THE FAILURE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The Rise of Dictators

The Birth of the League of nations

Originally proposed by the United States at the end of WWI (Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points)

Designed to be a place to discuss international conflict and ensure peace through mutual defense

Flawed from beginning- USA didn’t join- Soviet Union and Germany were not allowed in- The Spirit of Locarno (avoid war at all costs)

The League was just the will of England and France (both withdrew from aggressive foreign policy after the war)

Imperial Japan

In the 1930’s, Japan’s government was lead by the Military

Driven by their lack of natural resources and their dependence on foreign trade (especially with the USA), Japan attempted to expand its empire into Asia

Japan conquers Manchuria (North of China) in 1932

Japan attacks China in 1937

Japanese Atrocities

The Japanese Imperial Army was extremely brutal in their treatment of the enemy

They routinely killed prisoners of war, murdered civilians, kidnapped girls to be used as “comfort women,” and used chemical and biological weapons against defenseless people

The world was outraged but the League of Nations did nothing to stop them

Fascist Italy

Benito Mussolini, a former newspaper editor, comes to power in Italy after the “March on Rome” in 1922

He is riding the people’s anger over Italy’s treatment at the treaty of Versailles, crushing poverty and a failing Italian government

Mussolini creates fascism – a combination of dictatorship (one person in charge), nationalism, imperialism, militarism with work creation schemes and social programs to provide for the people

Mussolini become wildly popular and served as a model for Hitler and other dictators

Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

As part of his idea to “rebuild the Roman Empire” Mussolini invades Ethiopia (the last free African State)

The Ethiopians have few advanced weapons but effectively fight a guerilla style war

The Italians became frustrated with the lack of progress and decided to force Ethiopia’s surrender by attacking civilians

Hundreds of thousands are killed as the Italians bomb and shell innocent people in their homes

Again, the world is outraged but nothing is done to stop the horror

The Rise of Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin comes to power in the Soviet Union (formerly Russia)

Perhaps the most brutal dictator in history

Starves to death, imprisons and executes millions of his own people

Spanish Civil War

Francisco Franco, Spanish General, invades Spain from Morocco

A civil war starts between Franco’s supporters and the rest of Spain

Italy and German sent troops and weapons to help Franco

Franco seizes power in 1939

In Summary

Dictators (Franco, Mussolini, Hitler etc.) rise from poverty and discontent

They use brutal methods at home and against other nations

The League of Nations does not have the strength or will power to stop them

Since these dictators are not stopped, they only become more bold and aggressive

The failure of the League of Nations to act created a situation where dictators eventually gained so much power that it took a full scale war to stop them