大象传媒

The Abyssinian crisis was so difficult for the League to deal with, involving, as it did, the actions of one of the Council members of the League. Britain and France were unwilling to take action as they were suffering from the effects of the Depression and were worried about Hitler's intentions. They also lacked strong armies and navies. Samuel Hoare and Pierre Laval, their respective foreign ministers, undertook secret negotiations with Mussolini that led to the offer of two thirds of Abyssinia to Italy without consulting either the League or the Abyssinians. The clip ends with Hoare's justification of Britain's actions to the House of Commons, original footage of the League of Nations meeting and footage of the Italian invasion.