UNIT 2 (II) - THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN THE 1930S
A. THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
When the Wall Street Crash happened in the
USA in October 1929 it soon began what became
known as the Great Depression. This was a serious
economic crisis which affected almost the entire world,
and led to widespread unemployment and social
suffering. It also contributed to the emergence of
extreme political parties in many countries.
Italy had already become a Fascist dictatorship
before 1929, but both Japan and Germany came under
the control of extreme nationalist and dictatorial
governments during the early 1930s. Yet all three
countries at first remained members of the League.
These governments increasingly turned to aggressive
foreign policies in an attempt to solve their economic
problems at the expense of other countries. At the
same time, other countries tended to put their own
economic interests first -even if they were members of
the League. This meant many were reluctant to
impose economic sanctions on an aggressive country in
case they lost trade to their foreign competitors.
TASK A1
Look up for extra information (internet, books, etc.) in order to explain in your own words the following statements related to
the effects of the Great Depression:
a) The USA became more isolationist and did little to stop Hitler and Mussolini
b) The British government became less willing to fight a war in Europe.
Y9 -IGCSE HISTORY
The USA and isolationism
The response of the USA in this period was to
become even more isolationist than it had been in
the 1920s. This trend continued under Roosevelt,
whose main concern was to push through his
New Deal policies. Some American politicians
even said that the USA should remain neutral if
another war broke out in Europe. One result of
this was that Britain and France, both of which
also suffered from the Depression, were reluctant
to risk any conflict, in case they had to fight on
their own. The one other non-member country
which could have strengthened the League of
Nations’ ability to curb aggressive actions, was
the Soviet Union. But Britain and France did not
trust its Communist government, even after Stalin
successfully applied for membership of the
League in 1934.
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B. THE FAILURES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

THE WEAKNESSES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Although the League had had some successes in the 1920s, it had often been
unable to deal effectively with disputes which involved the more powerful countries. This
had been seen, for example, as early as 1923, when the League failed to prevent
aggression in two separate instances. These were France's invasion of the Ruhr, and
Italy's invasion of Corfu.
An additional weakness was the fact that, by 1929, two significant countries
were still not members of the League. These were the USA and the Soviet Union.
On top of this, was the fact Britain and France, its two most important members, often
had conflicting policies. Conflicts were, thus, frequently settled outside the League for
instance by the Conference of Ambassadors.

TASK AB – MAKING RELATIONS

Read again the information on page 1 and 2 (diagrams included) and answer:
- How did the effects of the Great Depression lead to increased international tensions?

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UNIT 2 (II) - THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN THE 1930S Y9 -IGCSE HISTORY

B1. MANCHURIAN CRISIS

THE RISE OF JAPAN

The first country to take aggressive action following the Wall Street Crash was
Japan. During the early nineteenth century, many Japanese people watched in alarm as
the USA and west European countries carved out empires and areas of influence for
themselves in Asia. In 1868, angry at growing US interference in Japan, a group of
nobles seized control of the government. They were determined that Japan would not
lose its independence. The Japanese economy and the armed forces were modernised,
and Japan was able to inflict an unexpected defeat on Russia in 1905.
From then until 1929, Japan attempted to gain its own empire in Asia, for
the same reasons (raw materials and extra markets) as European nations. This,
however, was resented by countries such as Britain and France. In the First World War,
Japan fought on the side of Britain and France. Although it gained the German
possessions in the Pacific after the war, Japan was disappointed not to be given more
territory in China by the peace treaties of 1919-20. This led to resentment against
Britain, France and the USA.

JAPAN AND THE DEPRESSION

One area of China which was of particular interest to Japan was the northern
province of Manchuria. Japanese investments in the area were increased during the
1920s, and a part of the Japanese army was stationed in the province to safeguard
these investments.
However, Japan was badly hit by the Depression; especially as it was not self-
sufficient in coal, iron, oil, tin or rubber. By 1931, 50% of its factories had closed
down, while Japan's rice farmers were badly hit. Japan's main export, silk, declined
sharply, and Japanese goods in general were hit by trade tariffs.
The Japanese army (already a powerful force in Japan by the late 1920s), was
linked to the Zaibatsu (large industrial companies with links to the Japanese army),
which also pressed for a more aggressive foreign policy. The army increasingly
dominated or ignored the civilian governments of Japan. In 1930, the serious drop in
exports caused by the Depression led to a political crisis. This resulted in military
factions having a greater influence. Earlier attempts at parliamentary democracy
collapsed, as extreme nationalists even resorted to the assassination of liberal political
leaders.

CRISIS IN MANCHURIA, 1931-1932

The first serious test of the League after 1929 came in 1931, when Japan
invaded Manchuria on 18 September. Both Japan and China were members of the
League. The Japanese army staged the Mukden (Shenyang) Incident in order to
justify sending in a Japanese army of occupation: as the Japanese army controlled the
South Manchurian railway, they claimed that the Chinese soldiers had sabotaged this
trading route and threw out all Chinese forces. Though the civilian government of Japan
tried to get the military to withdraw, the army refused to listen and instead continued
their invasion. This Japanese invasion clearly broke the League's collective security

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system. The invasion of Manchuria was also against the Washington Naval Treaty of
1922, by which Japan had promised not to attack China.

THE LEAGUE'S REACTION

The League did set up the Lytton Commission of Enquiry (on Japan's
suggestion) in December 1931 to investigate the situation. This committee did not
report until October 1932. By then, Japan had been in complete control of Manchuria for
nearly a year, and had renamed it Manchukuo. The report did not recommend either
economic or military sanctions. The League accepted the report, agreeing that
Japanese claims were valid, but that Japan was wrong to have used force and should,
therefore, withdraw its troops.
Japan then simply left the League in February 1933.

WHY DID THE LEAGUE FAIL TO ACT?

The Manchurian Crisis occurred during
1931-1932, when the Depression was at its
peak. European countries –and the USA-
were thus more concerned with the problems
created by the Depression. The USA had
much trade with Japan, and was reluctant to
get involved in the conflict between China
and Japan. Despite growing disagreements
with Japan, the USA refused to consider the
idea of economic sanctions. As a result, most
League members feared any trade ban
imposed on Japan would merely result in
losing that trade to the USA. In addition to
trade concerns, Britain was worried that a
conflict with Japan might endanger British
colonies in Asia, such as India, Hong Kong
and Singapore. Although France was
concerned that its colony of Indo-China might
be at risk from Japanese aggression, it was
more worried about German intentions. Italy
was not interested in Asia and, more
importantly, because of the effects of the
Depression, was already planning to increase
its own empire.
The other important non-League
member, the USSR, saw Japan' aggression
as a threat to its Asian territories, and was
willing to act. However, no west European
state was prepared to co-operate with Stalin
in any military action. The Soviet Union, on
the other hand, was not prepared to risk any
intervention on its own.
TASK B1 – SOURCE ANALYSIS
Read the following source:
Source: Gaetano Salvemini was an Italian
historian. Writing in 1954 he described Western
attitudes towards the crisis in Manchuria.
“In the Far Eastern crisis of 1931 and the
following years, Japan and China, owing to their
great distance from Europe, might as well have
been on the moon. If a man sees a cat crushed
under a car, he loses his appetite; yet the same
man can calmly eat his breakfast while reading
in his morning paper that thousands of men,
women and children have been engulfed in
some terrible earthquake. The Japanese
Government could count on the ignorance of
people too busy with difficulties at home to be
bothered about events in remote lands.
People’s minds in both America and Europe
were with the economic depression that had
started in 1929 and was at its worst in 1931-32.”
a) Explain briefly in your own words what this
interpretation says about why no other
country was ready to stop Japan taking
over Manchuria.
b) Does the information given on the section
“Why did the League fail to act?”
support the interpretation in the source, or
does it suggest additional reasons why
Japan was not stopped?

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B2. THE WORLD DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE, 1932-34

This Conference, organised by the League, failed to agree limits on weapons. It

was attended by 61 member nations, and 5 non-members, including both the USA and
the USSR. France again unsuccessfully attempted to give the League its own army. The
main problem, however, was over disarmament and Germany's insistence on ‘equality
of treatment’. In 1932, German delegates walked out of the Conference, and said they
would not return until they had been granted ‘equality of treatment’. After Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, Germany left the Conference for good. In
October, Hitler took Germany out of the League.
By this stage, all the powers knew that Hitler was secretly rearming Germany
already. They also began to rebuild their own armaments; in part, it was seen as a way
of reducing unemployment and stopping industrial decline. Against that background the
Disarmament Conference struggled on for another year but in an atmosphere of
increasing futility. It finally ended in 1934.

TASK B2 – SOURCE ANALYSIS

Look at the Source below. Explain what Low is saying about:
a) ordinary people
b) political leaders.

SOURCE: A cartoon by David Low commenting on the failure of the Disarmament Conference in 1934

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B3. THE INVASION OF ABYSSINIA, 1935

Mussolini was so encouraged by the lack of effective League action during the
Manchurian Crisis that, from 1932, he began detailed planning for the conquest of
Abyssinia.
In October 1935, Italy
THE STRESA FRONT invaded Abyssinia (now known as
France and Britain were keen to stop Italy joining forces Ethiopia). This was the first serious
with Germany. They seemed ready to give Italy a free act of aggression by a major
hand in Africa. April 1935 Mussolini met the French and
European power since 1920. Haile
British prime ministers in the Italian town of Stresa. They
Selassie, the Emperor of Abyssinia,
condemned German breaches of the Treaty of Versailles.
appealed to the League for help.
People began to talk about the Stresa Front: an anti-
German grouping of Italy, Britain and France. The Stresa The British Foreign
agreement was vague: the declaration talked only about Secretary, Hoare, asked the League
the need to ‘keep the peace in Europe’ Mussolini to impose economic sanctions on
understood this to mean that France and Britain would not Italy. However, oil was not
object to the Italian use of force outside Europe. Mussolini included in the list of banned
thought that in return for supporting France and Britain in goods, and was allowed to pass
Europe he would be allowed to attack Abyssinia without through the British and French-
any interference. owned Suez Canal, to the Italian
invasion force. In addition, many
non-League members continued to
trade with Italy. One reason why Britain and France were reluctant to take strong action
against Italy was that the three countries had, earlier in 1935, formed the Stresa
Front. This was meant to act as a check on Hitler's foreign policy actions.

THE HOARE-LAVAL PACT

Instead of effective action, Britain and France drew up the secret Hoare-Laval Pact,
which offered Italy the bulk of Abyssinia.
However, it was leaked to the Press. Hoare was forced to resign and the plan was
dropped. The League, now supported by Britain and France, began to take a tougher
line. In March 1936, they decided to ban the sale of oil and petrol to Italy. However, this
did not fully come into effect until May 1936. By then, the Italian conquest was
complete: the League had been shown in a bad light and, once again, had failed to take
strong action to stop aggression. In July 1936, all sanctions against Italy were ended.

AFTER ABYSSINIA

The League of Nations was broken by the Abyssinian crisis. Afterwards no one took it
seriously. The failure of the League was highlighted by Hailie Selassie, the Abyssinian
emperor, who made a passionate speech to the League Assembly after his country had
been conquered:
“On many occasions I have asked for financial assistance for the purchase of arms [to
fight Italian aggression]. That assistance has been constantly refused me. The problem
is a much wider one than that of Italy’s aggression. It is the very existence of the
League of Nations. God and history will remember your judgement.”

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In the crises that followed Abyssinia, the League was completely helpless. When
the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936 Germany and Italy sent help to the anti-
government side. The Spanish government appealed to the League: the League did
nothing. In 1938-39, as the Second World War drew close, the League played no part in
serious attempts to avoid conflict. When war broke out in September 1939 none of the
countries involved bothered to tell the League that a war was taking place.

GERMANY AND ABYSSINIA

Hitler was deeply interested in the crisis in Abyssinia. He wanted to know how far
Britain and France would go to stop the Italians. He was not impressed at the confused
and feeble response of the democracies.
In fact, he was able to take advantage and got several benefits of the Abyssinian
crisis:
- The League was unlikely to stop German aggression any more than it had stopped
Mussolini.
- The anti-German Stresa Front fell apart.
- The crisis provided Hitler with an opportunity for his first act of aggression: the
sending of German troops into the Rhineland area.
- The Rome-Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact strengthened the position of Hitler.

THE FALL OF THE STRESA FRONT

After Abyssinia the British and French THE ANGLO-GERMAN NAVAL

governments hoped to reestablish a good
relationship with Italy. Mussolini had different
ideas. He had been annoyed by what he saw as
British and French double dealing. Instead he
turned to Hitler. The German leader had not
interfered over Abyssinia. In January 1936
Mussolini thanked Hitler and made it clear that he
was happy for an increase in German control over
Austria. This was a significant development. In
1934 Mussolini had opposed German expansionism
towards Austria. The Stresa Front against Germany
had collapsed.
AGREEMENT
The British government also greatly
weakened the Stresa Front in June
1935. Britain signed a treaty with
Germany over the strength of their
navies. This fixed the size of the German
navy it 35 per cent of the British navy.
The agreement allowed Germany to
have submarines. The French and the
Italians were annoyed by the Naval
Agreement. They had not been
consulted and the agreement was in
breach of the Versailles Treaty.

The Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact

By November Mussolini was talking of a new force in European politics –a linking

together of the fascist states of Italy and Germany called the Rome-Berlin Axis. Later in
the same month the leaders of Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern
Pact (Comintern was the Soviet organisation whose job was to spread communis world-
wide). On one level the Anti-Comintern Pact was simply an agreement to work together
against communism. As far as Hitler was concerned it was much more important than
that; it was a step towards an alliance of those countries that wanted to take land off
their neighbours.

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UNIT 2 (II) - THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN THE 1930S Y9 -IGCSE HISTORY

FOCUS TASK - Why did the League of Nations fail in the 1930s?

This diagram summarises the reasons historians give for the failure of the League.

1. Which of these weaknesses in the League of Nations do you think was the most important factor in:
a) the Manchurian crisis
b) the failure of disarmament
c) the Abyssinian crisis?
2. Explain whether you agree or disagree with this statement: ‘The League failed in the 1930s simply
because it faced greater challenges than it had faced in the 1920s.’