The League of Nations & the Manchurian Crisis (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)

Exam Tip

In your revision, it is helpful to consider the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors behind certain events. ‘Push’ factors are events or motivations for someone to act. The Depression caused the Japanese economy to fail due to the country’s lack of natural resources. This ‘pushed’ Japan to invade Manchuria. ‘Pull’ factors are benefits from performing an action. Japan already owned the South Manchurian Railway and other businesses in Manchuria. This ‘pulled’ Japan to invade Manchuria as they already had a way of moving around the country. Considering the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors will help you to explain why Japan invaded Manchuria and how this affected the League of Nations.

Worked Example

Study Source A. Why was this cartoon published at this time? Explain your answer using details of the source and your knowledge

8 marks

Source A: An American cartoon created in 1932 and republished in the Pittsburgh Press in 1933. The Nine-Power Treaty of 1922 recognised the territorial integrity of China

Partial answer:

The cartoon was published in 1932 to urge the League of Nations to take action against Japan (1). The cartoon shows Japan setting fire to various League of Nations treaties such as the Nine-Power Treaty (1922), which protected Chinese territory (1). Japan invaded Manchuria illegally through the Mukden Incident in 1931 but had captured the whole of Manchuria from China by March 1932 (1). The cartoon was published to put public pressure on the League to stand up against Japan’s aggressive actions (1).

Exam Tip

This style of question in Paper Two needs you to consider:

• What the message of the source is. Identify the event it is referring to and if it is presenting the event positively or negatively. In this example, the cartoonist has drawn about the Manchuria Crisis in a negative way

• Knowledge of the event. This cartoon assumes that the reader knows about the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the Nine-Power Treaty and Japan’s actions in Manchuria. Add relevant own knowledge of these events to support your answer

• The purpose of the cartoon. The cartoon is published in an American newspaper. The cartoonist knew that the USA was not in the League. However, the image could be distributed around the world. This would increase public pressure on the League to stand up against Japan

Worked Example

Why did Hitler take Germany out of the League of Nations in 1933? 

6 marks

Partial answers:
One reason why Hitler took Germany out of the League is the issue of disarmament (1). Hitler was angry that no other country had disarmed to the extent that Germany had been forced to in the Treaty of Versailles (1). During the World Disarmament Conference, Hitler challenged the other countries to disarm within five years (1). European countries refused, allowing Hitler to argue that Germany was being treated differently to other countries. Europe’s reluctance to disarm gave Hitler the perfect excuse to leave the League of Nations in November 1933 (1).

Exam Tip

In Paper One, ‘explain why’ questions are worth either six or ten marks. For full marks in this question, an examiner is looking for two fully explained reasons as to why Hitler left the League of Nations.

To complete this answer, you could discuss Hitler’s desire to rearm or how the League had not reacted to Japan’s withdrawal from the organisation.