Research Guides: United Nations (UN): League of Nation

The League of Nations

The League of Nations was an international organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, created as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War to provide a forum for resolving international disputes. It was the first worldwide intergovernmental organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. After some notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war. The League lasted for 26 years; the United Nations (UN) replaced it after the end of the Second World War and inherited several agencies and organizations founded by the League.

Databases

League of Nations Treaties
Treaties that were administered by the League of Nations and/or treaties for which the League of Nations or one of its officials was the depositary.
League of Nations Official Documents
The League of Nations Council and Council and Member States documents are now available in the BETA release of the Enterprise Search for the United Nations.
League of Nations Archives Catalogue
The Archives Catalogue describes the collections of the League of Nations Archives and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Archives.

Other Resources

UN League of Nations Research Guide
A guide designed as a practical tool intended to facilitate research in the League of Nations Archives.
Bertha von Suttner Papers (1843-1914)
The collection includes a comprehensive series of correspondence (1870-1914), diaries (1897-1914), literary manuscripts and newspaper articles on Bertha von Suttner and her work.
Sean Lester Papers (1929- )
Sean Lester (1888-1959), Irish journalist, diplomat and last Secretary-General of the League of Nations. The Lester Papers primarily covers the period 1929-1946, with his diary at the heart of the collection, private and official correspondence, reports, and press cuttings relating to the Danzig period (when he was targeted by the Nazi press). It also includes some post-retirement material running up to 1959, as well as some photos and family letters.
Archives of the League of Nations, Health Section Files
This fond comprises documents dealing in particular with social issues, women's rights, the protection of children, opium and opium trafficking, malaria, the epidemiological service and serums and biological products.
History of international health organizations documents
Health Organisation / League of Nations (1931), and L'Organisation d'Hygiène / Société des Nations (1931).
League of Nations malaria documents
This site contains 282 documents, in PDF format, published by the Malaria Commission between the years 1924-1932.
League of Nations Photo Archive Free access
The Photo Archive is the outcome of a collaborative project between Indiana University and the League of Nations Archives (2000-2001).
The originals of the photos are held with the League of Nations Archives.