The Abyssinian Crisis

it was the Abyssinian crisis that destroyed the League of Nations as an effective peace making body

How far do you agree with this statement?

The League of Nations collapsed in the 30’s becauseof the economic crisis that Abyssinia suffered, but also because it had several other problems with the countries that formed it. In this essay we are going to explain the Leagues failures to dealwith other countries, the intern problems that it suffered and its results.

The League suffered its first defeat in 1920, when an armed group of Poles seized Vilna (which was part of Lithuania, butthe majority of its population was Polish). The League tried to negotiate a deal with them but it came to nothing. France had decided not to confront Poland, to keep it as an ally against Germany, andeventually put its own interests against the League resulting in the League’s failure.

In 1923, Italy seized the Greek island of Corfu after Italian soldiers were killed in the Geek-Albanianboarder. Italy demanded lots of money in compensation. When the League attempted to discuss over the matter it was once again ignored. As a result the League backed down so as not to upset Italy (majorpower) or Poland (ally), resulting in the League’s failure once more.

The League continued to fail when it dealt with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, China, in 1931 when the Japanese took overManchuria’s farmland and raw materials. As Japan was also a member of the League’s council, the League stated that the Japanese were only protecting their own interests but anyway sent a team toinvestigate a railway explosion for which the Chinese were blamed and the Japanese justified their invasion. It took 1 year to the team to report back, eventually showing how ineffective the League wasagainst a big power.

Also, the League had its own problems as France and Britain were always in disagreement between each other and couldn’t get the League to reach a decision (as they had to be...