-
Period: to
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a time period when economy was poor. This was caused most notably by a stock market crash in 1929. This served as a catalyst for many other global issues the the 1930s. Due to the Great Depression, many countries, such as Britain and France, had pursue appeasement policies because they did not have enough funds to go to war. -
Period: to
Manchurian Crisis
The USA and European nations were afraid that Japan's expansion policies in China would interfere with their trading. In 1931, Japan invaded a region of China that held many trading rights. China appealed to the League for help, but they didn't do much. Japan completely ignored the League's suggestions, and thy did not act against Japan to avoid war. Although the League's covenant stated that, in this case, Japan would be in the wrong they were following somewhat of an appeasement policy. -
World Disarmament Conference
Although well intended, this conference achieved very little. Most nations agreed that they could not disarm any further because they needed to be prepared if invaded or war broke out. Hitler was not impressed since he felt that Germany had done its part. This conference confirmed that most nation that were apart of the League had no faith in their ability to intervene. -
Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance
This agreement was formed after the failure of the Stresa Front. Under its terms, both France and Russia would aid each other if attacked by another European nation. In turn, this agreement denounced the terms of the Locarno treaties. Both nations feared Germany, and they had to try to find a way to protect themselves. -
Abyssinian Crisis
Even though Abyssinia was a member of the League of Nations, and joined in 1923, the League did nothing to support them when invaded by Italy. Italy imposed uncharted aggression in Abyssinia, but they had just signed the Stresa Front. With that being said, Britain and France still viewed Italy as an ally against Germany, so the did not intervene in this crisis. This was one of the more blatant examples of the League not intervening to prevent war but no keeping peace. -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler was unable to militarize the Rhineland; however, Britain and France had not intervened in Hitler's previous engagements, so he assumed the same would be true for the Rhineland. Eventually, Hitler invaded the Rhineland with no military resistance from Britain or France. His justification for the invasion was righting the wrongs of the Treaty of Versailles. This showed that neither the League nor any other nations were willing to combat Hitler's extremism. -
Period: to
Spanish Civil War
This war started as somewhat of a revolutionist movement in Spain. Franco did not like that Spain would not respect the democratic norms, and a bloodbath of a war broke out. Franco reached out to other European nations for help, and this helped him secure the victory. This war was a major victory for Hitler and his extremist policy. -
Anti-Comintern Pact
This pact was initially signed by German and Japan to combat communism, specifically in the Soviet Union. The pact came at a time when Japan was still very imperial, and Germany was in the first few years of Hitler's reign. They both had issues with being geographically close to such a large communist nation like Russia and were convinced that they would attack if not prevented. This marked one of the first few events in Hitler’s extremism. -
The Munich Conference
This conference was held to solve the issue in the Sudetenland. Britain, France, Italy, and Germany were invited but Czechoslovakia and the USSR were not. To prevent conflict, the conference resulted in Hitler getting most of his demands as well as giving him the Sudetenland. This was one of the clearest examples of appeasement. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
After keeping up with appeasement, Hitler felt Britain and France would never push against him. After Hitler invaded Poland, war was completely unavoidable. Britain declared war first and was followed by France. This is event was why war broke out in 1939.