C+T chapter 4 League of Nations

Question 1

What was the League of Nations?

Answer 1

The League of Nations was a vision for bringing world peace. It was a group and countries that would work together and solve problems instead of going to war. Like a world parliament.

Question 2

Why was the League formed?

Answer 2

Countries would work together to achieve 4 aims:
- To stop war from breaking out again
- To encourage disarmament
- To improve working conditions
- To tackle diseases

Question 3

Who joined the League of Nations?

Answer 3

When the League was formed there were 42 members which rose to 58 by 1934.

Question 4

Where was the League based?

Answer 4

Geneva, Switzerland. Switzerland had been neutral in the war and was seen as a peaceful country. The Red Cross was also based there.

Question 5

Who did not join the League?

Answer 5

Britain and France were suspicious of Communism, so Russia was not allowed to join. The countries who lost the war were also not allowed to join, so Germany was not allowed.

Question 6

Did the members of the League change?

Answer 6

In 1926, the Locarno Treaty was signed and Germany was allowed to join the League. However, Hitler took them out again in 1933. Both Japan and Italy left in 1933 after invading other countries.

Question 7

What was Britain’s opinion on the League?

Answer 7

At the Paris Peace Conference, Lloyd George was critical of it but on 25th March 1919, he issued the Fontainebleau Memorandum in which he completely supported the League. Mandates run by the League were also under British control. Britain regarded the League as a place to discuss ideas but without any real power.

Question 8

What was France’s opinion on the League?

Answer 8

France was glad that it might protect them from another German invasion.

Question 9

How did the League plan to keep peace?

Answer 9

The League would work through collective security: the idea that if countries worked together, they could keep peace and the interests of every nation were looked after.

Question 10

What happened if the League couldn’t prevent disputes?

Answer 10

• Mitigation: getting countries together to talk through problems
• Moral condemnation
• Economic sanctions, where members of the League would not trade with the warring countries
  However the League did not have an army and if it was necessary, it would have to ask its members to lend their armed forces

Question 11

What were the five main parts of the League?

Answer 11

Assembly, Council, Permanent Court of International Justice, Secretariat, Special Commisisons

Question 12

What was the Assembly in the League?

Answer 12

Every member sent representatives to the Assembly. They met once a year on the first Monday of September, to discuss and vote on matters. Votes were equal and had to be unanimous for a decision to be passed. The Assembly was in charge of:
- Whether a new country could join
- Election of judges for the court
- Voting for non-permanent members of the council
- How to spend the League’s money

Question 13

What was the Council in the League?

Answer 13

The Assembly was only met once a year and was to be to make unanimous decisions, so the Council was created. They met more frequently than the Assembly and had less members. The 4 permanent members were: Britain, France, Italy and Japan. 4 other countries would be voted to sit on the council for 3 years. This was increased to 9. The Council could veto any decision made by the Assembly.

Question 14

What was the Permanent Court of Justice?

Answer 14

The Permanent Court of Justice would settle any international arguments. There were 11 judges and 4 deputy judges who ruled for 11 years. The Court then advised countries on how to deal with their issues. However, they were just suggestions and countries could choose to ignore their verdict.

Question 15

What was the Secretariat in the League?

Answer 15

The Secretariat was the civil service of the League that was in charge of administration and organising actions. It was a body of experts from different areas responsible for carrying out decisions of the League, except for military issues.

Question 16

What were the Special Commissions in the League?

Answer 16

They were specific groups that aimed to tackle issues the League was worried about. They included:
- International Labour Organisation (ILO)
- Disarmament Commission
- Health Organisation
- Slavery Commission
- Commission for Refugees
- Permanent Central Opium Board
Other commissions helped undeveloped countries and minority groups. Some also supervised the mandates

Question 17

What were the strengths of the structure of the League?

Answer 17

• It was written into the peace treaties at the end of WW1, so all nations were involved and recognised it as an organisation.
• It had a vast membership.
• As there were many members, economic sanction and moral condemnation were daunting punishments.

Question 18

What were the weaknesses of the structure of the League?

Answer 18

• Many important countries, such as the USA, did not join the League. This undermined the League as a global organisation and meant that if a country faced economic sanctions, it could still trade with those countries.
• The League had no army, which meant it could not force people to obey it.
• The structure was very complicated and confused people which slowed action.
• Decisions had to be unanimous and the Assembly only met once a year, so decision-making was slow.
• The Council could veto any decision, which meant powerful countries only acted in their own interests.

Question 19

What was the aim of the ILO?

Answer 19

The aim of the International Labour Organisation was to bring workers, employers and governments together to improve working conditions.

Question 20

What were successes of the ILO?

Answer 20

• 1922: recommended banning white lead in paint as it was poisonous
• 1928: 77 set a minimum wage
• 1930: helped Greece set up social insurance (to help people if they were unemployed because of an illness)
• In Tanganyika, Africa, slave labour was being used to build a railway. 50% of workers died due to working conditions. This was reduced to 4%

Question 21

What were failures of the ILO?

Answer 21

• 1919: tried to stop child labour under 14, this suggestion was not adopted as it cost too much money
• 1935: wanted an 8 hour working day and paid holiday, members thought this would cost too much money

Question 22

What were the aims of the Commission for Refugees?

Answer 22

To return prisoners of war home and support refugees by improving camp conditions, finding new homes or returning them home once the threat of conflict had passed

Question 23

What were the successes of the Commission for Refugees?

Answer 23

• 1917: 1.5 million people fled Russia during the civil war, the commission found them new homes
• 1921: helped free 427,000 out of 50,000 prisoners of war and return them to their homeland
• 1922: When Turkey clashed with Greece, refugee camps were set up with doctors and 600,000 Greeks were helped to find new homes
• Created the Nansen Passport which was used as identification for refugees

Question 24

What were the failures of the Commission for Refugees?

Answer 24

• 1933: Tried to appoint a High Commissioner for refugees, who were mainly Jewish. Germany rejected this and since it was not a unanimous vote, the motion was defeated. The commissioner was appointed but independent of the League, meaning it had less power

Question 25

What were the successes of the Slavery Commission?

Answer 25

- Organised raids on the slave camps in Sierra Leone and freed 200,000 people. In 1927, Sierra Leone abolished slavery

Question 26

What were the successes of the Economic and Financial Committee?

Answer 26

- Sent financial experts to Austria and Hungary to help them to rebuild without going bankrupt - Developed codes for importing and exporting so all members followed the same rules

Question 27

What were the failures of the Economic and Financial Committee?

Answer 27

- They weren't able to cope in the Great Depression in 1929

Question 28

What were the aims of the Organisation for Communications and Transport?

Answer 28

Regulated transport during the war to keep people safe

Question 29

What were the successes of the Organisation for Communications and Transport?

Answer 29

- Introduced shipping lanes, meaning fewer collisions occurred - Produced the international highway code so all drivers follow the same traffic rules wherever they travelled

Question 30

What were the successes of the Health Committee?

Answer 30

- Started an international campaign to kill mosquitos which spread diseases such as malaria and yellow fever - Worked with Russian government to organise an education programme about how typhus was spread. - Sent doctors to look after refugees in the 1920s - Renamed the World Health Organisation was still exists today

Question 31

What were the aims of the Permanent Central Opium Board?

Answer 31

- To stop the illegal creation and distribution of opium - After 1925, they became the Permanent Central Narcotics Board and tackled other drugs

Question 32

What were the successes of the Permanent Central Opium Board?

Answer 32

- Companies had to have a certificate to prove they were allowed to import opium for medicinal purposes - Blacklisted 4 companies involved in trading illegal drugs

Question 33

What were the failures of the Permanent Central Opium Board?

Answer 33

- Key members of the League were not completely dedicated as some made large amounts of money from it

Question 34

What happened in Vilna?

Answer 34

In 1920, Poland invaded Vilna. Vilna was the capital of Lithuania, which was a new country established after the war. Lithuania asked the League for help. The League told Poland to remove its army but was refused. France saw Poland as an ally against Germany and refused to send troops. Britain also refused as they did not want to fight without France. Poland took Vilna.

Question 35

What happened in Upper Silesia?

Answer 35

1921-25. Upper Silesia was on the border of Germany and Poland, both countries wanted the area. In 1921, a plebiscite was held. Germany won 60% of votes but Poland complained. The League decided to split Upper Silesia up. Poland was given industrial areas and Germany was given rural areas. Rail links and electricity were still supplied to both sides of Upper Silesia.

Question 36

What was the reaction to Upper Silesia?

Answer 36

The settlement was accepted but neither country was fully satisfied. Poland had half the population and only a third of the land. Germany lost 3/4 of their mines which was a valuable source of income. When, in 1922, the German government complained to the League, they were allowed to import coal at a discounted rate. In 1925, relations between Germany and Poland worsened.

Question 37

What happened in the Aland Islands?

Answer 37

In 1921, both Sweden and Finland claimed the Aland Islands, which were between them. The League gave the Islands to Finland but they were not allowed to build forts, so they could not be used as a base to attack Sweden. Sweden accepted and war was avoided.

Question 38

What happened in Corfu?

Answer 38

In 1923, the borders between Greece and Albania were unclear. the League sent Italian, Tellini to investigate. But while in Greece he was murdered. Mussolini blamed the Greek government and demanded execution of the murderers and compensation to be paid, but the Greeks did not know who the murderers were. On the 31st August, Mussolini invaded Corfu and killed 15 people. Greece appealed to the League, who condemned Mussolini's actions. Mussolini complained to the more powerful countries and Greece was forced to apologise and pay compensation. Italy withdrew their troops.

Question 39

What happened in Bulgaria?

Answer 39

In 1925, Greek soldiers were killed on the Bulgarian border, so Greece invaded. The League condemned Greece and ordered a withdrawal of troops and compensation to be paid. Greece was a small country, so obeyed.

Question 40

What was the Wall Street Crash?

Answer 40

In 1929, the American economy crashed and the Great Depression was created, which lasted through the 1930s. Since America traded with countries all over the world, global economies were also affected. America recalled loans and the whole world faced economic depression.

Question 41

What was the impact of the Great Depression?

Answer 41

Some people lost faith in their governments and turned to extremist parties such as the Nazis to restore their countries. The League was powerless to help people or control these new violent party leaders.