Although Germany had signed the treaty (involuntarily), they were not included in the League of Nations until September 1926 (Russia was abs!.
ent at the time). The general German opinion saw the League of Nations as a club of victorious powers helping each other to set forth an unjust settlement upon Germany.
The actual treaty of Versailles was not put into force until January 1920 and in March the US senate finally and officially rejected the Treaty of Versailles. The situation after the war also plays a role in the failure of the League of Nations. This period was a very difficult and confusing time, for example, there were a lot of international effects like nationalism which reached it's highest point or the spreading of democratic ideals (all new states which emerged from the war, initially were dedicated to democracy. In addition one of the most important happenings was the creation of the world's first communist state. People were mostly looking for someone to blame for the war thus there was a general desire to reconstruct, repair, restore, recover and repay, in other words to turn back the clock rather than to rebuild with new ideas and way of solving all the problems. In addition this time period marked the beginning of the shift away from Europe as the centre of the wor!.
ld. Finally, this space in time also started the development in the area of international organisations in order to prevent world disorders which could lead to a war. The League of Nations was such an international organisation.
This time also was accompanied with resentments and security worries. For example, France, after the letdown of the US to guarantee French security, was left with fear of a possible future German attack. The Eastern countries, like the French, feared both a German invasion and a communist advance westward. The results of this mutual fear was a treaty between France and Poland (1921), promising assistance if either were attacked, as well as a link of France to the "Little Entente" (signed between Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia August 1920, Romania joined).