The League of Nations – notes
Purpose: Wilson’s grand scheme for his 14th point
· To be a guarantee against war
· To be a world organization
· To be a dispute resolving mechanism
· To be an association of independent states which promised the cooperate with each other in preserving peace
The League began life in January of 1920
Covenants (mainly the work of Wilson, Gen. Smuts of S. Africa, and Lord Robert Cecil of the UK)
· all nations would swear a solemn promise or covenant that they would stand beside the League’s principles of international law and order
· League organization and aim was set out in the 26 articles of the Covenant
Important covenants..
Article 10
The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members of the League
Article 12
The members of the League agree that if there should arise between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture they will submit the matter either to arbitration or to enquiry by the Council and they agree in no case to resort to war until 3 months after the award by the arbitrators or report by the Council.
Membership
Membership of the League was open to “any fully self-governing state, dominion or colony”.
It was agreed at Paris that the original members should be the Allied powers, including separate membership for the British Dominions and India
1st assembly in Geneva, 1920
· 43 member states
· 19 additional by 1926 (including Germany)
· members had the right to withdraw, and many did so at various times (Japan, Germany, Italy)
· 1934 – sixty members… most it ever had
· only member to be expelled was the Soviet Union in 1940 when it attacked Finland, but by then the League ceased to have any importance in world affairs
· the US never became a member
Mandates
· system did not work very well
· Britain gave up control over Mesopotamia (becomes Iraq)
· France showed every intention of remaining in Syria, over the obvious wishes of the inhabitants
· The control of the League over some African mandates was so slight as to be almost non-existent
· Japan treated her mandates as permanent possessions
International Labour Office
· Created to help mankind and serve the cause of peace
· Improve working conditions
· Raise standards of living
· The most successful and effective organizations, as it could function away from the poison of political rivalries
The World Court (former Permanent Court of International Justice)
· 15 judges at the Hague in Holland, not in Geneva
· effectiveness hampered by the option out clause (only members who opted in had to submit their disputes), and by the fact that it had no power behind it to enforce its decisions
What were the chances of success?
· All nations must join the League and be treated as partners equally
· All nations would have to sacrifice some of their sovereign powers and be prepared to put the League above their goals
· For everyone’s happiness some military action might be necessary
Causes for failure?
· The essential conditions were not observed
· America rejected Wilson and his ideas…never joined (ISOLATIONISM)
· No intention of admitting communist Russia
· Germany, before she could join, had to prove worthy of membership
· Never had World support – just a European group
League Successes / League Failures· successfully administered the Saar Valley for 15 years / Japan and China over Manchuria
1931
· Japan invades Manchuria
· Chinese approach League
· Japan ignores a report by Lord Lytton (Comission) and withdraws from the League (1933)
· The issue to use sanctions was not raised, although it should have been
· Significant as the League lost its dignity and showed unwillingness to act against states guilty of aggression
· controlling authority of the free port of Danzig for 15 years / Italy and Abyssinia
1935
· Italy invaded in ‘35
· Mussolini invades and bombs Ethiopia over border disputes
· Ethiopia appeals to the League who apply economic sanctions against Italy
· However oil is not included
· Hoare-Laval Plan – British and French foreign ministers agree secretly to give Ethiopia to Italy if she agrees to stop fighting. Press gets wind, and it became obvious that those powers had no interest in taking a stance with the League
· Halie Salassie was forced to flee
· Aggression had paid off (why? Perhaps racism, dark continent, depression, etc…)
· This ended the League’s usefulness and small powers now have to look to their own defense
· Italy left the League, Mussolini quoted in saying that he would have withdrawn within a week had the League imposed sanctions
1921
· settled a quarrel between Sweden and Finland regarding Aland Islands
1923
· settled a quarrel between Italy and Greece when Italy seized the Greek Island of Corfu
· background à Italian officers murdered in Greco-Albania frontier. Mussolini used as an excuse to occupy Corfu. Greece paid an indemnity and Italy left Corfu
1925
· settled a possible war between Greece and Bulgaria
· background àan incident caused Greece to invade Bulgaria – League said Bulgaria was violated, so Greece paid reparations
Issue of Disarmament
-this would be the crucial test of the League’s competence
Article 14 – promised a reduction in armaments
1921 – Washington Disarmament Conference
· entirely concerned with naval disarmament
· treaty between US, UK, Fr, Japan, Italy… no more battleships for 10 years
· naval tonnage reduced
· weakness – no provision for inspection of navies to ensure the treaty was honoured
· weakness – no provision on submarines
· Japanese gov’t insisted that no new naval bases and fortifications should be constructed in the Pacific – virtually guaranteed Japan’s immunity from a naval attack
· Japanese/US uneasiness à Japanese denied immigration into US/Canada… pressure on rapidly growing population, made Japan look to Asia
· lasted until 1936
1926 - Geneva Disarmament Conference
· verified that Germany was disarmed and thus all disarmament could take place
· belief that the arms race had been a major cause of WWI
· but Germany hated the “Diktat of Versailles”
1930 – London Conference
· further reduction of naval tonnage
· France and Italy quarrel and leave
1932 – Geneva Disarmament Conference
· chances of disarmament are slim as Germany is more aggressive and France is concerned that Germany was rebuilding
· Ramsay MacDonald (UK PM) – wanted an inspection system to check each other’s armaments
· 60 nations attended, including USA, USSR and Germany
· but Hitler comes to power in 1933 and takes Germany out of the conference and League
· suspicions aroused, nothing done
The “German Question”
What role will Germany play in European/world affairs?
Although defeated militarily, held her mighty industrial base intact.
France felt left alone, as US didn’t interfere in European affairs and Brits seemed ambivalent.
French efforts to build security
1. Keep Germany weak
-seemingly impossible as France stood alone and USSR now Germany’s ally
2. Reparations
-reparations set up so that as Germany economy improved, more she had to pay
-this is important as Germany made little effort to improve in some areas (ie. Inflation) in order to keep payments low
USA role in reparations
-US would receive her payments from UK and France, who received them from Germany
-the Allies owed the US some $10 billion
1922
Germany asks for a moratorium… she simpy cannot pay
-the reparations committee (UK, Fr, Belgium, Italy) voted 3-1 to occupy the Ruhr (80% of German coal and steel industry there)
-German population refused to work = hyperinflation (50 billion marks = 1 British pound… compared to 3 or 4$ to the pound)
-the German government fell and the new government agreed to pay
Gustav Stresemann – Weimar Republic
-he announced that Germany will pay as leader of the new government
-introduces a new currency called the Rentenmark
The Dawes Plan
-international involvement brought in to set up German payments
Charles G. Dawes – American banker
-5 point plan
1. Allied forces evacuate the Ruhr
2. German gov’t pledge gov’t revenues for reparations
3. German payments begin at $250 million, built to $600 million
4. Payments still tied to German prosperity
5. Foreign loan of $200 million offered to get Germany started.
By 1925 the last Allied troops left the Ruhr
The Young Plan (1930)
Charles Young – American banker
-cut reparations in total to $29 billion including interest
-Allied occupation of the Rhineland was to end
End of Reparations
-when the Depression arrived, Germany was in no position to pay at all
-1932 – defaults on payments
Lausanne Conference –
-set the new total at $750 million which Germany never did pay
-Hitler officially cancelled reparations in 1937, after paying 5 billion dollars
3. The Maginot Line
· Concrete forts and tunnels along France’s common border with Germany
· French military believed it could withstand anything the Germans had!
· 2 weaknesses:
-not built along Belgium’s border
-built for static warfare of WWI
(Charles de Gaulle said that it would one day leave French forces cocooned in their concrete tombs)
4. French Treaties of Mutual Assistance
· with Belgium in 1920
· with Poland in 1921
· The “Little Entente” (Czech, Romania, Yugoslavia join to defend against Germany and Hungary… France joins them in 1924)