League of Nations

[Bubble]

What caused the league of nations to be unsuccessful?

[jno]

I think the main one was that the USA wasn't a member

[Big Al1st]

Took this from the net

The League of Nations was the predecessor to the U.N. It was formed following World War I, and its mission was to prevent future wars. Like the U.N. it had no military, and relied on its member states to supply military forces. However the League was supposed to enforce international law through economic sanctions rather than by military force. In practice the League of Nations was a completely toothless tiger, often lacking the will to use even economic sanctions to punish aggressors. . It proved to be completely incapable of stopping Japanese aggression in China in 1931, or Italian aggression in Ethiopia in 1935. In a 1936 speech before the League, Emperor Haile Sellassie I of Ethiopia took the League to task for its failure to act against the Italian invasion. The League still did nothing. The League drifted into irrelevance, and it had no significant role in World War II. It disbanded almost unnoticed in 1946.

[WaldoMcFroog]

The inability to do their own homework.

[Paul22118]

To form a body of countries after a world war, that is to be successful in changing the face of the world from thereon - is a tall order.

The LoN started with the best of intentions but singularly failed to address the biggest issue of post Great War Europe - Germany. We as good as sacked the country by ensuring reparations were collossal and did little practically to help the Germans and their own allies to rejoin mainstream society.

It was a chance that was missed. Germany then festered in poverty and political unweildiness thus allowing someone with a strong character, some military experience and a huge ability to whip up crowds to emerge and comfortably become strong within Germany. Enter one A. Hitler.

It was the LoN that could have altered this scenario but did not. Then instead of slapping down Hitler at the first opportunity ie Czechoslovakia, we moved into the shadows of appeasment.

The rest is history.

What it does beg of course is a question that asks did we make the same mistake again? I'll start it off. We have not had London bombed from the air since.

Discuss.

[pugwashjw]

Their insistence after World War One, that Germany pay exorbitant reparations. This led to the rise of hitler who cancelled the payments and got Germany going again which led to World War Two.