-
Period: to
League of Nations
-
Failure, Polish and Czech troops fight in the streets
In January 1919, Polish and Czech troops fought in the streets of Teschen. Many died. The League was called on to help and decided that the bulk of the town should go to Poland while Czechoslovakia should have one of Teschen’s suburbs. This suburb contained the most valuable coalmines and the Poles refused to accept this decision. Though no more wholesale violence took place, the two countries continued to argue over the issue for the next twenty years. -
Success Upper Silesia
In the same year, 1921, the League was equally successful in Upper Silesia. The Treaty of Versailles had given the people of Upper Silesia the right to have a referendum on whether they wanted to be part of Weimar Germany or part of Poland. In this referendum, 700,000 voted for Germany and 500,000 for Poland. This close result resulted in rioting between those who expected Silesia to be made part of Weimar Germany and those who wanted to be part of Poland. The League was asked to settle this dis -
Success in Asland Islands
The League was successful in the Aaland Islands in 1921. These islands are nearly equally distant between Finland and Sweden. They had traditionally belonged to Finland but most of the islanders wanted to be governed by Sweden. Neither Sweden nor Finland could come to a decision as to who owned the islands and in 1921 they asked the League to adjudicate. The League’s decision was that they should remain with Finland but that no weapons should ever be kept there. Both countries accepted the decis -
Failure Belgium’s invaded the Ruhr
In 1923, contrary to League rules, the French and the Belgium’s invaded the Ruhr – Germany’s most important industrial zone. Within Europe, France was seen as a senior League member – like Britain – and the anti-German feeling that was felt throughout Europe allowed both France and Belgium to break their own rules as were introduced by the League -
Success League helped to resolve a dispute between Greece and Bulgaria
In 1925, the League helped to resolve a dispute between Greece and Bulgaria. Both these nations have a common border. In 1925, sentries patrolling this border fired on one another and a Greek soldier was killed. The Greek army invaded Bulgaria as a result. The Bulgarians asked the League for help and the League ordered both armies to stop fighting and that the Greeks should pull out of Bulgaria. The League then sent experts to the area and decided that Greece was to blame and fined her £45,000. -
Success League combats illegal activites and helps refugees
The League worked to combat the international trade in opium and sexual slavery and helped alleviate the plight of refugees, particularly in Turkey in the period to 1926. -
Failure, Wall Street Crash
The world economic crisis which began in 1929 contributed to the decline of the league. It brought unemployment and reduced living standards in most countries. As a result, extreme socialist and communist governments in Japan and Germany came to power and together with Italy’s Mussolini, they refused to keep to the rules and decided to take certain actions that revealed the weaknesses of the league. -
Failure of disarmament efforts in the 1920s
February 1932 the League of Nations held a disarmament conference. It produced resolutions to limit the size of artillery and tanks, ban the bombing of civilians and chemical warfare. The League was unable to agree upon a way to implement these solutions.