed on Greek side of the border
Slide 8
Mussolini (Italian dictator) ordered Greece to pay compensation
to Italy and execute the murderers Italy bombed and occupied Corfu
Greece appealed to the League SERIOUS situation (risk of an all out
war) League condemned Mussolini Greece to pay compensation money to
be looked after by League until (if, when) Tellinis killers were
found
Slide 9
Slide 10
Mussolini refused to accept decision France and Brit had
different opinions -Br prepared to intervene to force Mussolini out
of Corfu -Fr backed the Italians Br not prepared to act alone
Councils ruling was changed Greece had to apologise & pay
compensation to Italy Caused anger within the League Showed
weakness of great powers
Slide 11
INDIVIDUAL Source Analysis activity p. 33
Slide 12
Geneva Protocol Corfu (and Ruhr in 1923) leading member of
League could ignore the Covenant = shows how weak the League was Br
& Fr = drew up Geneva Protocol 1924 If two members of League
were having a dispute they HAD to go to the League to settle the
dispute and they HAD to accept the Councils decision - Meant to
strengthen League BUT British elections new party in power refused
to sign protocol -not in Britains interests Protocol weakened
League
Slide 13
Bulgaria, 1925 Another test for League Greek troops invaded
Bulgaria after incident on border where some Greek soldiers were
killed Bulgaria appealed to League & sent instructions to army
Council ordered both sides to step down & Greece to leave
Bulgaria League acted quickly Both Br & Fr backed the decision
League ruled in favour of Bulgaria -Greece had to pay compensation
(League would impose sanctions if they refused) Greece accepted
decision Different standards for smaller nations than bigger
nations? (Think Corfu)
Slide 14
How did the League of Nations work for a better world?
1.Refugees Nansen report easier for refugees to return
home/resettle Approx 400,000 prisoners of war returned home by
Refugees Commission NB in Turkey 1922 refugee crisis -League worked
hard to eradicate cholera, smallpox & dysentry in camps Success
in 1920s OFTEN SHORT OF FUNDS; LESS EFFECTIVE IN 1930S
Slide 15
2. Working Conditions ILO successfully limited working hoursfor
small children Campaigned strongly for employers to improve working
conditions Resolution for 48 hour max working week, 8 hr day (but
only adopted by small number of countries would raise industrial
costs) Influential raised awareness about abuses BUT could only
name and shame countries/companies LIMITED FUNDS
Slide 16
3. Health NB achievements on of the most successful of L of N
Funded breakthrough research development of vaccines, medication
for deadly infectious diseases (eg leprosy, malaria) Global
campaign to eradicate mosquitoes greatly reduced malaria and yellow
fever cases Right: League of Nations Malaria Investigation
Committee to India. A British doctor in India indicating the size
of a young child's spleen enlarged by malaria...
Slide 17
4. Transport Introduced international highway code for drivers
Helped with spread of communication, expansion of transport
networks (eg shipping lanes) 5. Social problems Blacklisted drug
companies involved in illegal drug trade Anti-slavery brought about
liberation of 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone Organised raids vs
slave traders in Burma Challenged use of forced labour in building
the Tanganyika (present day Tanzania) railway (death rate was
reduced from 50% to 4%)
Slide 18
Disarmament
Slide 19
Study the information in the factfile box on p. 36 With a
partner, invent an easy way to remember each conference agreement.
Washington Conference 1921 UK, France, USA, Japan - limit size of
navy WASHINGTON = WATER = NAVY
Slide 20
1921 Washington Conference USA, UK, France, Japan agree to
limit navy size 1922 Rapallo Treaty USSR & Germany re-establish
diplomatic relations 1924 Dawes Plan USA lent money to Germany to
help it pay reparations 1925 Locarno Treaties Germany accepted its
western borders (as per dictated by T of V) Paved way for Germany
to enter League 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact 65 nations agreed not to
use force to settle disputes But no clear consequence for any
member who broke the pact 1929 Young Plan Reduced Germanys
reparation payments
Slide 21
Disarmament = failure Never progressed beyond 1921 Washington
Conference Damaged Leagues reputation esp. in Germany (Germany was
the only country which was forced to disarm) Other countries were
not prepared to give up own armies BUT failure over disarmament did
not appear too serious in 1920s (see previous conference
agreements)
Slide 22
Economic Recovery Late 1920s, economies = recovering Dawes Plan
1924 helped Germany out of its economic crisis Also helped BR and
FRs economies Trading relations improved between these countries
(Germany joined League in 1926) When countries trade = less likely
to go to war