It took a full year after the invasion for the League to be able to present their report. In February 1933, Japanese announced to invade more of China. They still said it was a self-defense. The League was approved by 42 votes to 1 in the Assembly (The 1 was Japan). The League could not do anything. Smarting at the insult, Japan resigned from the League. IT failed the major test.
Abyssinia Crisis was another major test. The League tried to stop Italy invading Abyssinia through the use of economic sanctions. Britain and France was caught in a dilemma. They did not want to annoy Mussolini as it’s a powerful member of the League and they did not want it to happen like Japan again. The League of Nations banned the trade of Italy but it does not include oil and petrol trade. As oil is not banned the war can still continue. The British Foreign Secretary (Hoare) and the French Prime Minister (Laval) made a compromise, the Hoare-Laval Pact. It was said to be that Abyssinia would have been divided into two and the richer part would be given to Italy. It did not stay secret as they expect it to be and leaked out to the press. The British saw it as surrender to the Italian aggression. By this time, everything was too late. Italy won the war. The League failed and nothing was done.
In 1936 Hitler began his policy of reclaiming lost German territory. Hitler said that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair on Germany and he was right about it. They assumed that once these wrongs were put right then Germany would become a peaceful nation again. A policy was made that became known as Appeasement. There were many reasons why Britain signed it and how it allowed Hitler to get away with what he wants without a shot being fired. The Britain government believed that the armed forces were not ready for a war against Hitler. Britain also had their own economic problems which are a higher priority. They were still suffering from the Depression. They had large debts and huge unemployment. The British also did not want to repeat the horrors of the Great War. Both British and French leaders vividly remembered the horrific experiences of the First World War. They wished to avoid another war at any cost. But if think again is Hitler the real enemy it could be Stalin. The British and the French thought that at least Hitler standing up to Communism. Hitler was not only concerned about Britain but was also trying the stop the spread of Communism from the east. Britain and France is quite happy that Germany is in the way of Communism and hopefully it would not reach them. In every policy there are of course some good and bad points about it but what they might lead to be unpredictable and therefore you must risk it. It encouraged Hitler to be aggressive, it allowed Germany to be stronger, it put too much trust for Hitler’s promise, and it alarmed the USSR. Hitler made no secret plans of turning eastwards. The Appeasement shows that Britain and France would not stand in Germany’s way even if the USSR had agreed with Britain and France that if they were under attack by Germany they would help each other. This was a major shock to the world as Britain and France are not strong enough to resist Germany.
In 1939 Hitler made an agreement with Stalin not to attack each other and divide Poland between them. Stalin also had reasons for why he denied his alliance (Britain and France) and joined with Germany instead. Stalin knew that France and Germany was not strong and reliable against Hitler and they would not do anything if USSR were under attack. He also wanted to take over Poland especially the Baltic States because it had been part of Russia in the Tsar’s day. Even though he signed the Nazi-Soviet pact, he knew that would not resist Hitler but at least he can have more time to prepare his forces for the attack if he have to come across it. For Germany the Pact was perhaps the pinnacle of Hitler’s triumphs. It cleared the way for Germany’s invasion of Poland.
When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. They had stood by their alliances with Poland and decided that Hitler must be stopped by force. Hitler did not expect Britain and France to do anything about Poland and why Poland? Britain and France gave Hitler a surprise. He took too many gamble and against wrong people.
Although it was Hitler’s actions which led to war, many other factors were important in making the war happen for instance -The terms of the Treaty of Versailles – maybe it was too harsh on Germany depending which point of view you are looking from, the League of Nations – the Manchuria and Abyssinia Crisis, the Depression - debts and huge number of unemployment therefore people might want communism, the USA’s isolation - the British and French were not supported by the Americans, rearmament, appeasement-showing the weakness of Britain and France who is always trying to compromise, the USSR (the Nazi-Soviet Pact) - It’s supporting the idea of Britain and France being powerless. The war broke out in Europe in 1939. The Second World War had begun.
