League of Nations Paper 2

"Failures of the League of Nations and attempts at collective security were in fact the main cause of World War II." To what extent do you agree with this claim.

This statement is almost entirely false. The failures of the League of Nations and the international community were largely irrelevant to the actual causes of World War II. The actions of the League did very little towards actually starting the war, but simply failed in its purpose of preventing a war from happening. In fact, the main cause of the Second World War was the rise of militarism, which had become increasingly popular throughout the early 20th century, particularly as a means of dealing with issues of economic and nationalistic importance. This could be seen in various international incidents which are often viewed as the failures of the League of Nations that caused World War II. However, upon closer inspection it is clear that these events were actually examples of militarism that the League of Nations was powerless to stop.

One of these events was the Japanese invasion of the Chinese territory of Manchuria in 1931. This invasion was carried out for what seemed to be mostly economic reasons. Manchuria contained a large amount of natural resources, and offered many opportunities for trade and employment. In addition to this, Manchuria was three times the size of Japan, but at the same time it was the home of a third of the number of people who lived in the Japanese empire. Because of this, Japan adopted a militaristic policy similar to Hitler's idea of gaining "lebensraum," or living space, for Germany. Japan decided that it should take what it wanted from China through the use of force. Meanwhile, China and Japan were both members of the League of Nations, with Japan being one of the leading members of the organization. As such, it was the League's responsibility to maintain collective security by punishing Japan. The League had planned resolve such situations by issuing sanctions against the country that committed the violation. However, using sanctions meant ending trade with that country, and this was not something that any nation was ready to do. Stopping trade with Japan would have been damaging to the global economy, which was already ruined by the Great Depression, and it was also likely to cause a war, which was exactly what the League had hoped to prevent. The League tried to compromise with Japan, suggesting that Japan remove its military from China and that Manchuria become a semi-independent nation. Japan reacted to this by withdrawing from the League of Nations and continuing to invade Chinese provinces such as Jehol.

This event was a definite failure for the League of Nations, showing the League's complete inability to react to certain threats to international peace. Nevertheless, the League of Nations did nothing to actually provoke the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The true reason for the invasion, and thus in this case the true cause of World War II, was Japan's militaristic ideology, with which the military was convinced that it could resolve its nation's economic problems by taking foreign lands. Japan's economy was impacted greatly in 1929 by the Great Depression, so Japanese army officers believed that gaining the economic benefits of territories like Manchuria would help restore their country's former success.

A similar incident occurred when Italy invaded the African country of Ethiopia in 1935. Italy did this because it had been relatively unsuccessful during the European "scramble for Africa" in the 19th century (Stopped here in class), gaining only three colonies at that time. Another reason for the invasion was the fact that Italy's military had been disgraced by its defeat at the hands of Ethiopia at the Battle of Adowa in 1896. It is likely that the fascist Italian dictator Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in order to restore some of this lost dignity, in addition to gaining territory in Africa and the trade and resources it would bring. Like the incident with Japan and China, this was a conflict between two members of the League of Nations. This time, however, the League was able to impose sanctions on Italy. Unfortunately, the League had never tried this before, and so it did not know how ineffective it would be. The sanctions were delayed for six weeks, and even after that delay some nations refused to stop trading with their ally, Italy. The sanctions that did take effect proved to be a hindrance for Italy, but they were not particularly devastating, as there was no sanction on oil, which would have been the only thing that could have stopped Italy's aggression. Because of this failure, the League tried to negotiate with Mussolini with the Hoare-Laval Plan, which offered a large portion of Ethiopia to Italy in return for the end of the invasion. Mussolini agreed, but many people protested, saying that Ethiopia was being betrayed. As a result, the plan was never carried out, and the invasion was not stopped.

It would be difficult to argue that this was not a terrible failure on the League of Nations' part, but that does not mean that this situation was an example of the League causing World War II. This crisis was started by Italy's belief that its superior military strength was the best tool it could use to restore its national pride and to improve its economy. Mussolini knew that Ethiopia had a poorly equipped army, and that his military could easily crush it. It was Italy's decision to use this type of force rather than peaceful negotiation that made this event a cause of the Second World War.

One of the most common accusations against the League of Nations is that its policy of appeasement in regards to Germany's aggressive actions in the 1930's and 1940's. Germany showed several signs suggesting that it was likely to start a conflict, but these were largely ignored by the League of Nations. Hitler's foreign and domestic policies deliberately disregarded the conditions set by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 after the end of World War I. For example, although the Treaty of Versailles had forbidden Germany from having an army larger than 100,000 troops, Hitler increased the size of his military to about 550,000 soldiers by 1935. The rest of Europe may have been worried by this, but no action was taken against Germany. In 1936, only a year later, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland, which had been occupied by France after World War I. France could have easily put an end to this remilitarization by reacting with its own military, but instead it did not react at all. Then, in 1938, Hitler formed an Anschluss, or union, with Austria, although the Treaty of Versailles had stated that Germany could not make such alliances. The League of Nations' unwillingness to react to these things may have been caused by an international feeling of sympathy toward Germany, with Britain and France thinking that they might have been too strict with their punishments in the Treaty of Versailles.

The League of Nations was not truly to blame in this situation, either. As seen in the Ethiopia and Manchuria crises, the League was probably powerless as an organization to do anything to stop Hitler, even if it tried. If anyone was to blame, apart from Germany, it would have been Britain and France. These nations were the leaders of the League, but they could have also taken action on their own, responding to Germany's violations of the Treaty of Versailles with force. Still, Nazi Germany's militaristic policies are the most notable causes of World War II in this example. Hitler clearly focused on building a large military force, and he attempted to use this military to eliminate anything that he thought may be a threat to his power in Europe.

In conclusion, the statement that "failures of the League of Nations and attempts at collective security were in fact the main cause of World War II" is, to a great extent, incorrect. It is true that the League was for the most part unable to prevent a war from happening, but its failures were not a cause of World War II in the way that the international rise of militarism at the time was. The League only failed in its mission to establish and maintain collective security; it did not actually do much that could be seen as having provoked World War II.

League of Nations Paper 2 Outline

"Failures of the League of Nations and attempts at collective security were in fact the main cause of World War II" To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The Failures of the League of Nations were for largely irrelevant to the actual causes of World War II. The League did not do much to truly cause war, but instead failed in its purpose of preventing it. The main cause of World War II was the rise of militarism as a popular method of dealing with issues of economic and nationalistic importance.

1. Failure of the League: Failure to punish Japan for invading Manchuria

• 1931, Japan invades the Chinese territory of Manchuria for largely economic reasons (Manchuria contained large amounts of natural resources) and for more living space, similar to Hitler's idea of lebensraum (Manchuria was three times as large as the Japanese empire, but had a third of the number of people living in it.)
• Both Japan and China were members of the League of Nations. The League's attempts at collective security failed, because no nations wanted to give up trade or start a conflict with Japan.
  
• In 1932, the League attempted to please both Japan and China by requesting that the Japanese military leave Manchuria and that Manchuria become a semi-independent nation. Japan withdraws from the League and continues to take Chinese provinces such as Jehol.
• Militarism- The Japanese military believed that conquering foreign lands would be an effective way to get out of the Great Depression, which destroyed Japan's economy in 1929. The opportunities for trade, resources, and employment offered by Manchuria were very appealing to Japan.
• The League did nothing to cause Japan to invade Manchuria, but simply failed to prevent its militaristic behavior.
  

2. Failure of the League: Failure to resolve the Ethiopia Crisis

• 1935, Italy invades Ethiopia. This was because Italy had been relatively unsuccessful in the European "scramble for Africa" in the 1800's, having only gained 3 colonies: Libya, Eritrea, and Somaliland. In addition, Italy was disgraced by its defeat at the hands of Ethiopia in 1896 at the Battle of Adowa. It is likely that Mussolini wanted to restore some amount of dignity to his nation, and to gain territory in Africa to benefit from trade and resources.
  
• Italy and Ethiopia were both members of the League of Nations. This was the first time the League actually issued sanctions against a country, but it failed in doing so. The sanctions were delayed for six weeks, and some of Italy's allies did not stop trading with Italy. The sanctions that were made were not entirely devastating to Italy, because there was no sanction on oil, much of which was controlled by the US, a non-League nation.
• The Hoare-Laval Plan suggested that Italy take a large portion of Ethiopia and stop its invasion. Mussolini agreed to this, but many people thought that the plan was unfair to Ethiopia, and so it was not carried out.
  
• Militarism- Mussolini's Italy saw its superior military strength (Ethiopia was poorly equipped) as the best means of restoring its national pride and gaining economic benefits.
• Clearly a failure for the League, but even if the Hoare-Laval Plan was successful, Italy still would have been in control of Ethiopia, and there was no guarantee that it's aggression would not continue.
  

3. Failure of the League: Failures at the World Disarmament Conference

• 1932-1933, the League of Nations met with the purpose of decreasing the amount of arms held globally by member states in order to maintain collective security.
• Germany asked for arms equality with France. France refused, saying that Germany would have to wait 8 years for this. Germany uses this as an excuse to withdraw from the League.
  

4. Failure of the League: Failures of the Locarno Treaties

• 1925, Germany, France, and Belgium agreed to respect their borders. Britain and Italy agreed to enforce this.
  
• Germany did not guarantee its borders with Poland and Czechoslovakia. Britain did not argue against this. It could be said that this encouraged Hitler to invade these countries. However, Hitler attacked France and Britain anyway, so it is unlikely that he would have changed his plans had Britain agreed to help Poland and Czechoslovakia.
  

5. Failure of the League: Failure of Appeasement

• 1935, Germany increased the size of its army by 550,000 troops. Treaty of Versailles had set a limit of 100,000.
• Remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936
  
• Anschluss with Austria in 1938
• Although France and Britain could have used their own military forces early on to counter those of Germany, it had been proven that the League could do very little to stop Germany, and so it is difficult to blame the League of Nations for actually helping to cause the war in this case.
  

Class Notes 11/18

Paper 2 Prep

1. Review demands of a "To What Extent" essay

2. Ideological Causes of WWI?

• Fascism, Nazism
• Communism
• Capitalism
• Racism
• Imperialism
• Militarism
  
• Totalitarianism
  
• Pacifism
  

HW 6

1. Discuss a political cause of WWII that could be related to the reading.

One political cause related to the reading could be seen in the failures of the League of Nations. When Japan invaded Manchuria, it was clear that the League was incapable of maintaining its promise of keeping peace through collective security. Japan went unpunished for its actions, because the League of Nations was not willing or able to enforce its policies.

2. Discuss an economic cause of WWII that could be related the the reading.

The Great Depression was an economic cause of WWII related to Japan's invasion of Manchuria, as well as to the League of Nation's failure to punish Japan. Normally, the League of Nations would set up sanctions against a nation that went against it, meaning that other countries wouldn't trade with that nation. However, the Great Depression had placed the world in a terrible economic state. Because of this, no nations wanted to give up trade with Japan.

3. Discuss an ideological cause of WWII that could be related to the reading.

Japan's position against communism could be seen as an ideological cause of that nation's involvement in World War II. Japan formed an Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, with the two countries agreeing on the goal of stopping the spread of international communism. Italy also agreed to this pact soon afterward.

4. Answer question A from Chapter 8.

1. Japan
2. The clouds probably represent death or the darkness of war.
3. The cartoonist may have been trying to portray Japan as a menacing, overwhelming force that is invading China, which is portrayed as a helpless victim.

5. Answer question B from Chapter 8.

1. The family shown seems to be a somewhat wealthy Chinese family.
2. The family is probably fleeing because of the Japanese invasion of China. They may be taking everything they can with them because they believe they will be unable to return to their home.

Class Notes 11/17

1932-33: World Disarmament Conference

• Sponsored by LoN
• Germany asks for equality in arms w/ France
• France refuses, asks to delay arms equality for 8 years
• Partly because Great Britain and US will not guarantee French border v. German attack
• Hitler may have ignored any treaty anyway, seeing his history of breaking various treaties he had signed with other nations.
  

HW 5

6. I believe that Neville Chamberlain's assessment of the causes of World War II is accurate, to an extent. "The German Chancellor," as Chamberlain refers to Hitler, was in fact largely to blame for the war. However, appeasement by people such as Chamberlain himself was an almost equally responsible cause. It would be very ignorant for the British Prime Minister to deny that his nation and its allies had any role in starting the war.

As Chamberlain claims, Hitler seems to have done much more than any other single person towards beginning World War II. If Hitler had not been in power, the conflict would likely have never reached such a large scale. Hitler took advantage of the rise of dictators like himself, uniting various powerful leaders of the time, and in doing so, helped to start the war and later to expand it. He did this by working with leaders such as Italy's Mussolini, who allowed Hitler to for an Anschluss, or union, with Austria in 1938, and the emperor of Japan, which had invaded China and would eventually involve the United States in World War II. Hitler was also very aggressive in the years leading up to the war, annexing territories such as Czechoslovakia and remilitarizing the Rhineland, which had been occupied by France. While this aggression was ignored for the most part by the rest of the world, it served to increase international tensions and prove the limitations of the League of Nations, encouraging other dictators to take actions of their own.

Hitler's use of deceit was also to blame. Hitler had promised that, after he took Czechoslovakia, he would be done invading other countries. Soon afterward, however, he invaded Poland, revealing to Britain and France that Germany could not be trusted and had to be stopped. Similarly, Germany had signed a non-aggression pact with Russia, with the two nations agreeing that neither would attack the other when they both invaded different parts of Poland. Hitler betrayed this agreement and launched a massive assault on Russia, further expanding the conflict he had helped to begin.

For these reasons, Hitler held much of the responsibility for the war. Nevertheless, he was not the only person responsible. Western Europe's policy of appeasement allowed Hitler to do what he did, and as such it could be seen as having been as just as much of a cause of World War II as Hitler's actions were. France and Britain had multiple opportunities to stop Hitler; for example, they could have reacted to Germany's remilitarization of the Rhineland, or to Hitler's efforts to increase the size of the German military beyond the limitations set by the Versailles Treaty. It could be argued that there are always threats like Hitler in the world, and that they only reach their full potential as threats when others allow them to do so through their mistakes.

HW 4

1. The League of Nations helped to improve international relations in some cases, resolving various issues between countries. For example, the results of territorial disputes such as the argument between Finland and Sweden over the Aaland Islands and the one between Germany and Poland about Upper Silesia were decided by the League of Nations, which gave the Aaland Islands to Finland and divided Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland. These decisions were effective, and were accepted internationally.
In addition to this, the League was able to prevent certain incidents from becoming violent conflicts. A Greek invasion of Bulgaria was ended quickly by the League of Nations, which demanded for Greece to withdraw its forces and pay reparations for Bulgaria. However, the League was not entirely successful in all its efforts. It had no real power with which to enforce its decisions, meaning that some of its efforts, such as the Disarmament Commission were ineffective, as the League seemed to have very little actual authority over the amount of weapons nations could keep.

2. The League of Nations was successful in some ways, but it could have been a much more effective organization overall. For a number of reasons, it lacked the power it needed to be make authoritative international decisions. The first of these reasons was the fact that some of the most powerful nations at the time were not involved in the League's activities. For example, the United States was never a member of the League, and the USSR was not a member until 1934. If France and Britain, the two countries that seemed to be in charge of the League, had figured out a way to involve these nations, they may have had a better chance of maintaining collective security.
The League of Nations was also largely inactive during the events leading up to World War II. This may have been because France and Britain felt that they had be too strict with its punishments for Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. If the League had taken action against aggression by dictators such as Hitler, it may have been able to prevent or lessen the impact of the Second World War. Specifically, the German remilitarization of the Rhineland could have easily been stopped if France reacted by sending in its troops.