Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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League of Nations archives
1919–1946
Inscribed 2009
What are they
These archives are a unique source of information
about the League of Nations (1919-46) and its activities.
The collections contain textual records, documents,
conventions, ratifications and other diplomatic
instruments covering the activities of the League
of Nations and its commissions.
Why were they inscribed
The archives bear testimony to the will to create the
world’s first intergovernmental organization for peace
and cooperation, which led to a fundamental change
towards an ‘institutionalization’ of international relations.
Where are they
Library of the United Nations Office, Geneva, Switzerland
The League of Nations was conceived in 1919 during the
aftermath of the tragedies and suff ering caused by the
First World War. The victorious states responded to the
catastrophe with the establishment of an organization
designed ‘to promote international cooperation and
to achieve peace and security’ based on open, just and
honourable relations between nations. The Covenant of the
League of Nations, which constitutes the fi rst part of the
Treaty of Versailles, established the mandates of the world’s
fi rst intergovernmental organization dedicated to peace.
During the 1920s, the League of Nations enjoyed some
remarkable successes by resolving disputes between
member states and increasing economic and technical
cooperation. In the fi eld of humanitarian assistance,
the League had particular success in aiding the return
of prisoners-of-war and providing a legal framework for
refugees which allowed them to start rebuilding their lives.
The increasing economic strife and militant nationalism
which characterized the 1930s led not only to the breakup
of cooperation between states but also to confl icts which
could not be resolved. The League of Nations was unable
to prevent these confl icts from erupting into the Second
World War and thus it became obsolete, fi nally being
dissolved in 1946. Its legacy is clearly seen in the structure
and functions of the United Nations, whose specialized
� The League of Nations
Slavery Convention of 1926,
open at the page showing its
ratification by Liberia.
� A specimen of the
Nansen Passport for refugees,
devised by Fridtjof Nansen,
the Norwegian Arctic explorer,
scientist and the League
of Nations High Commissioner
for Russian Refugees, to give
refugees some legal protection.
agencies are largely founded on the work initiated
by the League of Nations.
The archives of the League of Nations include
documents received or produced by the League Secretariat
and organized by a central Registry, and Commission
fi les which are records of League agencies concerning,
for example, the Financial Reconstruction of Austria and
Hungary. The collection of conventions, ratifi cations
and other diplomatic instruments includes documents
of important legal value with signatures of heads of states
and offi cial seals. The Refugees Mixed Archives Group
contains documents from the Geneva headquarters and
external offi ces concerning humanitarian relief, logistics,
employment and fi nancial assistance, petitions and legal
protection. It includes the inspirational work of Fridtjof
Nansen, a Norwegian scientist, Arctic explorer and
politician who was appointed League of Nations High
Commissioner for Prisoners of War in 1920. Within two
years, he arranged for approximately 450,000 ex-prisoners
of war from twenty-six countries to be returned to their
homes. He played an instrumental role in organizing
emergency relief to famine victims in Russia in 1921–23
and, starting in 1922, he also dealt with the problem
of refugees from Asia Minor. One of his greatest
achievements was the introduction of a system of legal
protection for refugees, which was realized by the ‘Nansen
Passport’. This legal document was eventually recognized
by fi fty-two governments.
League of Nations archives 1919–1946 443