Summary:
The League of Nations did some humanitarian good during the inter-war period, but its failures in Manchuria, Ethiopia and the fact that it did nothing to stop the rise of Hitler all resulted in the ultimate failure of the League and its idea of collective security.
When WWI ended in 1917 much of Europe was left in confusion which created the need for a conference to be held to sort out problems like punishing Germany, drawing new boarders, and preventing future wars. The Paris Peace Conference was held in Versailles in 1919 and was controlled by the three most powerful countries, France, Britain and the United States. Woodraw Wilson, the president of the United States, had his own agenda during the peace conference; Wilson wanted to create the League of Nations that would prevent future wars. At the peace conference Wilson pushed for the delegates to adopt the idea of collective security, the idea that an attack on one was an attack on all. The League of Nations did some humanitarian good during the inter-war period, but its failures in Manchuria, Ethiopia and the fact that it did nothing to stop the rise of Hitler all resulted in the ultimate failure of the League and its idea of collective security.
The League consisted of many of the significant world powers- Britain, France, Italy, Japan and later Russia-, which gave them the possibility to do beneficial works and prevent opposition to peace. Although the League of Nations is usually remembered as a complete failure they did do some humanitarian work during the inter-war period like settling disputes between Germany and Poland in 1921, trying to solve slavery issues, and being involved in the prevention of disease and famine throughout the world. The treaty of Versailles had ordered a vote in Upper Silesia to decide whether the territory should be part of Germany or Poland. After the third uprising in Silesia in 1922 the League was asked to settle the matter and found that the best answer for Germany, Poland and the Silesians living would be to split the territory in two. One of the goals of the League of Nations was to eliminate slavery from the world. The League was successful in freeing 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone and also organized raids against slave traders to stop forced labour in Africa. Finally, the League focussed on ending disease like leprosy and malaria and contributed by starting a worldwide campaign to exterminate mosquitoes. The League also was involved in preventing an epidemic of typhus from spreading throughout Europe when they intervened in the Soviet Union, where the spread had started. Although the League of Nations is not remembered for doing good, they did make some contributions toward peacekeeping and humanitarian work.
The Manchuria crisis was a major setback of the League of Nations and directly affected Japans withdrawal from the League. In 1931 Japan had control of the South Manchurian Railway and used this as an excuse to invade Manchuria. Japan wanted Manchuria because they had materials that were essential for industrial growth. The action that the League chose to take was to send officials to sort out what happened. The Lytton Report, filed in 1932, declared Japan to be wrong and demanded that Manchuria be given back to the Chinese. The league was in the process of voting on the report when Japan revealed its intentions to invade more of China. When the report was passed 42-1, Japan voted against, Japan quit the League. An example of failed collective security is how the League deals with Japan after they leave. Since the League had no physical force like and army they have to rely on sanctions. Economic sanctions are powerless against Japan because their main trading partner is the United States, which was not a part of the League and said that they will trade with Japan any products that they are being denied by the other countries. The League showed its weakness by just letting Japan occupy Manchuria and invade northern China. This decision was a relief to the other members of the League because they were more concerned with themselves and the cost of an overseas venture than the idea of collective security and the reputation of the League of Nations.
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 also shows the leagues weakness in taking firm action and leads to Italy dropping out of the league and joining Germany. Italy invaded Ethiopia because it lay between two Italian colonies, Eritrea and Somaliland. The League took quicker actions this time but their lack of physical force to back them up again hindered them. The League imposed sanctions on Italy but this failed to make an effect because, again, the United States was offering any goods that the League was not granting Italy. The sanctions that were imposed on Italy pushed her into quitting the League and forming an alliance with Germany. The strongest stance that the League could have taken would have been to take control of the Suez Canal, which was a major means of transportation for Italy. However, it was apparent by this time that the League was no longer interested in taking a strong position and after this incident and the Manchurian crisis other powers knew that they could walk all over the League.
The League of Nation's ideals and goal were completely shattered by their lack of commitment to their plan for collective security. The way they dealed with issues like Manchuria and Ethiopia showed other countries that they could walk all over them. For example, the League did nothing when Hitler invaded the Rhineland and annexed Austria even though it was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. They even appeased Hitler and gave him the Sudeten land. Even though the League did do some good during the inter war period, ultimately, it and its concept for collective security was a complete failure.
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