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Creation of the League of Nations
After WW1, the Paris Peace Conference was held. The Treaty of Versailles was signed, and imposed the terms of peace with Germany. In addition to this treaty, the League of Nations was created, in order to guarantee peace and cooperation between countries. At first, it was formed by countries that had been part of the Allies during WW1 (neutral countries, Germany and Russia were excluded). -
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First period (enlarging their membership)
During the first years of the League of Nations, some neutral countries joined them, while the new nations that appeared after the establishment for peace also joined. The main objective of the League during this period of time was to rescue certain countries from financial catastrophe. They managed to rescue Austria, and used the model for Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece... -
Second period (the end of the Supreme Council / Epicentre in Geneva)
The new governments in London and Paris agreed to establish better relationships with Germany and the USSR. The Supreme Council stopped working and Geveba (Switzerland) was the epicentre of all the international affairs. There were some disputes that the League resolved easily and didn't create instability. -
First period (conflict Italy - Greece)
In 1923, Mussolini occupied the island of Corfu (Greece), in order to force the Greek government to pay for the murder of Italian officers in Greek territory. Since both countries were part of the League of Nations, this was the first conflict between League members. After a lot of pressure, Mussolini was obligated to evacuate Corfu. The event showed that the League was able to achieve peace, although with late decisions. -
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Second period (France and Poland want to give up the war reparations that Germany had to paid for)
Germany wanted to enter the League of Nations. It was supported by the neutral countries and those who wanted to achieve peace with them. France and Poland wanted to give up the war reparations that Germany had to pay for, as they feared that the Weimar Republic military forces would become the most powerful in the world if Germany was forced to pay. However, some countries didn't think that the war reparations were dangerous. The League of Nations agreed that Germany had to continue paying. -
Second period (the Geneva Protocol)
The members of the League of Nations saw that the League was finding difficulties to find which state was the enemy and which state was the victim when conflicts took place. Because of this, in the Assembly of 1924, they agreed to add arbitration as a third component, and the new plan was called Geneva Protocol. -
Second period (Locarno Pact)
Gustav Stresemann (German foreign minister), manifested a proposal in order to calm down the tension between Germany and France --> The Locarno Pact was signed (French-German border couldn't move, demilitarization of Rhineland. -
Second period (Germany joins the League of Nations)
After the Locarno Pact was signed, all the members of the League were in favour of German membership. Therefore, they held in March 1926 a meeting of the Assembly. However, they had certain problems, since Spain, Poland and Brazil demanded the same privilege, so the Assembly was adjourned. Six months later, they reach and agreement and Germany entered the League. However, Brazil decided to abandoned it. -
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Second period (The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Great Britain became the "leaders")
For the next years, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Great Britain were the head of the League. Smaller powers felt that they were been discriminated and Latin American and Asian countries abandoned the League. There were several disputes and small conflicts between certain countries, but were quickly solved. -
Second period (Crash of 1929)
In 1929, there was an economic crisis caused by the Wall Street crash in the US. This crisis affected all the planet, including those countries that were part of the League of Nations, so tensions between countries were aggravated. -
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Second period (Germany demands rearmament and the Nazi Party)
In Germany, poverty and unemployment grew, reviving old resentments. This, made the Nazi Party to grew more and more, gaining a lot of supporters. During the following years, a lot of efforts were made in order to reach and agreement for the disarmament. However, most of the meetings were long, difficult and stormy, since many powerful countries had different ideas. In addition, Stresemann death in 1929 and the advance of the Nazis led to a more difficult deadlock. -
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Third period (Japan invades Manchuria)
In 1931, there an attack made by the Japanese army on Manchuria (China). Japan declared that they would withdraw the troops, but they created the state of Manchuoko. Many members of the League asked for an economic punishment for Japan. However, the world was suffering and economic crisis, and the punishment was never established. Finally, the League drew up a full report, concluding that Manchuria should be returned to China. -
Third period (Japan and Germany withdraw from the League)
The year 1933 saw the failure of the League to defend China from the Japanese attack. In addition, Japan and Germany withdraw from the League (Germany mainly because the League agreed to maintain the restrictions of the peace treaty of 1919). Besides, the financial and economic organization of the League was having a lot of losses, since many countries focused on protecting their own economies. -
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Third period (The Soviet Union joins the League / Conflicts in Latin America)
After the withdrawal of Japan and Germany, the Soviet Union (feared Germany and Japan) changed their ideas and joined the League. Meanwhile, Mexico and Ecuador were also admitted, so the Latin American membership was completed. Turkey, Afghanistan and Iraq also joined the League. During this period of time, there were some tensions and wars in Latin America. Some of them were solved (hostilities between Colombia and Peru), but others weren't solved (Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay). -
Third period (Mussolini invades Ethiopia and Italy abandons the League)
On October, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia after rejecting all efforts to dissuade him. He managed to annex the country, despite the economic punishments he would receive. The league members agreed to stop the sell of arms and products to Italy. The effects of the measures began to be felt in Italy. However, Mussolini was saved, and the League of Nations couldn't prevent the Italian victory. In May, Italy annexed Ethiopia and abandoned the League. -
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Fourth period (Broke out to WW2)
In March 1936, Hitler rejected the Locarno Pact. He formed with Italy the Rome-Berlin Axis, and they were joined by Japan. Among the League members, France, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were looking for support against the German aggression. There were a lot of problems: Spanish Civil War, Japan's invasion of China... WW2 broke out in September 1939, and there were no appeals in Geneva. Finland was suffering Soviet aggression, and the Assembly declared the exclusion of the Soviet Union. -
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Fourth period (the end of the League of Nations)
During the war, there were no further meetings. In the last years of war, the Allied leaders began to make plans for the future international organization. Therefore, the United Nations was established. Six months later, the Assembly met in Geneva for the last time. The powers and functions of the League were transferred to the new organization. The existence of the League was formally ended.