Frances

League of Nations + Road to war

(a) What were the aims of the League of Nations? [5]
The most important point was to maintain peace. To do so they encouraged international co-operation to introduce collective security. To settle all disputes peacefully. To encourage countries to disarm. To encourage co-operation between countries on matters of international concern such as fighting disease.To improve living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world, which basically reduced the need of people to want a war. Encourage economic co-operation.

(a) How did the League of Nations hope to prevent future wars between nations?
By giving all members equal voting rights and letting the choose the type of government they wanted ‘’self-determination’’. By maintaining the peacetreaties of 1919 Paris Peace conference. An important part of this was to maintain Germany week in order to avoid her starting another war. By getting the quarrelling members to talk about their problems. By condemning an aggressor – so they felt guilty and backed down. Imposing economic, political sanctions and the worst case scenario was to have military sanctions of all the members against theoffensive one, so they would back down before any fighting took place, this was called collective security. By encouraging nations to disarm. Finally by counting with the some major countries in the world being Britain, France mostly.

(a) Describe the work of the Agencies of the League of Nations. [5]
The Assembly was the League’s parliament. Every country in the League sent a representativeto the assembly. The assembly could recommend action to the council and could vote on admitting new members into the League, appointing temporary members of the Council, the budget of the League and other ideas put forward by the council.
The Health committee attempted to deal with the problem of dangerous diseases and to educate people about health and sanitation.

(a) Describe the successesof the League of Nations in the 1920s. [5]
In 1920 the dispute between Sweden and Finland over the Aaland Islands (who belonged to Finland though most islanders where Swedish), after the League had studied the matter the islands were given to Finland as long as they kept no weapons there, and Sweden accepted this decision. The problem was resolved quietly and peacefully. This decision wassuccessful enough that it is still kept.
In 1921 some successes were the dispute between Poland and Germany regarding Upper Silesia. There the League organised using democracy a successful plebiscite, but the voting turned out equal and the area was split. The league gave most of the land to Germany and the industry Poland. Both countries accepted the decision.
It had great achievements in gettingrefugees and former prisoners of war back to their homelands In addition the Health Committee was partially successful in its attempt to defeat Leprosy. It started a global campaign to exterminate mosquitoes which reduced the cases of malaria and yellow fever. This section was so successful that the even Russia who was against the League asked for advice to help prevent the outbreak of choleraand typhus in Siberia.
Austria + Hungaria

(b) Why did the League of Nations have some successes during the 1920s? [7]
Early successes of the League gave nations confidence and they wanted it to work. War had just ended and countries did not want more hostility. Countries such as Germany and Japan were not powerful and therefore not a problem. Most of the disputes in this period involvedsmaller nations and they accepted more readily the L of N judgement. Finland and Sweden were in dispute over the Aaland Islands (1920). The
League studied the case and both countries accepted the League’s decision. In the Greek – Bulgarian border dispute both sides stopped fighting. The Greeks were fined. Both sides obeyed the League’s orders. The L of N was able to help prevent the collapse of the...