Conflict and Tension 1918-1939Topic Summary
Topic Summary: The League of Nations — Successes in the 1920s
Part of League Successes — GCSE History
This topic summary covers Topic Summary: The League of Nations — Successes in the 1920s within League Successes for GCSE History. Revise League Successes in Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 5 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 14 of 14 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 14 of 14
Practice
8 questions
Recall
5 flashcards
Topic Summary: The League of Nations — Successes in the 1920s
Key Terms
- Plebiscite: Direct vote by population on which country they wish to belong to — used in Upper Silesia (1921)
- Collective security: All League members defend any member attacked — the League's central principle
- ILO: International Labour Organisation — League agency improving workers' rights worldwide
- Nansen passport: First international travel document for stateless refugees (1922); 450,000 issued
- Mandate: Former German/Ottoman colonies under League supervision, administered by Britain or France
- Locarno Pact (1925): Voluntary confirmation of western borders; symbolised the "spirit of cooperation" in the 1920s
Key Dates
- 1920: League formally established; first meeting in Geneva
- 1921: Aaland Islands resolved (Sweden/Finland) AND Upper Silesia plebiscite (Germany/Poland)
- 1922: Nansen passport created for stateless refugees
- 1923: Corfu Incident — League fails when Italy defies it (warning sign)
- 1925: Locarno Pact; Bulgaria crisis resolved (Greece ordered to withdraw)
- 1926: Germany joins the League; Mosul dispute (Turkey/Iraq) resolved
- 1929: Wall Street Crash — Great Depression ends international goodwill
Key People
- Fridtjof Nansen: Norwegian explorer; League's High Commissioner for Refugees; created Nansen passport
- Woodrow Wilson: US President; creator of the League (Fourteen Points); died 1924 — never saw his creation succeed
- Benito Mussolini: Italian leader; defied the League during the Corfu Incident (1923) — foreshadowing of how major powers would treat the League in the 1930s
Must-Know Facts
- AUBM: Aaland (1921), Upper Silesia (1921), Bulgaria (1925), Mosul (1926) — the four territorial successes
- Why they worked — SNG: Small countries, No vital great-power interests, Goodwill in the 1920s
- ILO still exists today as a UN agency — one of the League's most lasting achievements
- Nansen passport: 450,000 issued; recognised by 52 countries
- Sierra Leone: ~200,000 enslaved people freed by League's Slavery Commission
- Health Organisation fought malaria and typhus — became model for the WHO (1948)
- Corfu Incident (1923): Italy defied League — Conference of Ambassadors overruled League ruling; Greece had to pay Italy 50 million lire despite being the victim
- Pattern: successes involved small countries; failures involved major powers — this is the key distinction for exam answers
Cross-Topic Links
- → Topic 23 (League Structure): The successes in the 1920s only worked because the structural conditions happened to be favourable — small disputes, no vital great-power interests, and genuine post-war goodwill that the structures could channel.
- → Topic 25 (League Failures): The Corfu Incident (1923) sits in both topics — it's a partial success (Greece was eventually protected by Conference of Ambassadors) but also a warning sign that the League could be bypassed by major powers.
- → Topic 26 (Manchuria): The contrast between the League's 1920s successes and its 1931 failure at Manchuria demonstrates the decisive difference that the Depression, great-power interests, and geography made — the same League, different context, opposite result.
- → Topic 30 (Appeasement): The League's 1920s humanitarian successes — ILO, Nansen passports, health work — show that international cooperation was possible, making the political failures of the 1930s all the more damning by comparison.