The League of Nations (1920-1946)
What was the League?
The league of Nations was an international alliance for the preservation of peace. The first League of Nations meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1920. A total of 63 nations had belonged to the League of Nations throughout its history. Such notable members included: Japan, 1920-1933, Germany, who was admitted in 1926, but withdrew from the League in 1933. The Soviet Union joined in 1934, but was expelled in 1939 for attacking Finland. Italy joined in 1920, but left in 1937 to pursue a pact with Adolf Hitler Germany and Imperial Japan. Britain and France were the longest in, since they stayed until its dissolution in 1946.
The League consisted of an assembly, a council, and a secretariat. Before World War II, the assembly met three times annually. The secretariat and the administrative branch consisted of 601 members, one of which was elected to be the Secretary - General.
The League’s main tasks were:
1.- To pursuade feuding countries to talk about their disputes and resolve them without resorting to war.
2.- To arrange for other countries to go to the aid of a member country if it was attacked. This was called “collective security”.
3.- To ensure that the lands taken from Turkey and the colonies of Germany were governed justly and were prepared eventually for independence. These lands were handed over to Allied powers such as France and Britain, and were called mandates.
Britain was given total control of Mesopotamia (now Iraq), Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania), and Palestine (now Palestine and Transjordan, later renamed Jordan). France was given Syria and Lebanon, while Belgium received Ruanda - Urundi. Japan was given the German islands in the North Pacific, while Australia received all German islands in the South Pacific. Finally, South Africa received German South-west Africa (now Namibia). France and Britain were both given parts of the Cameroons and Togoland.
The League of Nations was based on the concept of collective security against the “criminal” threat of war. The League, however, rarely implemented its limited resources to achieve this goal. Although it had minor successes, major powers preferred to handle their own affairs. The League may be credited with slowing down international drug trafficking, aiding World War I refugees and surveying and improving health and labour conditions around the globe. The League, however, was powerless to prevent World War II. In 1946, the League voted to effect its own dissolution, and much of its property and organisation were transferred to the United Nations.
In Conclusion, American President Woodrow Wilson may have been disillusioned into believing that the League could prevent future wars.
A School Link Article. Courtesy of Simon Tremblay, LCCHS, March 12, 1999 .
