Chloë Brooks-Kistler

IT 320

Dr. Minervini

September 2 2019

The League Of Nations Involvement

In class on September 2nd, the question whether or not World War II would have

happened if the League of Nations intervened against the authoritarian and violent power of

Japan, Germany, and Italy. The documentary that was assigned in class, “WW2 In Colour,

Episode 1: The Gathering Storm” showcased the events leading up to the beginning of the

second world war, including Hitler’s and Mussolini’s rise to power in their countries and Japan’s

domination of China, specifically Manchuria. Around 19:00 in the documentary, it is explained

that the Western powers did not want to get involved with the turmoil in the Pacific. The United

States only helped by sending a twenty-five million dollar loan to Chiang Kai Shek in order to

supply weapons against the Japanese military. The League of Nations also did not stop Germany

from expanding its army even though it was not allowed to have a standing army larger than

100,000 men. Germany was also not allowed to have any aircrafts but Hitler created the

Lutewaffe, Germany’s large air force. All of these events paved the way for the world to be

plunged into World War II. If the League of Nations intervened and stopped the authoritarian

power in Germany, Japan, and Italy would there have still been a second world war?

The world was just reeling from the devastation of the first world war, so it does make

sense for the League of Nations to turn a blind eye to the obvious red flags that Germany, Italy,

and Japan were waving. The League knew from past experiences just how destructive war could

be so it was better to be blissfully ignorant than to face the problem and somehow spark another
world war by intervening. Millions of people lost their lives during the first world war and the

world saw for the first time just how violent war could get with modern technology. The League

of Nations wanted to focus on avoiding war without the use of confrontation, so ignoring the red

flags was the best way to do so. I do not believe that World War II would have been prevented if

the League of Nations stopped the authoritarian power in Italy, Germany, and Japan. Hitler,

Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito already gained a following of citizens which were infatuated

with the ideals the leaders preached.

The large cult following the fascist leaders gained would have made it hard to fully take

away their power from them. Hitler and Mussolini gained a cult following by creating a

scapegoat for the citizens to band against. In the documentary, it is discussed how the burning of

the Reichstag cemented the Nazi Party’s power in Germany. Hitler had convinced the people of

Germany that it was the communists who burned down the Reichstag and after the event, he

became the president of Germany, obtaining power fully of the country. The communist party

was one common enemy Hitler used to unite the German people. Mussolini also used the

communist party as a common enemy to unite. Japan focused on imperialising China and taking

over the land for resources they believed belonged to them. In this case, the Chinese were the

common enemy for Japan. Western countries were also seen as an enemy towards Japan. If the

League of Nations tried to get involved and try to go against these leaders and stop their actions,

Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito could have made them a common enemy too. These dominating

leaders had their countries in the palm of their hands and the fear of creating a new world war

ended up actually leading to a war which was worse than anyone could have expected.