The document discusses the history of the League of Nations from 1919 to 1939. It was created after World War 1 to promote international cooperation and prevent future wars. However, the League faced challenges like the US refusing to join and some nations prioritizing their own interests over the League. While the League had some successes in resolving border disputes in the 1920s, it ultimately failed to stop aggression in the 1930s as tensions rose in Europe.

1. PCS History Department
The League of Nations
1919 - 1939

2. PCS History Department
The Birth of the League
 In 1918 nobody wanted
to repeat the mass
slaugther of the war.
 The First World War
should be “the war that
ended all wars”
 Countries needed to find
a place to meet and
collaborate to find
peaceful solutions

3. PCS History Department
But leaders disagreed about the type of
organisation that was needed
The LoN should be like a world parliament
in which representatives of all nations
would met regularly to reach agreements
The LoN should only meet when an
emergency arose
The LoN should be a strong organisation
with its own army

4. PCS History Department
Mainly followed president Wilson’s ideas
 All major nations would be
members.
 Nations would disarm
 Disputes among nations
would be solved on the LoN
 They would protect each
other whenever an invasion
may occur
 Any nation breaking the
Convenant would suffer an
economic blockade
The LoN Covenant

5. PCS History Department
Although the LoN was president Wilson’s
idea the USA’s Senate rejected it:
Some
Americans did
not like the
terms of the
Treaty of
Versailles in
which the LoN
Covenant was
included
Some
Americans did
not want to be
involved again
in European’s
disputes or
wars
American
businessmen
were worried
about the
costs of
mantaining
the League
and its
decissions

6. PCS History Department
Some thought
that the USA
would be
controlled by
other nations
throught the
LoN

7. PCS History Department
The LoN’s Weaknesses
 USA’s rejection
discouraged many other
nations about the power of
the LoN to take action
 Great Britain’s priority was
to strengthen its Empire
and trade
 France was still concerned
about Germany and
thought that the L0N was
useless without an army
which could apply its
decissions

8. PCS History Department
Membership of the League
 42 countries joined the
League at the start and in
1930 it had 59 members.
 Great Britain and France
were the major powers
that guided the LoN
policy.
 Italy and Japan were also
members of the Council.

9. PCS History Department
 To discourage agression
 To encourage disarmament
 To increase cooperation among nations, specially in
trade an business
 To improve the living conditions of people
The Aims of the League

10. PCS History Department
How did the League of Nations work?
THE
ASSEMBLY
THE
PERMANET
COURT OF
INTERNATIONAL
JUSTICE
THE
INTERNATIONAL
LABOUR
ORGANISATION
(ILO) THE HEALTH
COMMITTEE
THE SLAVERY
COMMISSION
THE REFUGEES
COMMITTEE
THE MANDATES
COMMISION
THE
COUNCIL
THE
SECRETARIAT

11. PCS History Department
The LoN’s main bodies
The Council
• Small group with
permanent members
that had a veto plus
temporary members
• Discuss problems in
case of emergency
and establish moral
condemnation,
economic sanctions
and/or military
actions if needed
The Assembly
• Parliament with all
the members.
• Recomended actions
to the Council
• Met once a year
• Its decissions had to
be unanimous
The
Secretariat
• Record the League’s
meetings
• Prepare reports for
the agencies

12. PCS History Department
Border Disputes in the 1920’s
• Poland occupied Vilna, capital of Lithuania
• The LoN could not solve itVilna, 1920
• Germany and Poland disputed the region
• It was divided in two by the LoN
Upper
Silesia, 1921
• Sweeden and Finland disputed the islands
• The LoN decided that the islands would
belong to Finland. Sweeden accepted the
decision.
Aaland
Islands, 1921

13. PCS History Department
Border Disputes in the 1920’s
• Greece and Albania disputed the island.
Italians supervised it.
• The Italian general was killed and Mussolini,
Italy prime minister, bombarded Corfu.
• Greece had to apologise and pay compensation
to Italy.
Corfu, 1923
• Great Britain and France designed the
Protocol to avoid the League to be undermined
by one of its members as in Corfu.
• It stated that the members of the League
would have to acept the League’s decission.
• The British Parliament rejected it.
The Geneval
Protocol
• Greece invaded Bulgaria.
• The LoN forced Greece to apologize and pay
compensations to Bulgaria.
• It showed the members that there seemed to
be a different rule for the large states (Italy)
and for the smaller ones (Greece)
Bulgaria,
1925

14. PCS History Department
Failure of disarmament
 No major agreements
were made apart from
the Washington
Conference (1923) in
which USA, Japan, Great
Britain and France
accepted to reduce the
size of their navies.
 This damaged the
reputation of the League
(particularly in
Germany)

15. PCS History Department
The Locarno Treaties,
1925
The Kellogg-Briand Pact,
1928
 Germany accepted the terms
of the Treaty of Versailles
related to its Western
borders:
 Borders with France and
Belgium
 Demilitarisation of Rhineland
 Disputes with other nations
would be solved at the LoN
 In exchange, Germany was
accepted as a member of the
LoN in 1926
 Renounced war as a
way to solve disputes
but it made no
provisions for
sanctions if any
member broke the
pact.
International Agreements

16. PCS History Department
The mood by the end of the 1920’s
 The LoN has not been
succesful in some
territorial disputes or in
disarmament but
international relations
were at its high point
with all nations willing to
collaborate and avoid
war.
 At the same time the
economies of European
nations were recovering.

17. PCS History Department
Economy
Recovers
- The Dawes Plan
established a way to
collect war reparations
from Germany, thus
getting British and
French economies
moving again.
- Trading relationships
among nations reduced
tensions.
- But USA’s loans would
be a burden to Europe’s
economy in the 1930’s

18. PCS History Department
During the 1920’s the League of Nations tried to
increase international cooperation to avoid war.
Nevertheless, in the 1930’s the LoN failed.