How the LON's weaknesses (1. Inability to disarm and 2. Failure to resolve conflicts) contributed to outbreak of WWII

2. 1) Weaknesses of the LON
2) Hitler’s Expansionist Goals

4. i) Failure to Disarm
ii) Failure to maintain world peace/resolve
conflicts

5.  In the 1920s and 1930s, there were efforts at
disarmament to reduce the chances of another war.
 However, most of the successes were led by
powerful nations and not the League.

6.  Successes at limiting weapons: Efforts
apart from the LON
▪ Washington Conference (1921)
 Set ratio for tonnage of capital ships

7.  Successes at limiting weapons: Efforts
apart from the LON
▪ LocarnoTreaties (1925)
 Guaranteed French and Belgian borders with
Germany
 Demilitarisation of the Rhineland

8. A German territory west of the Rhine
River along the French border.

9.  Failures: Efforts by the LON
 LeagueCommission to prepare forWorld
DisarmamentConference (1926)
▪ Britain and France not cooperative
 World Disarmament Conference (1932-
1934)
▪ Hitler withdrew from conference and LON

10.  Learning Points
▪ USA seemed to command more respect than
LON
▪ National interests of major powers like Britain
and France were more important than those of
the LON
▪ LON’s failure at disarmament  atmosphere of
tension and distrust

11.  Italy was interested in Abysinnia
▪ Revenge for 1896 Defeat
▪ Restoring ‘Roman Empire’
▪ Abyssinia’s mineral wealth
▪ Italy had interests in neighbouring Somalia

12.  What did the League do?
▪ Imposed trade sanctions on Italy
 Not painful enough – oil, coal, steel not
sanctioned.
 League members cared for their own
economic interests

13.  What did Britain and France do?
▪ Suez Canal left open to Italian ships – Italian war
supplies could proceed to Abyssinia
▪ Hoare-Laval Pact

14.  Results?
 Rome-BerlinAxis est. in 1936
 LON’s failure to act encouraged Hitler’s
expansionist aims - no country or
organisation could stop him if he were to
pursue his aggressive policies

16.  Hitler demanded that France disarm to same
level as Germany did underTOV
 France refused – why?  Hitler withdraws from
conference and LON
 Hitler free to re-introduce conscription and
rearmament in violation ofTOV

17.  Hitler began to build up Germany’s air
force (Luftwaffe) and reintroduce
conscription
 1935: plans for 2,500-plane Luftwaffe and
550,000 army put in place VIOLATING
TOV
 Hitler claimed that these were defensive
acts

18.  Countries like Britain and France were
unwilling to risk another war – why? – and did
not act decisively against German violations
 Britain even signed the Anglo-German Agreement
in 1935 which allowed Germany to build up her
navy

19.  What do you think was the impact of British
and French responses (or the lack thereof)?

20. 1)You will be assigned to study one of the following
events:
Remilitarisation of Rhineland
Spanish Civil War
Anschluss (Union with Austria)
Munich Agreement
Nazi-Soviet Pact
2) Fill in the graphic organizer (Annex A)