The League of Nations struggled to react effectively to major crises.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] At first, Germany was not allowed to join.
2. [1] Germany accepted the result of the 1921 plebiscite in Upper Silesia arranged by the League of Nations.
3. [1] Germany was only allowed to join when it showed itself to be a peaceful country.
4. [1] The League was pleased with Germany's positive attitude in the Locarno Treaties.
5. [1] Later, Germany was allowed to join in 1926.
6. [1] It became a permanent member of the Council.
7. [1] Hitler withdrew from the Disarmament Conference because he wanted Germany to rearm, not disarm.
8. [1] Hitler left the League in 1933.
9. [1] Germany accepted the Saar plebiscite in 1935 arranged by the League.
10. [1] Hitler broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, like the demilitarisation of the Rhineland, and this set him against the League.
11. [1] He spoke to the Assembly because he wanted them to understand his concerns.
12. [1] Haile Selassie made this speech because Italy had invaded his country.
13. [1] He did this because the League had done little since the Italian invasion.
14. [1] Haile Selassie did this because he wanted help from the League of Nations.
15. [1] He did this because Italy was using chemical weapons against his people.
16. [1] He did this in June because Addis Ababa had just been captured by Italian troops.
17. [Explanation L3] Haile Selassie spoke to the League of Nations in June 1936 pleading for help because in 1935 Italian troops had invaded his country of Abyssinia. Mussolini had wanted to create an Italian empire for years. He used a dispute on the border with Somaliland (which was Italian) as the excuse. The Italian troops had modern weapons, and the Abyssinians did not stand a chance.
18. [1] I think it did what it could. There was not much more it could do, given the situation at the time.
19. [1] The events took place on the other side of the world and there was little the League could do.
20. [1] The USA was not a member of the League and this made it difficult to use military action.
21. [1] Britain and France could not afford to impose economic sanctions.
22. [1] Britain and France were worried Japan might attack their colonies in the Far East.
23. [1] The League acted far too slowly, letting the Japanese establish themselves in Manchuria.
24. [1] The League failed to impose economic sanctions.
25. [1] If Japan did not like the decision of the League, it could simply leave, which it did in 1933. There was little the League could then do.
26. [1] The League did not have an army.
27. [Explanation L3 (Did as much as it could)] I think the League did as much as it could. It faced several big problems, one of which was the absence of the USA. This made it difficult for the League to implement economic sanctions because the USA, being outside of the League, would continue to trade with Japan, so sanctions would have little impact. It would also be difficult to send an army without the support of the USA.
28. [Explanation L3 (Should have done more)] The League of Nations should have done much more. It acted far too slowly. By the time the Lytton Commission reached the area, the Japanese had firmly established themselves in Manchuria and were in the process of setting up a puppet state called Manchukuo. The League voted on the Lytton Report 18 months after the Japanese invasion.