Successes and Failures of LON

• Upper Silesia, 1921 - Success


  
  

  • Both Germany and Poland claimed the resource-rich area of Upper Silesia, which had a mixed population
  • The League conducted a vote for the Upper Silesians
  • Based on the results, it divided the region between Germany and Poland
  • Decision was accepted by both.
• Greek-Bulgaria Border, 1925 - Success


  • Some Greek soldiers were killed along the border with Bulgaria
  • Greek attacked Bulgaria in retaliation, and Bulgaria sought the LON’s help.
  • The League demanded for both sides to stand down and got Greece to withdraw from Bulgaria.
  • Greece obeyed, though it was not very happy about it.
• Vilna, 1920 - Failure

  • Poland and Lithuania were both new states created after WW1
  • City of Vilna was given to Lithuania as part of the WW1 treaties, but Poland claimed it and seized it by force in 1920
  • The League ruled that Poland should withdraw but they refused
  • Britain and France did not take further action as they wanted to Poland as their ally against Germany.
  • Poland got its way
• Corfu Crisis, 1923 - Failure

  • Italian officials were killed while on LON duties at the Greek border.
  • Mussolini demanded compensation, but Greece refused
  • Italy retaliated and attacked the Greek island of Corfu.
  • LON initially ruled that Italy should withdraw, but Italy refused to accept
  • Mussolini insisted on taking the dispute to the Conference of Ambassadors.
  • France did not want to upset Italy as they were themselves invading Germany’s Ruhr area then. Britain did not want to act without France
  • Conference of Ambassadors made Greece apologise and pay compensation to Italy
• Dawes Plan, 1924


  • Major powers came to an agreement to reduce Germany’s reparations payments until its economy recovers

  • USA would loan Germany large sums of money to help rebuild its economy

  • Helped improve economic situation in Germany, leading to its recovery

  • Ended the Ruhr Valley crisis
• The Locarno Treaties, 1925


  • Germany accepted its western borders with France and Belgium to be what was set out in the TOV

  • All agreed to respect each other’s borders &resolve conflicts peacefully

  • However, nothing decided about Germany’s eastern borders

  • Reassured France and Belgium, reducing tensions in the region

  • Led to Germany being allowed to join the LON the following year.
• The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928


  • An agreement between 65 nations not to use force to settle disputes

  • Improved relations between nations

  • However, no way to enforce the agreement
• The Young Plan, 1929


  • Further reduced Germany’s reparations and extended the timeline for payments

  • It did not take effect because the Great Depression took place soon after it was signed