Learning Curve
HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Was the League of Nations a villain in the crisis?
In 1919, 32 nations met in France to create the League of Nations. The League's covenant
declared it would take action to prevent wars. An attack on a League member would be
considered an attack on all members, who would take joint action against the aggressor.
Italy was a founder member of the League. It attacked another member nation, Abyssinia. The
League did impose some sanctions on Italy, but this was not enough to stop the war.
Some historians believe that the Abyssinian crisis destroyed the credibility of the League of
Nations. This war suggested that the ideals of peace and collective security, upon which the
League had been founded, were now abandoned. It has even been argued that after the
triumph of Italy in Abyssinia, Hitler could feel confident about carrying out acts of war in
Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Britain and France have been singled out for particular criticism. They were dominant members
of the League. They supported some sanctions against Italy, but they dithered about closing
the Suez canal to Italian shipping and France also resisted oil sanctions. It was the British and
French foreign ministers, Hoare and Laval, who secretly planned to carve up Abyssinia and
give a chunk of the country to Mussolini. Hoare and Laval lost their jobs because of this idea.
Both nations were anxious about the balance of power in Europe. They thought Italy was an
important ally against Germany and so didn't want to offend Mussolini.
Perhaps the reason why Mussolini triumphed in Abyssinia was as much to do with the
weakness of the League of Nations as the strength of Italy. Was the suffering of Abyssinia
entirely Mussolini's doing? Or should the rest of the League of Nations share the
responsibility?
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Learning Curve
HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Examine these sources to find out more:
Film showing Italian
rule in Abyssinia
The League of
Nations' response,
1935
The Hoare-Laval
plan, 1935
Meeting between
League & British
PM, 1935
Telegram on French
attitudes, 1935
Italian letter on
Italian-German
relations, 1936
Cartoon: 'The
man who took
the lid off', 1935
Photos of Mussolini
& Haile Selassie
with troops
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Learning Curve
HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 1
Scene from a 1936 Italian documentary, in which Italians show a newsreel to an
audience in Abyssinia
(Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, COI 36)
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is shown on the newsreel?
Who is leading the parade (the clue is in the voiceover which mentions 'Il Duce')?
How do the Abyssinians react to the newsreel?
Do you think their reaction is genuine?
This source is part of an Italian documentary of the conquest of Abyssinia. Why might this
scene have been filmed?
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 1
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 2
Telegram from Antony Eden, Minister for League of Nations Affairs and soon to be
British Foreign Secretary, on the League's response to the crisis, October 1935
(Catalogue ref: BT 11/383)
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
According to paragraph 1, what is the League of Nations proposing to do?
In paragraph 2, what new policy is the League of Nations about to employ?
Who would this help and how?
What would be Mussolini's likely response to the League of Nation's decision?
Was there anything else the League could have done at this point to protect Abyssinia?
What reasons might there have been for them not taking more action?
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 2
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 3
A secret plan drawn up by the British and French foreign ministers, Hoare and Laval, 10
December 1935
(Catalogue ref: PRO 30/69/621)
Questions
1. What is being proposed in the plan?
2. Who would benefit from this plan?
3. Hoare and Laval planned to present the proposal to Mussolini before showing it to the
League of Nations or Haile Selassie. What does this plan show about the determination of
Britain and France to stand up to Mussolini?
4. The plan was abandoned when the British public found out about it. Both foreign ministers
were forced to resign. Were Hoare and Laval wrong to draw up this proposal? Explain your
answer.
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 3
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 4
Statement about a meeting between British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, and a
deputation from the League of Nations on 13 December 1935
(Catalogue ref: PREM 1/195)
4a
4b
4c
Questions
1. These representatives from the League of Nations wanted Britain to apply economic
sanctions to Italy to hinder its war effort in Abyssinia. Baldwin decided to take no further
action. Why?
2. What did the British government fear might happen if Britain stood up to Mussolini?
3. According to this source, what would be the chances of France getting involved? Why?
4. What other actions could Britain have taken to stop Mussolini?
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 4a
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 4b
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 4c
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 5
Telegram from Antony Eden, the British Minister for League of Nations Affairs, on
French attitudes, September 1935
(Catalogue ref: PRO 30/69/621)
5a
5b
Questions
1. According to Eden, which country worries France most?
2. According to Eden, do the French see the League of Nations as a vital international body
that should be supported at all costs?
3 Do the French and the British share the same view on the need for firm action?
4. How does France's attitude affect the ability of the League of Nations to stand up to
Mussolini?
5. What other action could France have taken to stop Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia?
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Learning Curve
HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 5a
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 5b
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 6
Letter from Dino Grandi, Italian ambassador in London, to Galeazzo Ciano, Foreign
Minister and Mussolini's son-in-law, 6 November 1936, on Italian-German relations
(Catalogue ref: FO 371/49934, copy of document found in Mussolini's villa by Allied
troops in 1945.)
6a
6b
Questions
1. According to this source, how have relations changed between Italy and Germany?
2. What is Britain's attitude to Italy?
3 Have Britain and France managed to maintain the balance of power in Europe? Give
reasons to support your answer.
4. Does Grandi sound positive or negative towards closer relations between fascist Italy and
Germany?
5. This letter was written in 1936. In 1943, both Grandi and Ciano were on the Grand Council
that voted to depose Mussolini (Ciano was later executed for treason). What events
between 1936 and 1943 might have changed Grandi's viewpoint?
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Learning Curve
HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 6a
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 6b
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 7
'The man who took the lid off', a cartoon by David Low, 4 October 1935
(© Solo Syndication, published in the Evening Standard)
Questions
1. What is Mussolini letting loose?
2. Do you think this cartoon represents British public opinion? Why might the British people
think this?
3 In what ways did the Abyssinian crisis destroy the credibility of the League of Nations?
4. What international events involving Hitler or Mussolini occurred after 1935? Try to name
4 events.
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 7
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8
Photographs showing Mussolini and Haile Selassie with their troops, c.1941
(Catalogue ref: CAB 44/81 for Haile Selassie, INF 2/1 Part 3 for Mussolini)
8a
8b
8e
8f
8c
8d
Questions
1. Sources 8a-b show Mussolini inspecting Italian troops. Sources 8c-f show Haile Selassie
with troops. What do these photos suggest about the difference between the Italian and
Abyssinian forces?
2. The photos of Selassie were taken during World War 2, when he returned to fight the
Italians again. What does this suggest about the long-term success of the Italian campaign
in Abyssinia?
3. Source 8d is a photo of Selassie with Orde Wingate, a British officer who led a guerrilla
force against Italian troops. Why were the British keen to fight the Italians in 1941 when
they hadn't been in 1935?
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8a
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8b
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8c
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8d
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8e
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HEROES & VILLAINS
Mussolini & Abyssinia > League of Nations
Source 8f
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