League of Nations

Not to be confused with Commonwealth of Nations or

Nations League.

The League of Nations (abbreviated as LN in English,

La Socit des Nations abbreviated as SDN or SdN in
French) was an intergovernmental organisation founded
on 10 January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Con-
ference that ended the First World War. It was the rst
international organisation whose principal mission was to
maintain world peace.[1] Its primary goals, as stated in
its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective
security and disarmament and settling international dis-
putes through negotiation and arbitration.[2] Other issues
in this and related treaties included labour conditions, just
treatment of native inhabitants, human and drug track- The 1864 Geneva Convention, one of the earliest formulations
of international law.
ing, arms trade, global health, prisoners of war, and pro-
[3]
tection of minorities in Europe. At its greatest extent
from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58
members.
1.1 Background
The diplomatic philosophy behind the League repre- The concept of a peaceful community of nations had been
sented a fundamental shift from the preceding hundred proposed as far back as 1795, when Immanuel Kant's
years. The League lacked its own armed force and de- Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch[5] outlined the
pended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, idea of a league of nations to control conict and pro-
keep to its economic sanctions, or provide an army when mote peace between states.[6] Kant argued for the estab-
needed. However, the Great Powers were often reluctant lishment of a peaceful world community, not in a sense of
to do so. Sanctions could hurt League members, so they a global government, but in the hope that each state would
were reluctant to comply with them. During the Second declare itself a free state that respects its citizens and wel-
Italo-Abyssinian War, when the League accused Italian comes foreign visitors as fellow rational beings, thus pro-
soldiers of targeting Red Cross medical tents, Benito moting peaceful society worldwide.[7] International co-
Mussolini responded that the League is very well when operation to promote collective security originated in the
sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out.[4] Concert of Europe that developed after the Napoleonic
After a number of notable successes and some early fail- Wars in the 19th century in an attempt to maintain the
ures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable status quo between European states and so avoid war.[8][9]
of preventing aggression by the Axis powers in the 1930s. This period also saw the development of international
Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, law, with the rst Geneva Conventions establishing laws
Spain, and others. The onset of the Second World War dealing with humanitarian relief during wartime, and the
showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, international Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 gov-
which was to prevent any future world war. The League erning rules of war and the peaceful settlement of inter-
lasted for 26 years; the United Nations (UN) replaced national disputes.[10][11]
it after the end of the Second World War on 20 April The forerunner of the League of Nations, the Inter-
1946 and inherited a number of agencies and organisa- Parliamentary Union, was formed by the peace activists
tions founded by the League. William Randal Cremer and Frdric Passy in 1889. The
organisation was international in scope, with a third of
the members of parliaments (in the 24 countries that had
parliaments) serving as members of the IPU by 1914.
Its aims were to encourage governments to solve interna-
1 Origins tional disputes by peaceful means. Annual conferences
were held to help governments rene the process of in-
ternational arbitration. Its structure consisted of a coun-

1
2 1 ORIGINS

cil headed by a president, which would later be reected

in the structure of the League.[12]
At the start of the 20th century, two power blocs emerged
from alliances between the European Great Powers. It
was these alliances that, at the start of the First World War
in 1914, drew all the major European powers into the
conict. This was the rst major war in Europe between
industrialised countries, and the rst time in Western Eu-
rope that the results of industrialisation (for example,
mass production) had been dedicated to war. The result
of this industrialised warfare, which provided modern
weapons, coupled with outdated 19th century strategies,
led to an unprecedented casualty level: eight and a half
million soldiers killed, an estimated 21 million wounded,
and approximately 10 million civilian deaths.[13][14]
By the time the ghting ended in November 1918, the
war had had a profound impact, aecting the social, po-
litical and economic systems of Europe and inicting
psychological and physical damage.[15] Anti-war senti-
ment rose across the world; the First World War was de-
scribed as "the war to end all wars",[16][17] and its possi-
ble causes were vigorously investigated. The causes iden-
tied included arms races, alliances, militaristic nation- Lord Bryce, one of the earliest advocates for a League of Na-
tions.
alism, secret diplomacy, and the freedom of sovereign
states to enter into war for their own benet. One pro-
posed remedy was the creation of an international organ-
isation whose aim was to prevent future war through dis- In 1915, a similar body was set up in the United States
armament, open diplomacy, international co-operation, by a group of like-minded individuals, including William
restrictions on the right to wage war, and penalties that Howard Taft. It was called the League to Enforce Peace
made war unattractive.[18] and was substantially based on the proposals of the Bryce
Group.[21] It advocated the use of arbitration in conict
resolution and the imposition of sanctions on aggressive
countries. However, none of these early organisations en-
1.2 Initial proposals visioned a continuously functioning body; with the excep-
tion of the Fabian Society in England, they maintained a
At the start of the First World War the rst schemes legalistic approach that would limit the international body
for international organisation to prevent future wars be- to a court of justice. The Fabians were the rst to argue
gan to gain considerable public support, particularly in for a Council of states, necessarily the Great Powers,
the United Kingdom and the United States. Goldsworthy who would adjudicate world aairs, and for the creation
Lowes Dickinson, a British political scientist, coined the of a permanent secretariat to enhance international co-
term League of Nations in 1914 and drafted a scheme operation across a range of activities.[22]
for its organisation. Together with Lord Bryce, he played
a leading role in the founding of the group of interna- The British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour commis-
tionalist pacists known as the Bryce Group, later the sioned the rst ocial report into the matter in early
League of Nations Union.[19] The group became steadily 1918, under the initiative of Lord Robert Cecil. The
more inuential among the public and as a pressure group British committee was nally appointed in February
within the then governing Liberal Party. In Dickinsons 1918. It was led by Walter Phillimore (and became
1915 pamphlet After the War he wrote of his League known as the Phillimore Committee), but also included
of Peace as being essentially an organisation for arbi- Eyre Crowe, William Tyrrell, and Cecil Hurst.[19] The
tration and conciliation. He felt that the secret diplo- recommendations of the so-called Phillimore Commis-
macy of the early twentieth century had brought about sion included the establishment of a Conference of Al-
war and thus could write that, the impossibility of war, lied States that would arbitrate disputes and impose
I believe, would be increased in proportion as the issues sanctions on oending states. The proposals were ap-
of foreign policy should be known to and controlled by proved by the British government, and much of the
public opinion. The Proposals of the Bryce Group were commissions results were later incorporated into the
circulated widely, both in England and the US, where Covenant of the League of Nations.[23]
they had a profound inuence on the nascent international The French also drafted a much more far-reaching pro-
movement.[20] posal in June of that year; they advocated annual meetings
1.3 Establishment 3

The ocial opening of the League of Nations, 15 November 1920

Hurst-Miller draft was nally produced as a basis for the

Jan Smuts helped to draft the Covenant of the League of Nations.
Covenant.[25] After more negotiation and compromise,
the delegates nally approved of the proposal to create the
of a council to settle all disputes, as well as an interna- League of Nations (French: Socit des Nations, German:
tional army to enforce its decisions.[23] Vlkerbund) on 25 January 1919.[26] The nal Covenant
of the League of Nations was drafted by a special com-
The American President Woodrow Wilson instructed mission, and the League was established by Part I of the
Edward House to draft a US plan which reected Wilsons Treaty of Versailles. On 28 June 1919,[27][28] 44 states
own idealistic views, as well as the work of the Phillimore signed the Covenant, including 31 states which had taken
Commission. The outcome of Houses work, and Wil- part in the war on the side of the Triple Entente or joined
sons own rst draft, proposed the termination of un- it during the conict.
ethical state behavior, including forms of espionage and
dishonesty. Methods of compulsion against recalcitrant The League would be made up of a General Assembly
states would include severe measures, such as blockad- (representing all member states), an Executive Council
ing and closing the frontiers of that power to commerce (with membership limited to major powers), and a per-
or intercourse with any part of the world and to use any manent secretariat. Member states were expected to re-
force that may be necessary...[23] spect and preserve as against external aggression the ter-
ritorial integrity of other members and to disarm to the
The two principal drafters and architects of the covenant lowest point consistent with domestic safety. All states
of the League of Nations[24] were Lord Robert Cecil (a were required to submit complaints for arbitration or
lawyer and diplomat) and Jan Smuts (a Commonwealth judicial inquiry before going to war.[19] The Executive
statesman). Smuts proposals included the creation of a Council would create a Permanent Court of International
Council of the great powers as permanent members and Justice to make judgements on the disputes.
a non-permanent selection of the minor states. He also
proposed the creation of a Mandate system for captured Despite Wilsons eorts to establish and promote the
colonies of the Central Powers during the war. Cecil fo- League, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace
cused on the administrative side, and proposed annual Prize in October 1919,[29] the United States did not
Council meetings and quadrennial meetings for the As- join. Opposition in the Senate, particularly from two
sembly of all members. He also argued for a large and Republican politicians, Henry Cabot Lodge and William
permanent secretariat to carry out the Leagues adminis- Borah, and especially in regard to Article X of the
trative duties.[23] Covenant, ensured that the United States would not ratify
the agreement.[30][31]
The League held its rst council meeting in Paris on 16
1.3 Establishment January 1920, six days after the Versailles Treaty and the
Covenant of the League of Nations came into force.[32]
At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Wilson, Ce- On 1 November 1920, the headquarters of the League
cil, and Smuts all put forward their draft proposals. was moved from London to Geneva, where the rst Gen-
After lengthy negotiations between the delegates, the eral Assembly was held on 15 November 1920.[33][34]
4 3 PRINCIPAL ORGANS

2 Languages and symbols plicitly dened. Each body could deal with any matter
within the sphere of competence of the League or aect-
The ocial languages of the League of Nations were ing peace in the world. Particular questions or tasks might
[43]
[35]
French, English, and Spanish. The League considered be referred to either.
adopting Esperanto as their working language and ac- Unanimity was required for the decisions of both the As-
tively encouraging its use, but this proposal was never sembly and the Council, except in matters of procedure
acted on.[36] In 1921, Lord Robert Cecil proposed the and some other specic cases such as the admission of
introduction of Esperanto into state schools of member new members. This requirement was a reection of the
nations, and a report was commissioned.[37] When the Leagues belief in the sovereignty of its component na-
report was presented two years later, it recommended tions; the League sought solution by consent, not by dic-
the adoption of Cecils idea, a proposal that 11 dele- tation. However, in case of a dispute, the consent of the
gates accepted.[36] The strongest opposition came from parties to the dispute was not required for unanimity.[44]
the French delegate, Gabriel Hanotaux, partially to pro-
The Permanent Secretariat, established at the seat of the
tect French, which he argued was already the interna-
League at Geneva, comprised a body of experts in var-
tional language.[38] As a result of such opposition, the rec-
ious spheres under the direction of the general secre-
ommendation was not accepted.[39]
tary.[45] Its principal sections were Political, Financial
In 1939, a semi-ocial emblem for the League of Na- and Economics, Transit, Minorities and Administration
tions emerged: two ve-pointed stars within a blue pen- (administering the Saar and Danzig), Mandates, Disar-
tagon. They symbolised the Earths ve continents and mament, Health, Social (Opium and Trac in Women
ve "races". A bow at the top displayed the English and Children), Intellectual Cooperation and International
name (League of Nations), while another at the bottom Bureaux, Legal, and Information. The sta of the Sec-
showed the French ("Socit des Nations").[40] retariat was responsible for preparing the agenda for the
Council and the Assembly and publishing reports of the
meetings and other routine matters, eectively acting as
3 Principal organs the Leagues civil service. In 1931 the sta numbered
707.[46]
Further information: Organisation of the League of The Assembly consisted of representatives of all mem-
Nations, Permanent Court of International Justice, and bers of the League, with each state allowed up to three
Leaders of the League of Nations representatives and one vote.[47] It met in Geneva and,
The main constitutional organs of the League were the after its initial sessions in 1920,[48] it convened once a
year in September.[47] The special functions of the As-
sembly included the admission of new members, the pe-
riodical election of non-permanent members to the Coun-
cil, the election with the Council of the judges of the
Permanent Court, and control of the budget. In practice,
the Assembly was the general directing force of League
activities.[49]
The League Council acted as a type of executive body
directing the Assemblys business.[50] It began with four
permanent members (Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan)
and four non-permanent members that were elected by
the Assembly for a three-year term.[51] The rst non-
permanent members were Belgium, Brazil, Greece, and
Spain.[52]

Palace of Nations, Geneva, the Leagues headquarters from
1936 until its dissolution in 1946
Assembly, the Council, and the Permanent Secretariat.
It also had two essential wings: the Permanent Court of
International Justice and the International Labour Organ-
isation. In addition, there were a number of auxiliary
agencies and commissions.[41] Each organs budget was
allocated by the Assembly (the League was supported -
nancially by its member states).[42]
The relations between the Assembly and the Council and
the competencies of each were for the most part not ex-
The composition of the Council was changed a num-
ber of times. The number of non-permanent members
was rst increased to six on 22 September 1922 and to
nine on 8 September 1926. Werner Dankwort of Ger-
many pushed for his country to join the League; join-
ing in 1926, Germany became the fth permanent mem-
ber of the Council. Later, after Germany and Japan
both left the League, the number of non-permanent seats
was increased from nine to eleven, and the Soviet Union
was made a permanent member giving the Council a to-
tal of fteen members.[52] The Council met, on average,
ve times a year and in extraordinary sessions when re-
3.1 Other bodies 5

quired. In total, 107 sessions were held between 1920 and director.[59]
1939.[53]

3.1 Other bodies

The League oversaw the Permanent Court of Interna-
tional Justice and several other agencies and commis-
sions created to deal with pressing international prob-
lems. These included the Disarmament Commission,
the Health Organisation,[54] the International Labour
Organisation (ILO), the Mandates Commission, the
International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation
(precursor to UNESCO), the Permanent Central Opium
Board, the Commission for Refugees, and the Slavery Child labour in Kamerun during 1919
Commission.[55] Three of these institutions were trans-
ferred to the United Nations after the Second World War:
The ILO successfully restricted the addition of lead to
the International Labour Organisation, the Permanent
paint,[60] and convinced several countries to adopt an
Court of International Justice (as the International Court
eight-hour work day and forty-eight-hour working week.
of Justice), and the Health Organisation (restructured as
It also campaigned to end child labour, increase the rights
the World Health Organisation).[56]
of women in the workplace, and make shipowners liable
The Permanent Court of International Justice was pro- for accidents involving seamen.[58] After the demise of
vided for by the Covenant, but not established by it. The the League, the ILO became an agency of the United Na-
Council and the Assembly established its constitution. Its tions in 1946.[61]
judges were elected by the Council and the Assembly,
The Leagues health organisation had three bodies:
and its budget was provided by the latter. The Court
the Health Bureau, containing permanent ocials of
was to hear and decide any international dispute which
the League; the General Advisory Council or Confer-
the parties concerned submitted to it. It might also give
ence, an executive section consisting of medical ex-
an advisory opinion on any dispute or question referred
perts; and the Health Committee. The Committees
to it by the Council or the Assembly. The Court was
purpose was to conduct inquiries, oversee the opera-
open to all the nations of the world under certain broad
[57] tion of the Leagues health work, and prepare work
conditions.
to be presented to the Council.[62] This body focused
on ending leprosy, malaria, and yellow fever, the latter
two by starting an international campaign to exterminate
mosquitoes. The Health Organization also worked suc-
cessfully with the government of the Soviet Union to pre-
vent typhus epidemics, including organising a large edu-
cation campaign.[63]
The League of Nations had devoted serious attention
to the question of international intellectual co-operation
since its creation. The First Assembly in December 1920
recommended that the Council take action aiming at the
international organisation of intellectual work, which it
did by adopting a report presented by the Fifth Commit-
tee of the Second Assembly and inviting a Committee
Child labour in a coal mine, United States, ca. 1912 on Intellectual Cooperation to meet in Geneva in August
1922. The French philosopher Henri Bergson became the
The International Labour Organisation was created in rst chairman of the committee.[64] The work of the com-
1919 on the basis of Part XIII of the Treaty of mittee included: inquiry into the conditions of intellectual
Versailles.[58] The ILO, although having the same mem- life, assistance to countries where intellectual life was en-
bers as the League and being subject to the budget control dangered, creation of national committees for intellectual
of the Assembly, was an autonomous organisation with its co-operation, co-operation with international intellectual
own Governing Body, its own General Conference and organisations, protection of intellectual property, inter-
its own Secretariat. Its constitution diered from that of university co-operation, co-ordination of bibliographical
the League: representation had been accorded not only work and international interchange of publications, and
to governments but also to representatives of employers international co-operation in archaeological research.[65]
and workers organisations. Albert Thomas was its rst Introduced by the second International Opium Conven-
6 4 MEMBERS

tion, the Permanent Central Opium Board had to super- and, when necessary, resettlement.[72] At the end of the
vise the statistical reports on trade in opium, morphine, First World War, there were two to three million ex-
cocaine and heroin. The board also established a system prisoners of war from various nations dispersed through-
of import certicates and export authorisations for the le- out Russia;[72] within two years of the commissions foun-
gal international trade in narcotics.[66] dation, it had helped 425,000 of them return home.[73] It
The Slavery Commission sought to eradicate slavery established camps in Turkey in 1922 to aid the country
and slave trading across the world, and fought forced with an ongoing refugee crisis, helping to prevent disease
prostitution.[67] Its main success was through pressing and hunger. It also established the Nansen [74] passport as a
means of identication for stateless people.
the governments who administered mandated countries
to end slavery in those countries. The League secured The Committee for the Study of the Legal Status of
a commitment from Ethiopia to end slavery as a condi- Women sought to inquire into the status of women all over
tion of membership in 1923, and worked with Liberia to the world. It was formed in 1937, and later became part
abolish forced labour and intertribal slavery. The United of the United Nations as the Commission on the Status of
Kingdom had not supported Ethiopian membership of the Women.[75]
League on the grounds that Ethiopia had not reached a
state of civilisation and internal security sucient to war-
rant her admission.[68] 4 Members
[67]
The League also succeeded in reducing the death rate
of workers constructing the Tanganyika railway from 55 See also: Member states of the League of Nations
to 4 percent. Records were kept to control slavery, pros- Of the Leagues 42 founding members, 23 (24 counting
titution, and the tracking of women and children.[69]
Partly as a result of pressure brought by the League of
Nations, Afghanistan abolished slavery in 1923, Iraq in
1924, Nepal in 1926, Transjordan and Persia in 1929,
Bahrain in 1937, and Ethiopia in 1942.[70]

A map of the world in the years 192045, which shows the

League of Nations members during its history

Free France) remained members until it was dissolved in

1946. In the founding year, six other states joined, only
two of which remained members throughout the Leagues
existence. An additional 15 countries joined later. The
largest number of member states was 58, between 28
September 1934 (when Ecuador joined) and 23 Febru-
ary 1935 (when Paraguay withdrew).[76]
The Soviet Union became a member on 18 September
1934,[77] and was expelled on 14 December 1939[77]
for invading Finland. In expelling the Soviet Union,
the League broke its own rule: only 7 of 15 mem-
bers of the Council voted for expulsion (Great Britain,
France, Belgium, Bolivia, Egypt, South Africa, and the
Dominican Republic), short of the majority required by
the Covenant. Three of these members had been made
Council members the day before the vote (South Africa,
Bolivia, and Egypt). This was one of the Leagues nal
acts before it practically ceased functioning due to the
Second World War.[78]
A sample Nansen passport On 26 May 1937, Egypt became the last state to join the
League. The rst member to withdraw permanently from
Led by Fridtjof Nansen, the Commission for Refugees the League was Costa Rica on 22 January 1925; having
was established on 27 June 1921[71] to look after the in- joined on 16 December 1920, this also makes it the mem-
terests of refugees, including overseeing their repatriation ber to have most quickly withdrawn. Brazil was the rst
5.1 Mandatory powers 7

founding member to withdraw (14 June 1926), and Haiti
the last (April 1942). Iraq, which joined in 1932, was
the rst member that had previously been a League of
Nations mandate.[79]
5 Mandates
Main article: League of Nations mandate
slave trade, the arms trac and the liquor traf-
c, and the prevention of the establishment of
fortications or military and naval bases and of
military training of the natives for other than
police purposes and the defence of territory,
and will also secure equal opportunities for the
trade and commerce of other Members of the
League.[85]
Article 22, The Covenant of the League
of Nations

At the end of the First World War, the Allied powers were
confronted with the question of the disposal of the former South-West Africa and certain of the South Pacic Is-
German colonies in Africa and the Pacic, and the sev- lands were administered by League members under C
eral non-Turkish provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The mandates. These were classied as territories
Peace Conference adopted the principle that these territo-
ries should be administered by dierent governments on
behalf of the League a system of national responsibil- ...which, owing to the sparseness of their
[80]
ity subject to international supervision. This plan, de- population, or their small size, or their remote-
ned as the mandate system, was adopted by the Council ness from the centres of civilisation, or their
of Ten (the heads of government and foreign ministers geographical contiguity to the territory of the
of the main Allied powers: Britain, France, the United Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be
States, Italy, and Japan) on 30 January 1919 and trans- best administered under the laws of the Manda-
mitted to the League of Nations.[81] tory as integral portions of its territory, subject
to the safeguards above mentioned in the inter-
League of Nations mandates were established under Ar- ests of the indigenous population.[85]
ticle 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.[82] The Article 22, The Covenant of the League
Permanent Mandates Commission supervised League of of Nations
Nations mandates,[83] and also organised plebiscites in
disputed territories so that residents could decide which
country they would join. There were three mandate clas-
sications: A, B and C.[84] 5.1 Mandatory powers
The A mandates (applied to parts of the old Ottoman Em-
pire) were certain communities that had The territories were governed by mandatory powers, such
as the United Kingdom in the case of the Mandate of
Palestine, and the Union of South Africa in the case of
...reached a stage of development where
South-West Africa, until the territories were deemed ca-
their existence as independent nations can be
pable of self-government. Fourteen mandate territories
provisionally recognised subject to the render-
were divided up among seven mandatory powers: the
ing of administrative advice and assistance by
United Kingdom, the Union of South Africa, France, Bel-
a Mandatory until such time as they are able to
gium, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.[86] With the ex-
stand alone. The wishes of these communities
ception of the Kingdom of Iraq, which joined the League
must be a principal consideration in the selec-
on 3 October 1932,[87] these territories did not begin
tion of the Mandatory.[85]
to gain their independence until after the Second World
Article 22, The Covenant of the League
War, in a process that did not end until 1990. Following
of Nations
the demise of the League, most of the remaining man-
dates became United Nations Trust Territories.[88]

The B mandates were applied to the former German
colonies that the League took responsibility for after the
First World War. These were described as peoples that
the League said were
...at such a stage that the Mandatory must
be responsible for the administration of the ter-
ritory under conditions which will guarantee
freedom of conscience and religion, subject
only to the maintenance of public order and
morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the
In addition to the mandates, the League itself governed
the Territory of the Saar Basin for 15 years, before it was
returned to Germany following a plebiscite, and the Free
City of Danzig (now Gdask, Poland) from 15 November
1920 to 1 September 1939.[89]
6 Resolving territorial disputes
The aftermath of the First World War left many issues
to be settled, including the exact position of national
8 6 RESOLVING TERRITORIAL DISPUTES

boundaries and which country particular regions would of Prussia. The Treaty of Versailles had recommended a
join. Most of these questions were handled by the victo- plebiscite in Upper Silesia to determine whether the ter-
rious Allied powers in bodies such as the Allied Supreme ritory should become part of Germany or Poland. Com-
Council. The Allies tended to refer only particularly dif- plaints about the attitude of the German authorities led to
cult matters to the League. This meant that, during the rioting and eventually to the rst two Silesian Uprisings
early interwar period, the League played little part in re- (1919 and 1920). A plebiscite took place on 20 March
solving the turmoil resulting from the war. The questions 1921, with 59.6 percent (around 500,000) of the votes
the League considered in its early years included those cast in favour of joining Germany, but Poland claimed
designated by the Paris Peace treaties.[90] the conditions surrounding it had been unfair. This result
[95]
As the League developed, its role expanded, and by the led to the Third Silesian Uprising in 1921.
middle of the 1920s it had become the centre of interna- On 12 August 1921, the League was asked to settle the
tional activity. This change can be seen in the relation- matter; the Council created a commission with represen-
ship between the League and non-members. The United tatives from Belgium, Brazil, China and Spain to study the
States and Russia, for example, increasingly worked with situation.[96] The committee recommended that Upper
the League. During the second half of the 1920s, France, Silesia be divided between Poland and Germany accord-
Britain and Germany were all using the League of Na- ing to the preferences shown in the plebiscite and that the
tions as the focus of their diplomatic activity, and each two sides should decide the details of the interaction be-
of their foreign secretaries attended League meetings at tween the two areas for example, whether goods should
Geneva during this period. They also used the Leagues pass freely over the border due to the economic and in-
machinery to try to improve relations and settle their dustrial interdependency of the two areas.[97] In Novem-
dierences.[91] ber 1921, a conference was held in Geneva to negotiate a
convention between Germany and Poland. A nal settle-
ment was reached, after ve meetings, in which most of
6.1 land Islands the area was given to Germany, but with the Polish section
containing the majority of the regions mineral resources
Main article: land crisis and much of its industry. When this agreement became
public in May 1922, bitter resentment was expressed in
land is a collection of around 6,500 islands in the Baltic Germany, but the treaty was still ratied by both coun-
Sea, midway between Sweden and Finland. The islands tries. The settlement produced peace in the area until the
[96]
are almost exclusively Swedish-speaking, but in 1809, beginning of the Second World War.
Sweden had lost both Finland and the land Islands to
Imperial Russia. In December 1917, during the turmoil
6.3 Albania
of the Russian October Revolution, Finland declared its
independence, but most of the landers wished to rejoin
The frontiers of Albania had not been set during the
Sweden.[92] However, the Finnish government considered
Paris Peace Conference in 1919, as they were left for
the islands to be a part of their new nation, as the Rus-
the League to decide; however, they had not yet been de-
sians had included land in the Grand Duchy of Finland,
termined by September 1921, creating an unstable situa-
formed in 1809. By 1920, the dispute had escalated to
tion. Greek troops held military operations in the south
the point that there was danger of war. The British gov-
of Albania. Yugoslavian forces became engaged, after
ernment referred the problem to the Leagues Council,
clashes with Albanian tribesmen, in the northern part of
but Finland would not let the League intervene, as they
the country. The League sent a commission of represen-
considered it an internal matter. The League created a
tatives from various powers to the region. In November
small panel to decide if it should investigate the matter
1921, the League decided that the frontiers of Albania
and, with an armative response, a neutral commission
should be the same as they had been in 1913, with three
was created.[92] In June 1921, the League announced its
minor changes that favoured Yugoslavia. Yugoslav forces
decision: the islands were to remain a part of Finland, but
withdrew a few weeks later, albeit under protest.[98]
with guaranteed protection of the islanders, including de-
militarisation. With Swedens reluctant agreement, this The borders of Albania again became the cause of in-
became the rst European international agreement con- ternational conict when Italian General Enrico Tellini
cluded directly through the League.[93] and four of his assistants were ambushed and killed on 24
August 1923 while marking out the newly decided bor-
der between Greece and Albania. Italian leader Benito
6.2 Upper Silesia Mussolini was incensed, and demanded that a commis-
sion investigate the incident within ve days. Whatever
The Allied powers referred the problem of Upper Sile- the results of the investigation, Mussolini insisted that the
sia to the League after they had been unable to resolve Greek government pay Italy fty million lire in repara-
the territorial dispute.[94] After the First World War, tions. The Greeks said they would not pay unless it was
Poland laid claim to Upper Silesia, which had been part proved that the crime was committed by Greeks.[99]
6.6 Mosul
Mussolini sent a warship to shell the Greek island of
Corfu, and Italian forces occupied the island on 31 Au-
gust 1923. This contravened the Leagues covenant, so
Greece appealed to the League to deal with the situation.
The Allies, however, agreed (at Mussolinis insistence)
that the Conference of Ambassadors should be responsi-
ble for resolving the dispute because it was the conference
that had appointed General Tellini. The League Council
examined the dispute, but then passed on their ndings to
the Conference of Ambassadors to make the nal deci-
sion. The conference accepted most of the Leagues rec-
ommendations, forcing Greece to pay fty million lire to
Italy, even though those who committed the crime were
never discovered.[100] Italian forces then withdrew from
Corfu.[101]
6.4 Memel
Main article: Klaipda Revolt
The port city of Memel (now Klaipda) and the surround-
ing area, with a predominantly German population, was
under provisional Allied control according to Article 99
of the Treaty of Versailles. The French and Polish gov-
ernments favoured turning Memel into an international
city, while Lithuania wanted to annex the area. By 1923,
the fate of the area had still not been decided, prompting
Lithuanian forces to invade in January 1923 and seize the
port. After the Allies failed to reach an agreement with
Lithuania, they referred the matter to the League of Na-
tions. In December 1923, the League Council appointed
a Commission of Inquiry. The commission chose to cede
Memel to Lithuania and give the area autonomous rights.
The Klaipda Convention was approved by the League
Council on 14 March 1924, and then by the Allied pow-
ers and Lithuania.[102] In 1939 Germany retook the re-
gion following the rise of the Nazis and an ultimatum
to Lithuania, demanding the return of the region under
threat of war. The League of Nations failed to prevent
the secession of the Memel region to Germany.
6.5 Hatay
Main article: Hatay State
With League oversight, the Sanjak of Alexandretta in the
French Mandate of Syria was given autonomy in 1937.
Renamed Hatay, its parliament declared independence
as the Republic of Hatay in September 1938, after elec-
tions the previous month. It was annexed by Turkey with
French consent in mid-1939.[103]
9
6.6 Mosul
Main article: Mosul Question
The League resolved a dispute between the Kingdom of
Iraq and the Republic of Turkey over control of the for-
mer Ottoman province of Mosul in 1926. According to
the British, who had been awarded a League of Nations
mandate over Iraq in 1920 and therefore represented Iraq
in its foreign aairs, Mosul belonged to Iraq; on the other
hand, the new Turkish republic claimed the province as
part of its historic heartland. A League of Nations Com-
mission of Inquiry, with Belgian, Hungarian and Swedish
members, was sent to the region in 1924; it found that
the people of Mosul did not want to be part of either
Turkey or Iraq, but if they had to choose, they would pick
Iraq.[104] In 1925, the commission recommended that
the region stay part of Iraq, under the condition that the
British hold the mandate over Iraq for another 25 years, to
ensure the autonomous rights of the Kurdish population.
The League Council adopted the recommendation and
decided on 16 December 1925 to award Mosul to Iraq.
Although Turkey had accepted League of Nations arbi-
tration in the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, it rejected the
decision, questioning the Councils authority. The mat-
ter was referred to the Permanent Court of International
Justice, which ruled that, when the Council made a unani-
mous decision, it must be accepted. Nonetheless, Britain,
Iraq and Turkey ratied a separate treaty on 5 June 1926
that mostly followed the decision of the League Coun-
cil and also assigned Mosul to Iraq. It was agreed, how-
ever, that Iraq could still apply for League membership
within 25 years and that the mandate would end upon its
admittance.[105][106]
6.7 Vilnius
Main article: eligowskis Mutiny
After the First World War, Poland and Lithuania both
regained their independence but soon became immersed
in territorial disputes.[107] During the PolishSoviet War,
Lithuania signed the Moscow Peace Treaty with the So-
viet Union that laid out Lithuanias frontiers. This agree-
ment gave Lithuanians control of the city of Vilnius
(Lithuanian: Vilnius, Polish: Wilno), the old Lithuanian
capital, but a city with a majority Polish population.[108]
This heightened tension between Lithuania and Poland
and led to fears that they would resume the Polish
Lithuanian War, and on 7 October 1920, the League ne-
gotiated the Suwaki Agreement establishing a cease-re
and a demarcation line between the two nations.[107] On 9
October 1920, General Lucjan eligowski, commanding
a Polish military force in contravention of the Suwaki
Agreement, took the city and established the Republic of
Central Lithuania.[107]
10
After a request for assistance from Lithuania, the League
Council called for Polands withdrawal from the area.
The Polish government indicated they would comply, but
instead reinforced the city with more Polish troops.[109]
This prompted the League to decide that the future of Vil-
nius should be determined by its residents in a plebiscite
and that the Polish forces should withdraw and be re-
placed by an international force organised by the League.
However, the plan was met with resistance in Poland,
Lithuania, and the Soviet Union, which opposed any
international force in Lithuania. In March 1921, the
League abandoned plans for the plebiscite.[110] After un-
successful proposals by Paul Hymans to create a federa-
tion between Poland and Lithuania, Vilnius and the sur-
rounding area was formally annexed by Poland in March
1922. After Lithuania took over the Klaipda Region,
the Allied Conference set the frontier between Lithuania
and Poland, leaving Vilnius within Poland, on 14 March
1923.[111] Lithuanian authorities refused to accept the
decision, and ocially remained in a state of war with
Poland until 1927.[112] It was not until the 1938 Polish ul-
timatum that Lithuania restored diplomatic relations with
Poland and thus de facto accepted the borders.[113]
6.8 Colombia and Peru
Main articles: ColombiaPeru War and Leticia dispute
There were several border conicts between Colombia
and Peru in the early part of the 20th century, and
in 1922, their governments signed the Salomn-Lozano
Treaty in an attempt to resolve them.[114] As part of this
treaty, the border town of Leticia and its surrounding
area was ceded from Peru to Colombia, giving Colom-
bia access to the Amazon River.[115] On 1 September
1932, business leaders from Peruvian rubber and sugar
industries who had lost land as a result organised an
armed takeover of Leticia.[116] At rst, the Peruvian gov-
ernment did not recognise the military takeover, but
President of Peru Luis Snchez Cerro decided to resist
a Colombian re-occupation. The Peruvian Army occu-
pied Leticia, leading to an armed conict between the two
nations.[117] After months of diplomatic negotiations, the
governments accepted mediation by the League of Na-
tions, and their representatives presented their cases be-
fore the Council. A provisional peace agreement, signed
by both parties in May 1933, provided for the League to
assume control of the disputed territory while bilateral
negotiations proceeded.[118] In May 1934, a nal peace
agreement was signed, resulting in the return of Leticia
to Colombia, a formal apology from Peru for the 1932
invasion, demilitarisation of the area around Leticia, free
navigation on the Amazon and Putumayo Rivers, and a
pledge of non-aggression.[119]
7 OTHER CONFLICTS
6.9 Saar
Saar was a province formed from parts of Prussia and
the Rhenish Palatinate and placed under League control
by the Treaty of Versailles. A plebiscite was to be held
after fteen years of League rule to determine whether
the province should belong to Germany or France. When
the referendum was held in 1935, 90.3 percent of voters
supported becoming part of Germany, which was quickly
approved by the League Council.[120][121]
7 Other conicts
In addition to territorial disputes, the League also tried to
intervene in other conicts between and within nations.
Among its successes were its ght against the interna-
tional trade in opium and sexual slavery, and its work to
alleviate the plight of refugees, particularly in Turkey in
the period up to 1926. One of its innovations in this lat-
ter area was the 1922 introduction of the Nansen pass-
port, which was the rst internationally recognised iden-
tity card for stateless refugees.[122]
7.1 Greece and Bulgaria
Main article: Incident at Petrich
After an incident involving sentries on the Greek-
Bulgarian border in October 1925, ghting began be-
tween the two countries.[123] Three days after the ini-
tial incident, Greek troops invaded Bulgaria. The Bul-
garian government ordered its troops to make only token
resistance, and evacuated between ten thousand and f-
teen thousand people from the border region, trusting the
League to settle the dispute.[124] The League condemned
the Greek invasion, and called for both Greek withdrawal
and compensation to Bulgaria.[123]
7.2 Liberia
Following accusations of forced labour on the large
American-owned Firestone rubber plantation and Ameri-
can accusations of slave trading, the Liberian government
asked the League to launch an investigation.[125] The re-
sulting commission was jointly appointed by the League,
the United States, and Liberia.[126] In 1930, a League re-
port conrmed the presence of slavery and forced labour.
The report implicated many government ocials in the
selling of contract labour and recommended that they be
replaced by Europeans or Americans, which generated
anger within Liberia and led to the resignation of Pres-
ident Charles D. B. King and his vice-president. The
Liberian government outlawed forced labour and slavery
and asked for American help in social reforms.[126][127]
7.4 Chaco War 11

7.3 Mukden Incident According to the Covenant, the League should have
responded by enacting economic sanctions or declar-
Main article: Mukden Incident ing war; it did neither. The threat of economic sanc-
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian tions would have been almost useless because the United
States, a nonLeague member, could continue trade with
Japan. The League could have assembled an army, but
major powers like Britain and France were too preoccu-
pied with their own aairs, such as keeping control of
their extensive colonies, especially after the turmoil of the
First World War.[135] Japan was therefore left in control
of Manchuria until the Soviet Unions Red Army took
over the area and returned it to China at the end of the
Second World War.[136]

7.4 Chaco War

Main article: Chaco War

The League failed to prevent the 1932 war between

Chinese delegate addresses the League of Nations concerning the Bolivia and Paraguay over the arid Gran Chaco region.
Manchurian Crisis in 1932. Although the region was sparsely populated, it contained
the Paraguay River, which would have given either land-
Incident or the Far Eastern Crisis, was one of the locked country access to the Atlantic Ocean,[137] and
Leagues major setbacks and acted as the catalyst for there was also speculation, later proved incorrect, that
Japans withdrawal from the organisation. Under the the Chaco would be a rich source of petroleum.[138] Bor-
terms of an agreed lease, the Japanese government had der skirmishes throughout the late 1920s culminated in
the right to station its troops in the area around the South an all-out war in 1932 when the Bolivian army attacked
Manchurian Railway, a major trade route between the the Paraguayans at Fort Carlos Antonio Lpez at Lake
two countries, in the Chinese region of Manchuria.[128] In Pitiantuta.[139] Paraguay appealed to the League of Na-
September 1931, a section of the railway was lightly dam- tions, but the League did not take action when the Pan-
aged by the Japanese Kwantung Army[129][130] as a pre- American Conference oered to mediate instead. The
text for an invasion of Manchuria.[129][131] The Japanese war was a disaster for both sides, causing 57,000 casual-
army claimed that Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the ties for Bolivia, whose population was around three mil-
railway and in apparent retaliation (acting contrary to the lion, and 36,000 dead for Paraguay, whose population
civilian governments orders[130] ) occupied the entire re- was approximately one million.[140] It also brought both
gion of Manchuria. They renamed the area Manchukuo, countries to the brink of economic disaster. By the time a
and on 9 March 1932 set up a puppet government, with ceasere was negotiated on 12 June 1935, Paraguay had
Pu Yi, the former emperor of China, as its executive seized control of most of the region, as was later recog-
head.[132] This new entity was recognised only by the gov- nised by the 1938 truce.[141]
ernments of Italy and Nazi Germany; the rest of the world
still considered Manchuria legally part of China. In 1932,
Japanese air and sea forces bombarded the Chinese city 7.5 Italian invasion of Abyssinia
of Shanghai, sparking the January 28 Incident.[133]
The League of Nations agreed to a request for help from Main articles: Abyssinia Crisis and Second Italo-
the Chinese government, but the long voyage by ship de- Abyssinian War
layed League ocials. When they arrived, they were In October 1935, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini [142]
sent
confronted with Chinese assertions that the Japanese 400,000 troops to invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Mar-
had invaded unlawfully, while the Japanese claimed they shal Pietro Badoglio led the campaign from November
were acting to keep peace in the area. Despite Japans 1935, ordering bombing, the use of chemical weapons
high standing in the League, the subsequent Lytton Re- such as mustard gas, and the poisoning of water supplies,
port declared Japan to be the aggressor and demanded against targets which included undefended villages and
[142][143]
Manchuria be returned to the Chinese. Before the report medical facilities. The modern Italian Army de-
could be voted on by the Assembly, Japan announced its feated the poorly armed Abyssinians and captured Addis
intention to push further into China. The report passed Ababa in May 1936, forcing Emperor of Ethiopia Haile
[144]
421 in the Assembly in 1933 (only Japan voting against), Selassie to ee.
but instead of removing its troops from China, Japan The League of Nations condemned Italys aggression and
withdrew from the League.[134] imposed economic sanctions in November 1935, but the
12
Emperor Haile Selassie escaping Ethiopia via Jerusalem
sanctions were largely ineective since they did not ban
the sale of oil or close the Suez Canal (controlled by
Britain).[145] As Stanley Baldwin, the British Prime Min-
ister, later observed, this was ultimately because no one
had the military forces on hand to withstand an Italian
attack.[146] In October 1935, the US President, Franklin
D. Roosevelt, invoked the recently passed Neutrality Acts
and placed an embargo on arms and munitions to both
sides, but extended a further moral embargo to the bel-
ligerent Italians, including other trade items. On 5 Oc-
tober and later on 29 February 1936, the United States
endeavoured, with limited success, to limit its exports of
oil and other materials to normal peacetime levels.[147]
The League sanctions were lifted on 4 July 1936, but by
that point Italy had already gained control of the urban
areas of Abyssinia.[148]
The HoareLaval Pact of December 1935 was an attempt
by the British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare and the
French Prime Minister Pierre Laval to end the conict
in Abyssinia by proposing to partition the country into
an Italian sector and an Abyssinian sector. Mussolini
was prepared to agree to the pact, but news of the deal
leaked out. Both the British and French public vehe-
mently protested against it, describing it as a sell-out of
Abyssinia. Hoare and Laval were forced to resign, and the
British and French governments dissociated themselves
from the two men.[149] In June 1936, although there was
no precedent for a head of state addressing the Assembly
of the League of Nations in person, Haile Selassie spoke
to the Assembly, appealing for its help in protecting his
country.[150]
The Abyssinian crisis showed how the League could be
inuenced by the self-interest of its members;[151] one of
the reasons why the sanctions were not very harsh was that
both Britain and France feared the prospect of driving
Mussolini and Adolf Hitler into an alliance.[152]
8 FAILURE OF DISARMAMENT
7.6 Spanish Civil War
Main article: Spanish Civil War
On 17 July 1936, the Spanish Army launched a coup
d'tat, leading to a prolonged armed conict between
Spanish Republicans (the leftist national government)
and the Nationalists (conservative, anti-communist rebels
who included most ocers of the Spanish Army).[153]
Julio lvarez del Vayo, the Spanish Minister of Foreign
Aairs, appealed to the League in September 1936 for
arms to defend Spains territorial integrity and political
independence. The League members, however, would
not intervene in the Spanish Civil War nor prevent foreign
intervention in the conict. Adolf Hitler and Mussolini
continued to aid General Francisco Franco's Nationalists,
while the Soviet Union helped the Spanish Republic. In
February 1937, the League did ban foreign volunteers,
but this was in practice a symbolic move.[154]
7.7 Second Sino-Japanese War
Main article: Second Sino-Japanese War
Following a long record of instigating localised conicts
throughout the 1930s, Japan began a full-scale invasion
of China on 7 July 1937. On 12 September, the Chinese
representative, Wellington Koo, appealed to the League
for international intervention. Western countries were
sympathetic to the Chinese in their struggle, particularly
in their stubborn defence of Shanghai, a city with a sub-
stantial number of foreigners.[155] However, the League
was unable to provide any practical measures; on 4 Oc-
tober, it turned the case over to the Nine Power Treaty
Conference.[156][157]
8 Failure of disarmament
Article 8 of the Covenant gave the League the task of
reducing armaments to the lowest point consistent with
national safety and the enforcement by common action
of international obligations.[158] A signicant amount of
the Leagues time and energy was devoted to this goal,
even though many member governments were uncertain
that such extensive disarmament could be achieved or was
even desirable.[159] The Allied powers were also under
obligation by the Treaty of Versailles to attempt to dis-
arm, and the armament restrictions imposed on the de-
feated countries had been described as the rst step to-
ward worldwide disarmament.[159] The League Covenant
assigned the League the task of creating a disarmament
plan for each state, but the Council devolved this respon-
sibility to a special commission set up in 1926 to prepare
for the 193234 World Disarmament Conference.[160]
Members of the League held dierent views towards the
9.2 Global representation 13

issue. The French were reluctant to reduce their arma-

ments without a guarantee of military help if they were
attacked; Poland and Czechoslovakia felt vulnerable to at-
tack from the west and wanted the Leagues response to
aggression against its members to be strengthened before
they disarmed.[161] Without this guarantee, they would
not reduce armaments because they felt the risk of attack
from Germany was too great. Fear of attack increased
as Germany regained its strength after the First World
War, especially after Adolf Hitler gained power and be-
came German Chancellor in 1933. In particular, Ger-
manys attempts to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and
the reconstruction of the German military made France
increasingly unwilling to disarm.[160] The Gap in the Bridge
The World Disarmament Conference was convened by the sign reads This League of Nations Bridge was designed by
the League of Nations in Geneva in 1932, with repre- the President of the U.S.A. Cartoon from Punch magazine, 10
sentatives from 60 states. A one-year moratorium on December 1920, satirising the gap left by the USA not joining the
the expansion of armaments, later extended by a few League.
months, was proposed at the start of the conference.[162]
The Disarmament Commission obtained initial agree-
of nine, later fteen, Council members to enact a resolu-
ment from France, Italy, Japan, and Britain to limit the
tion; hence, conclusive and eective action was dicult,
size of their navies. The KelloggBriand Pact, facili-
if not impossible. It was also slow in coming to its de-
tated by the commission in 1928, failed in its objective
cisions, as certain ones required the unanimous consent
of outlawing war. Ultimately, the Commission failed to
of the entire Assembly. This problem mainly stemmed
halt the military build-up by Germany, Italy and Japan
from the fact that the primary members of the League of
during the 1930s. The League was mostly silent in the
Nations were not willing to accept the possibility of their
face of major events leading to the Second World War,
fate being decided by other countries, and by enforcing
such as Hitlers remilitarisation of the Rhineland, occupa-
unanimous voting had eectively given themselves veto
tion of the Sudetenland and Anschluss of Austria, which
power.[169][170]
had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. In fact,
League members themselves re-armed. In 1933, Japan
simply withdrew from the League rather than submit to its
judgement,[163] as did Germany the same year (using the 9.2 Global representation
failure of the World Disarmament Conference to agree
to arms parity between France and Germany as a pre- Representation at the League was often a problem.
text), and Italy in 1937.[164] The nal signicant act of Though it was intended to encompass all nations, many
the League was to expel the Soviet Union in December never joined, or their period of membership was short.
1939 after it invaded Finland.[165] The most conspicuous absentee was the United States.
President Woodrow Wilson had been a driving force be-
hind the Leagues formation and strongly inuenced the
form it took, but the US Senate voted not to join on 19
9 General weaknesses November 1919.[171] Ruth Henig has suggested that, had
the United States become a member, it would have also
The onset of the Second World War demonstrated that the provided support to France and Britain, possibly making
League had failed in its primary purpose, the prevention France feel more secure, and so encouraging France and
of another world war. There were a variety of reasons for Britain to co-operate more fully regarding Germany, thus
[172]
this failure, many connected to general weaknesses within making the rise to power of the Nazi Party less likely.
the organisation. Additionally, the power of the League Conversely, Henig acknowledges that if the US had been
was limited by the United States refusal to join.[166] a member, its reluctance to engage in war with European
states or to enact economic sanctions might have ham-
pered the ability of the League to deal with international
9.1 Origins and structure incidents.[172] The structure of the US federal govern-
ment might also have made its membership problematic,
The origins of the League as an organisation created by as its representatives at the League could not have made
the Allied powers as part of the peace settlement to end decisions on behalf of the executive branch without [173]
hav-
the First World War led to it being viewed as a League of ing the prior approval of the legislative branch.
Victors.[167][168] The Leagues neutrality tended to man- In January 1920, when the League was born, Germany
ifest itself as indecision. It required a unanimous vote was not permitted to join because it was seen as hav-
14 10 DEMISE AND LEGACY

ing been the aggressor in the First World War. Soviet 9.4 Pacism and disarmament
Russia was also initially excluded, as Communist regimes
were not welcomed. The League was further weakened The League of Nations lacked an armed force of its own
when major powers left in the 1930s. Japan began as and depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolu-
a permanent member of the Council, but withdrew in tions, which they were very unwilling to do.[181] Its two
1933 after the League voiced opposition to its invasion most important members, Britain and France, were re-
of Manchuria.[174] Italy also began as a permanent mem- luctant to use sanctions and even more reluctant to re-
ber of the Council, but withdrew in 1937. The League sort to military action on behalf of the League. Im-
had accepted Germany, also as a permanent member of mediately after the First World War, pacism became
the Council, in 1926, deeming it a peace-loving coun- a strong force among both the people and governments
try, but Adolf Hitler pulled Germany out when he came of the two countries. The British Conservatives were es-
to power in 1933.[175] pecially tepid to the League and preferred, when in gov-
ernment, to negotiate treaties without the involvement of
that organisation.[182] Moreover, the Leagues advocacy
9.3 Collective security of disarmament for Britain, France, and its other mem-
bers, while at the same time advocating collective secu-
Another important weakness grew from the contradiction rity, meant that the League was depriving itself of the only
[183]
between the idea of collective security that formed the ba- forceful means by which it could uphold its authority.
sis of the League and international relations between indi- When the British cabinet discussed the concept of the
vidual states.[176] The Leagues collective security system League during the First World War, Maurice Hankey, the
required nations to act, if necessary, against states they Cabinet Secretary, circulated a memorandum on the sub-
considered friendly, and in a way that might endanger ject. He started by saying, Generally it appears to me
their national interests, to support states for which they that any such scheme is dangerous to us, because it will
had no normal anity.[176] This weakness was exposed create a sense of security which is wholly ctitious.[184]
during the Abyssinia Crisis, when Britain and France had He attacked the British pre-war faith in the sanctity of
to balance maintaining the security they had attempted treaties as delusional and concluded by claiming:
to create for themselves in Europe to defend against the
enemies of internal order,[177] in which Italys support
It [a League of Nations] will only result in
played a pivotal role, with their obligations to Abyssinia
[178] failure and the longer that failure is postponed
as a member of the League.
the more certain it is that this country will have
On 23 June 1936, in the wake of the collapse of League been lulled to sleep. It will put a very strong
eorts to restrain Italys war against Abyssinia, the British lever into the hands of the well-meaning ideal-
Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, told the House of Com- ists who are to be found in almost every Gov-
mons that collective security had ernment, who deprecate expenditure on arma-
ments, and, in the course of time, it will almost
failed ultimately because of the reluctance certainly result in this country being caught at
of nearly all the nations in Europe to proceed a disadvantage.[184]
to what I might call military sanctions ... The
real reason, or the main reason, was that we dis- The Foreign Oce minister Sir Eyre Crowe also wrote
covered in the process of weeks that there was a memorandum to the British cabinet claiming that a
no country except the aggressor country which solemn league and covenant would just be a treaty, like
was ready for war ... [I]f collective action is to other treaties. What is there to ensure that it will not,
be a reality and not merely a thing to be talked like other treaties, be broken?" Crowe went on to express
about, it means not only that every country is scepticism of the planned pledge of common action
to be ready for war; but must be ready to go to against aggressors because he believed the actions of in-
war at once. That is a terrible thing, but it is an dividual states would still be determined by national in-
essential part of collective security.[146] terests and the balance of power. He also criticised the
proposal for League economic sanctions because it would
be ineectual and that It is all a question of real military
Ultimately, Britain and France both abandoned the con-
preponderance. Universal disarmament was a practical
cept of collective security in favour of appeasement in the
impossibility, Crowe warned.[184]
face of growing German militarism under Hitler.[179] In
this context, the League of Nations was also the institu-
tion where the rst international debate on terrorism took
place following the 1934 assassination of King Alexander 10 Demise and legacy
I of Yugoslavia in Marseille, showing its conspiratorial
features, many of which are detectable in the discourse As the situation in Europe escalated into war, the Assem-
of terrorism among states after 9/11.[180] bly transferred enough power to the Secretary General
 15

of every peace-loving state to resent it and

employ whatever force is necessary to crush it,
that the machinery of the Charter, no less than
the machinery of the Covenant, is sucient
for this purpose if properly used, and that
every well-disposed citizen of every state
should be ready to undergo any sacrice in
order to maintain peace ... I venture to impress
upon my hearers that the great work of peace
is resting not only on the narrow interests of
our own nations, but even more on those great
principles of right and wrong which nations,
like individuals, depend.

The League of Nations Assembly building in Geneva The League is dead. Long live the United
Nations.[189]

The Assembly passed a resolution that With eect

from the day following the close of the present session
of the Assembly [i.e., April 19], the League of Na-
tions shall cease to exist except for the sole purpose of
the liquidation of its aairs as provided in the present
resolution.[191] A Board of Liquidation consisting of
nine persons from dierent countries spent the next 15
months overseeing the transfer of the Leagues assets and
functions to the United Nations or specialised bodies, -
nally dissolving itself on July 31, 1947.[191]
Professor David Kennedy portrays the League as a unique
moment when international aairs were institutional-
League of Nations archives, Geneva.[185]
ized, as opposed to the preFirst World War methods
of law and politics.[192] The principal Allies in the Sec-
ond World War (the UK, the USSR, France, the U.S.,
on 30 September 1938 and 14 December 1939 to allow and the Republic of China) became permanent members
the League to continue to exist legally and carry on re- of the United Nations Security Council in 1946. (In 1971
duced operations.[78] The headquarters of the League, the the Peoples Republic of China replaced the Republic of
Palace of Nations, remained unoccupied for nearly six China (Taiwan) as permanent member of the UN Secu-
years until the Second World War ended.[186] rity Council, and in 1991 the Russian Federation replaced
At the 1943 Tehran Conference, the Allied powers agreed the USSR.) Decisions of the Security Council are binding
to create a new body to replace the League: the United on all members of the UN; however, unanimous decisions
Nations. Many League bodies, such as the International are not required, unlike in the League Council. Perma-
Labour Organisation, continued to function and eventu- nent members of the Security Council can wield a veto to
ally became aliated with the UN.[61] The designers of protect their vital interests.[193]
the structures of the United Nations intended to make it Like its predecessor, the United Nations does not have
more eective than the League.[187] its own standing armed forces, but calls on its mem-
The nal meeting of the League of Nations took place on bers to contribute to armed interventions, such as during
18 April 1946 in Geneva.[188] Delegates from 34 nations the Korean War and for the peacekeeping mission in the
attended the assembly.[189] This session concerned itself former Yugoslavia.
with liquidating the League: it transferred assets worth
approximately $22,000,000 (U.S.) in 1946,[190] (includ-
ing the Palace of Peace and the Leagues archives) to 11 See also
the UN, returned reserve funds to the nations that had
supplied them, and settled the debts of the League.[189] Atlantic Charter
Robert Cecil, addressing the nal session, said:
Latin America and the League of Nations
Let us boldly state that aggression wher- League against Imperialism
ever it occurs and however it may be defended,
is an international crime, that it is the duty Ligue internationale de la paix
16 12 REFERENCES

Member states of the League of Nations [23] The League of Nations - Karl J. Schmidt. American
History. Retrieved 10 December 2013.

[24] The League of Nations: a retreat from international law?"

12 References (PDF). Journal of Global History.

[25] David Hunter Miller (1969). The drafting of the Covenant.

12.1 Notes Johnson Reprint Corp.

[1] Christian, Tomuschat (1995). The United Nations at Age [26] Magliveras 1999, p. 8.
Fifty: A Legal Perspective. Martinus Nijho LOLPub-
lishers. p. 77. ISBN 9789041101457. [27] Magliveras 1999, pp. 812.

[2] Covenant of the League of Nations. The Avalon Project. [28] Northedge 1986, pp. 3536.
Retrieved 30 August 2011.
[29] Levinovitz & Ringertz 2001, p. 170.
[3] See Article 23, Covenant of the League of Nations.,
[30] Northedge 1986, pp. 8589.
Treaty of Versailles. and Minority Rights Treaties.
[31] Michael E. Eidenmuller (25 September 1919).
[4] Jahanpour, Farhang. The Elusiveness of Trust: the ex-
Woodrow Wilson - Final Address in Support of
perience of Security Council and Iran (PDF). Transna-
the League of Nations"". American Rhetoric. Retrieved
tional Foundation of Peace and Future Research. p. 2.
16 August 2012.
Retrieved 27 June 2008.
[32] Scott 1973, p. 51.
[5] Kant, Immanuel. Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical
Sketch. Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved 16 May [33] Scott 1973, p. 67.
2008.
[34] League of Nations Chronology, The United Nations Oce
[6] Skirbekk & Gilje 2001, p. 288. at Geneva
[7] Kant, Immanuel (1795). Perpetual Peace. Constitution [35] Burkman 1995.
Society. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
[36] Kontra et al. 1999, p. 32.
[8] Reichard 2006, p. 9.
[37] Forster 1982, p. 173.
[9] Rapoport 1995, pp. 498500.
[38] Forster 1982, pp. 17176.
[10] Bouchet-Saulnier, Brav & Olivier 2007, pp. 14134.
[39] Forster 1982, p. 175.
[11] Northedge 1986, p. 10.
[40] Language and Emblem. United Nations. Retrieved 15
[12] Before the League of Nations. The United Nations Of- September 2011.
ce at Geneva. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
[41] Northedge 1986, pp. 48, 66.
[13] Bell 2007, pp. 1517.
[42] Budget of the League. University of Indiana. Retrieved
[14] Northedge 1986, pp. 12.
5 October 2011.
[15] Bell 2007, p. 16.
[43] Northedge 1986, pp. 4849.
[16] Archer 2001, p. 14.
[44] Northedge 1986, p. 53.
[17] Northedge 1986, p. 1.
[45] Northedge 1986, p. 50.
[18] Bell 2007, p. 8.
[46] League of Nations Secretariat, 19191946. United Na-
[19] Northedge, F. S. (1986). The League of Nations: Its life tions Oce at Geneva. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
and times, 19201946. Leicester University Press. ISBN
[47] Organization and establishment:The main bodies of the
0-7185-1194-8.
League of Nations. The United Nations Oce at Geneva.
[20] Sir Alfred Eckhard Zimmern (1969). The League of Na- Retrieved 18 May 2008.
tions and the Rule of Law, 1918-1935. Russell & Russell.
[48] Northedge 1986, p. 72.
pp. 1322.
[49] Northedge 1986, pp. 4850.
[21] Toward the Concept of Collective Security: The Bryce
Groups Proposals for the Avoidance of War, 1914- [50] Northedge 1986, p. 48.
1917. The University of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved 15
September 2013. [51] Northedge 1986, pp. 4248.

[22] Leonard Woolf (2010). International Government. Bib- [52] League of Nations Photo Archive. University of Indi-
lioBazaar. ana. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
12.1 Notes 17

[53] Chronology 1939. University of Indiana. Retrieved 15
September 2011.
[54] Health Organisation Correspondence 1926-1938. Na-
tional Library of Medicine.
[55] League of Nations. National Library of Australia. Re-
trieved 15 September 2011.
[81] Myers, Denys P (July 1921). The Mandate System
of the League of Nations. Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science 96: 7477.
doi:10.1177/000271622109600116.
[82] Northedge 1986, p. 193.
[83] Northedge 1986, p. 198.

[56] Demise and Legacy. United Nations Oce at Geneva.
Retrieved 15 September 2011.
[57] Permanent Court of International Justice. University of
Indiana. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
[84] Northedge 1986, p. 195.
[85] League of Nations (1924). The Covenant of the League
of Nations:Article 22. The Avalon Project at Yale Law
School. Retrieved 20 April 2009.

[86] Northedge 1986, pp. 194195.

[58] Northedge 1986, pp. 17980.
[87] Northedge 1986, p. 216.
[59] Scott 1973, p. 53.
[88] The United Nations and Decolonization. United Na-
[60] Frowein & Rdiger 2000, p. 167. tions. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
[61] Origins and history. International Labour Organisation. [89] Northedge 1986, pp. 73&ndash75.
Retrieved 25 April 2008.
[90] Northedge 1986, pp. 7072.
[62] Northedge 1986, p. 182.
[91] Henig 1973, p. 170..
[63] Baumslag 2005, p. 8.
[92] Scott 1973, p. 60.
[64] Northedge 1986, pp. 186187.
[93] Northedge 1986, pp. 7778.
[65] Northedge 1986, pp. 187189.
[94] Scott 1973, pp. 8283.
[66] McAllister 1999, pp. 7677.
[95] Osmanczyk & Mango 2002, p. 2568.
[67] Northedge 1986, pp. 18586. [96] Northedge 1986, p. 88.
[68] British Cabinet Paper 161(35)on the Italo-Ethiopian Dis- [97] Scott 1973, pp. 83.
pute and exhibiting a Report of the Inter-Departmental
Committee on British interests in Ethiopia dated 18 June [98] Northedge 1986, pp. 103105.
1935 and submitted to Cabinet by Sir John Maey
[99] Scott 1973, p. 86.
[69] Northedge 1986, p. 166.
[100] Scott 1973, p. 87.
[70] The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 25. Americana
[101] Northedge 1986, p. 110.
Corporation. 1976. p. 24.
[102] Northedge 1986, p. 107.
[71] Nansen International Oce for Refugees. Nobel Media.
Retrieved 30 August 2011. [103] aaptay, Soner (2006). Islam, secularism, and national-
ism in modern Turkey. Taylor & Francis. pp. 117121.
[72] Northedge 1986, p. 77. ISBN 978-0-415-38458-2.
[73] Scott 1973, p. 59. [104] Scott 1973, p. 133.
[74] Torpey 2000, p. 129. [105] Northedge 1986, pp. 107108.

[75] de Haan, Francisca (25 February 2010). A Brief Sur- [106] Scott 1973, pp. 131135.
vey of Womens Rights. UN Chronicle. United Nations.
Retrieved 15 September 2011. [107] Northedge 1986, p. 78.

[76] National Membership of the League of Nations. Uni- [108] Scott 1973, p. 61.
versity of Indiana. Retrieved 15 September 2011. [109] Scott 1973, p. 62.
[77] Scott 1973, pp. 312, 398. [110] Scott 1973, p. 63.
[78] Magliveras 1999, p. 31. [111] Northedge 1986, pp. 7879.
[79] Tripp 2002, p. 75. [112] Bell 2007, p. 29.

[80] Northedge 1986, pp. 192193. [113] Crampton 1996, p. 93.

 18 12 REFERENCES

[114] Osmanczyk & Mango 2002, p. 1314. [147] Baer 1976, p. 71.

[115] Scott 1973, p. 249. [148] Baer 1976, p. 298.

[116] Bethell 1991, pp. 414415. [149] Baer 1976, pp. 121155.

[117] Scott 1973, p. 250. [150] Haile Selassie I. Appeal to The League of Nations:June
1936, Geneva, Switzerland. Black King. Retrieved 6
[118] Scott 1973, p. 251. June 2008.
[119] Hudson, Manley, ed. (1934). The verdict of the League. [151] Baer 1976, p. 303.
World Peace Foundation. pp. 113.
[152] Baer 1976, p. 77.
[120] Northedge 1986, pp. 7273.
[153] Lannon 2002, pp. 2529.
[121] Churchill 1986, p. 98.
[154] Northedge 1986, pp. 264265, 269270.
[122] The United Nations in the Heart of Europe. United Na-
tions. Retrieved 15 September 2011. [155] Northedge 1986, p. 270.

[123] Northedge 1986, p. 112. [156] van Slyke, Lyman, ed. (1967). The China White Paper.
Stanford University Press. p. 10.
[124] Scott 1973, pp. 126127.
[157] Japanese Attack on China 1937. Mount Holyoke Uni-
[125] Miers 2003, pp. 140141. versity. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
[126] Miers 2003, p. 188. [158] League of Nations (1924). The Covenant of the League
of Nations:Article 8. The Avalon Project at Yale Law
[127] Du Bois, W.E. Burghardt (July 1933). Liberia, the
School. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
League and the United States. Foreign Aairs 11 (4):
68295. doi:10.2307/20030546. [159] Northedge 1986, pp. 113, 123.
[128] Northedge 1986, p. 138. [160] Northedge 1986, p. 114.
[129] Iriye 1987, p. 8. [161] Henig 1973, p. 173.
[130] Scott 1973, p. 208. [162] Goldblat 2002, p. 24.
[131] Nish 1977, pp. 176178. [163] Harries, Meirion and Susie. Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise
and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. p. 163. ISBN
[132] Northedge 1986, p. 139. 0-394-56935-0.
[133] Northedge 1986, pp. 152153. [164] Northedge 1986, pp. 47, 133.
[134] Northedge 1986, pp. 156161. [165] Northedge 1986, p. 273.
[135] Northedge 1986, pp. 161164. [166] Northedge 1986, pp. 276278.
[136] Garver, John W (1988). Chinese-Soviet relations, 1937 [167] Gorodetsky 1994, p. 26.
1945. Oxford University Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-19-
505432-3. [168] Rao 1974, p. 1.

[137] Scott 1973, pp. 242243. [169] Birn, Donald S (1981). The League of Nations Union.
Clarendon Press. pp. 226227. ISBN 0-19-822650-0.
[138] Levy 2001, pp. 2122.
[170] Northedge 1986, pp. 279282, 288292.
[139] Bethell 1991, p. 495.
[171] Knock 1995, p. 263.
[140] Scott 1973, p. 248.
[172] Henig 1973, p. 175.
[141] Scheina 2003, p. 103.
[173] Henig 1973, p. 176.
[142] Northedge 1986, pp. 222225.
[174] McDonough 1997, p. 62.
[143] Hill & Garvey 1995, p. 629.
[175] McDonough 1997, p. 69.
[144] Northedge 1986, p. 221.
[176] Northedge 1986, p. 253.
[145] Baer 1976, p. 245.
[177] Northedge 1986, p. 254.
[146] Events Leading Up to World War II. Library of Congress.
1944. p. 97. [178] Northedge 1986, pp. 253254.
 12.2 Sources
[179] McDonough 1997, p. 74.
[180] Ditrych, Ondrej. 'International Terrorism' as Conspiracy:
Debating Terrorism in the League of Nations. Historical
Social Research Vol. 38, 1 (2013).
[181] McDonough 1997, pp. 545.
[182] Northedge 1986, pp. 238240.
[183] Northedge 1986, pp. 134135.
[184] Barnett 1972, p. 245.
[185] League of Nations archives, United Nations Oce in
Geneva. Network visualization and analysis published
in Grandjean, Martin (2014). La connaissance est un
rseau. Les Cahiers du Numrique 10 (3): 3754. Re-
trieved 2014-10-15.
[186] Scott 1973, p. 399.
[187] Northedge 1986, pp. 278280.
[188] League of Nations Chronology Philip J. Strollo
[189] Scott 1973, p. 404.
[190] League of Nations Ends, Gives Way to New U.N., Syra-
cuse Herald-American, 20 April 1946, p. 12
[191] Denys P. Myers (1948). Liquidation of League of Na-
tions Functions. The American Journal of International
Law 42 (2): 320354.
[192] Kennedy 1987.
[193] Northedge 1986, pp. 278281.
12.2 Sources
Archer, Clive (2001). International Organizations.
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24690-3.
Baer, George W (1976). Test Case: Italy, Ethiopia,
and the League of Nations. Hoover Institution Press.
ISBN 0-8179-6591-2.
Barnett, Correlli (1972). The Collapse of British
Power. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-27580-6.
Baumslag, Naomi (2005). Murderous Medicine:
Nazi Doctors, Human Experimentation, and Typhus.
Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-98312-3.
Bell, P.M.H (2007). The Origins of the Second
World War in Europe. Pearson Education Limited.
ISBN 978-1-4058-4028-6.
Bethell, Leslie (1991). The Cambridge History of
Latin America: Volume VIII 1930 to the Present.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-26652-1.
Bouchet-Saulnier, Franoise; Brav, Laura; Olivier,
Clementine (2007). The Practical Guide to Human-
itarian Law. Rowman & Littleeld. ISBN 0-7425-
5496-1.
19
Burkman, Thomas W (1995). Japan and the
League of Nations: an Asian power encounters the
European Club. World Aairs 158 (1): 4557.
Churchill, Winston (1986). The Second World War:
Volume I The Gathering Storm. Houghton Miin
Books. ISBN 0-395-41055-X.
Crampton, Ben (1996). Atlas of Eastern Europe in
the Twentieth Century. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-
16461-3.
Forster, Peter (1982). The Esperanto Movement.
Mouton. ISBN 978-90-279-3399-7.
Frowein, Jochen A; Rdiger, Wolfrum (2000). Max
Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law. Martinus
Nijho Publishers. ISBN 90-411-1403-3.
Goldblat, Jozef (2002). Arms control: the new guide
to negotiations and agreements. SAGE Publications
Ltd. ISBN 0-7619-4016-2.
Gorodetsky, Gabriel (1994). Soviet Foreign Policy,
19171991: A Retrospective. Routledge. ISBN 0-
7146-4506-0.
Henig, Ruth B, ed. (1973). The League of Nations.
Oliver and Boyd. ISBN 978-0-05-002592-5.
Hill, Robert; Garvey, Marcus; Universal Negro Im-
provement Association (1995). The Marcus Garvey
and Universal Negro Improvement Association Pa-
pers. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-
520-07208-4.
Iriye, Akira (1987). The Origins of the Second
World War in Asia and the Pacic. Longman Group
UK Limited. ISBN 0-582-49349-8.
Kennedy, David (April 1987). The Move to Insti-
tutions (PDF). Cardozo Law Review 8 (5): 841
988. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
Knock, Thomas J (1995). To End All Wars:
Woodrow Wilson and the Quest for a New World
Order. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-
00150-2.
Kontra, Mikls; Phillipson, Robert; Skutnabb-
Kangas, Tove; Varady, Tibor (1999). Language, a
Right and a Resource: Approaching Linguistic Hu-
man Rights. Central European University Press.
ISBN 978-963-9116-63-4.
Lannon, Frances (2002). The Spanish Civil War,
19361939. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-
369-1.
Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin; Ringertz, Nils (2001).
The Nobel Prize: The First 100 Years. World Scien-
tic. ISBN 981-02-4665-X.
20
Levy, Marcela Lpez (2001). Bolivia:Oxfam Coun-
try Proles Series. Oxfam Publishing. ISBN 0-
85598-455-4.
Magliveras, Konstantinos D (1999). Exclusion from
Participation in International Organisations: The
Law and Practice behind Member States Expulsion
and Suspension of Membership. Martinus Nijho
Publishers. ISBN 90-411-1239-1.
McAllister, William B (1999). Drug Diplomacy
in the Twentieth Century: An International History.
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-17990-4.
McDonough, Frank (1997). The Origins of the First
and Second World Wars. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-56861-7.
Miers, Suzanne (2003). Slavery in the Twentieth
Century: The Evolution of a Global Problem. Al-
taMira Press. ISBN 0-7591-0340-2.
Nish, Ian (1977). Japanese foreign policy 1869
1942:Kasumigaseki to Miyakezaka. Routledge &
Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-415-27375-7.
Northedge, F.S (1986). The League of Nations:
Its Life and Times, 19201946. Holmes & Meier.
ISBN 0-7185-1316-9.
Osmanczyk, Edmund Jan; Mango, Anthony (2002).
Encyclopedia of the United Nations and Interna-
tional Agreements. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-
93924-0.
Rao, P (1974). The League of Nations. The His-
torical Association.
Rapoport, Anatol (1995). The Origins of Violence:
Approaches to the Study of Conict. Transaction
Publishers. ISBN 1-56000-783-4.
Reichard, Martin (2006). The EU-NATO relation-
ship: a legal and political perspective. Ashgate Pub-
lishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-4759-5.
Scheina, Robert L (2003). Latin Americas Wars:
Volume 2 The Age of the Professional Soldier, 1900
2001. Potomac Books Inc. ISBN 1-57488-452-2.
Scott, George (1973). The Rise and Fall of the
League of Nations. Hutchinson & Co LTD. ISBN
0-09-117040-0.
Skirbekk, Gunnar; Gilje, Nils (2001). History of
Western Thought: From Ancient Greece to the Twen-
tieth Century. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22073-4.
Torpey, John (2000). The Invention of the Passport:
Surveillance, Citizenship and the State. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-63493-8.
Tripp, Charles (2002). A History of Iraq. Cam-
bridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52900-X.
14 EXTERNAL LINKS
13 Further reading
Cooper, John Milton. Breaking the Heart of the
World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the
League of Nations (2001) 454pp excerpt and text
search
Egerton, George W (1978). Great Britain and the
Creation of the League of Nations: Strategy, Pol-
itics, and International Organization, 19141919.
University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-807-
81320-6.
Gill, George (1996). The League of Nations from
1929 to 1946. Avery Publishing Group. ISBN 0-
89529-637-3.
Ginneken, Anique H.M. van. Historical Dictionary
of the League of Nations (2006) excerpt and text
search
Kitsikis, Dimitri (1972). Le rle des experts la
Confrence de la Paix de 1919. Gestation d'une tech-
nocratie en politique internationale (in French). Ot-
tawa: Editions de l'Universit d'Ottawa. p. 227.
OCLC 643562008. (The founding of the League
of Nations).
Kuehl, Warren F; Dunn, Lynne K (1997). Keep-
ing the Covenant: American Internationalists and the
League of Nations, 19201939.
Malin, James C (1930). The United States after the
World War. pp. 582.
Marbeau, Michel (2001). La Socit des Nations (in
French). Presses Universitaires de France. ISBN 2-
13-051635-1.
Ostrower, Gary (1995). The League of Nations from
1919 to 1929 (Partners for Peace. Avery Publishing
Group. ISBN 0895296365.
Pfeil, Alfred (1976). Der Vlkerbund (in German).
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. ISBN 978-3-
534-06744-2.
Walters, Francis P. (1952). A History of the League
of Nations. Oxford University Press.
The League of Nations., Boston : Old Colony Trust
Company, 1919. A collection of charters, speeches,
etc. on the topic.
14 External links
League of Nations Photo archive, Indiana.edu
League of Nations chronology
League of Nations timeline, worldatwar.net
 21

History of the League of Nations, University of

Oxford-led project
Wilsons Final Address in Support of the League of
Nations Speech made 25 September 1919
History (19191946) from the United Nations Of-
ce at Geneva
League of Nations Archives from the United Na-
tions Oce at Geneva
Table of Assemblies Dates of each annual assembly,
links to list of members of each countrys delegation
LONSEA League of Nations Search Engine, Clus-
ter of Excellence Asia and Europe in a Global Con-
text, Universitt Heidelberg
22 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

15 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

15.1 Text
League of Nations Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations?oldid=697166020 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Kpjas, The
Epopt, Brion VIBBER, Mav, Berek, Andre Engels, Walter, William Avery, Roadrunner, SimonP, Peter Fremlin, Mintguy, Olivier, Le-
androd, Stephen pomes, Edward, Infrogmation, Kwertii, Llywrch, Liftarn, Happy Hitler, Ixfd64, (, Minesweeper, Egil, Looxix~enwiki,
Ams80, Snoyes, Brettz9, Jebba, , Ugen64, Bogdangiusca, Poor Yorick, Vzbs34, Andres, Jiang, Mxn, Adam Conover, Jen-
god, Smith03, Vanished user 5zariu3jisj0j4irj, Fuzheado, Wikid, Doradus, WhisperToMe, CBDunkerson, Peregrine981, Tpbradbury,
Saltine, Zero0000, Thue, Bevo, Joy, AnonMoos, Jerzy, Jusjih, Johnleemk, Flockmeal, Gakmo, JorgeGG, Carlossuarez46, Dimadick,
Gromlakh, Donarreiskoer, Robbot, Alrasheedan, Altenmann, Romanm, Naddy, Postdlf, Amgine, Sverdrup, Diderot, Mendalus~enwiki,
Hadal, Wereon, Drstuey, Mattaschen, Lysy, Marc Venot, Matt Gies, Jhf, Oberiko, Inter, Netoholic, Tom harrison, Lupin, HangingCurve,
Herbee, Marcika, Everyking, Bkonrad, Gro-Tsen, Henry Flower, Chinasaur, Tom-, Luigi30, Wwhyte, Bobblewik, Tagishsimon, Golbez,
Alanl, Gadum, Lst27, J~enwiki, Formeruser-81, Quadell, Juntung, Antandrus, Onco p53, Loremaster, MistToys, Piotrus, Daniel,levine,
Domino theory, Nils~enwiki, Cylauj, Nicodemus75, Roisterer, RetiredUser2, Spiralhighway, Burgundavia, Zfr, Neutrality, Jcw69, Ukex-
pat, Adashiel, Lacrimosus, SYSS Mouse, Millisits, Mike Rosoft, Miborovsky, AliveFreeHappy, Sysy, KNewman, EugeneZelenko, Ross-
Patterson, Discospinster, Twinxor, Rich Farmbrough, Guanabot, McMullen, Warpyght, Michael Zimmermann, Pavel Vozenilek, Paul
August, Allard, Bender235, Jaberwocky6669, Neko-chan, Slike, Brian0918, CanisRufus, The King Of Gondor, Sluj, Tirin, El C, Miraceti,
Kwamikagami, Hayabusa future, Thickslab, Shanes, Spearhead, Etimbo, IFaqeer, Bobo192, Vervin, Dralwik, NetBot, Irrbloss, Small-
jim, BrokenSegue, AllyUnion, Cwolfsheep, Man vyi, La goutte de pluie, Darwinek, Vanished user 19794758563875, MPerel, Sam Korn,
Haham hanuka, Krellis, Grovel, Alansohn, Nik42, Chevybowtie, Kessler, Wiki-uk, Jeltz, Antman, Ashley Pomeroy, Fritz Saalfeld, Gareth-
hamilton, Dierentgravy, Alinor, Bart133, Snowolf, Zsero, BanyanTree, Saga City, Yuckfoo, Jon Cates, Mikeo, Shigernafy, LFaraone,
Jguk, Pyromonkeykw, Flyaway1111, Maestral, YixilTesiphon, Fryede, Richard Weil, Ultramarine, Fdewaele, DanielVonEhren, Revived,
Bastin, Zntrip, Lkinkade, Vrymor, Woohookitty, RHaworth, Georgia guy, Camw, Consequencefree, John-1107, Jacobolus, MONGO, Miss
Madeline, Seminomad, Kelisi, Bkwillwm, Wikiklrsc, Thesquire, Valkyrian Einherjar, Wayward, Cedrus-Libani, Ruziklan, Rusty2005, Pal-
ica, Teemu Leisti, Mandarax, RichardWeiss, Peatoneil, Ashmoo, Graham87, Marskell, Magister Mathematicae, GoldRingChip, BD2412,
Ted Wilkes, Rjwilmsi, Tim!, SamuelWol, Nightscream, Koavf, Rogerd, Dcheng, Vary, Teresia, SMC, Brighterorange, The wub, Jesus Is
Love, Yamamoto Ichiro, FlaBot, Ian Pitchford, RobertG, Ground Zero, Musical Linguist, John Z, RexNL, Bigdottawa, Brendan Moody,
Jeremygbyrne, KFP, Parutakupiu, Terrx, Faustus37, Thecurran, Dunemaire, Valentinian, Chobot, VolatileChemical, Antiuser, Peter Grey,
The Rambling Man, YurikBot, Wavelength, NTBot~enwiki, RussBot, Briaboru, Nobs01, Van der Hoorn, Gaius Cornelius, Cambridge-
BayWeather, Kimchi.sg, Emptyshell, NawlinWiki, Daniel563, Anomie, SEWilcoBot, Wiki alf, Jaxl, Rjensen, Darker Dreams, Mccready,
Renata3, Cholmes75, DAJF, Raven4x4x, Molobo, Tony1, Zwobot, JPMcGrath, DGJM, Mysid, Bruce Hall, Bronks, Canuckguy, Electric
counterpoint, TransUtopian, Pawyilee, FF2010, UW, EAderhold, Orioane, Zzuuzz, Nikkimaria, JRawle, Petri Krohn, Zuwiki, Silverhelm,
Red Jay, Fram, Kevin, Emc2, Curpsbot-unicodify, Allens, Kungfuadam, Thomas Blomberg, Teryx, Vanished user 99034jfoiasjq2oirhsf3,
Ndaisley, TravisTX, Intangible, David Straub, Crystallina, Scolaire, SmackBot, Britannicus, Zazaban, InverseHypercube, Royalguard11,
David.Mestel, Unyoyega, Davewild, Chairman S., Brossow, Kintetsubualo, Srnec, TypoDotOrg, Marktreut, Gilliam, Hmains, Anasta-
sios~enwiki, Chris the speller, TimBentley, Master of Puppets, Djln, Liamdaly620, SchftyThree, Droll, Herr Horn, TheLeopard, DHN-
bot~enwiki, Charles Nguyen, Colonies Chris, Blueshirts, Ekrenor, Zsinj, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Richj1209, Shalom Yechiel,
, Chlewbot, OrphanBot, Ww2censor, Syrcro, Kcordina, Khoikhoi, Jmlk17, Ganchelkas, Flyguy649, Nakon, Detruncate, Barney
Stratford, Nils Simon, Warren, Gujuguy, Wisco, Ged UK, TenPoundHammer, Ohconfucius, JLogan, Rheo1905, Bashir.sadjad, Sashato-
Bot, Zahid Abdassabur, Mrmanhattanproject, Mr.Clown, Mgiganteus1, Green Giant, Nightworker, RandomCritic, A. Parrot, Volker89,
Lampman, Nicetomeetyou, SQGibbon, Sinistrum, Waggers, SandyGeorgia, Dcyer, Samhook, Andrwsc, MTSbot~enwiki, Jose77, Peyre,
TJ Spyke, Kevin W., Levineps, Iridescent, DaleW, Clarityend, Joseph Solis in Australia, Fitzwilliam, J Di, Blehfu, Harlan wilkerson, Cour-
celles, Lindsey8417, Tawkerbot2, Dlohcierekim, IronChris, Eastlaw, Ormi, Keero, JForget, Nbulgaria, Tankman182, CmdrObot, Deon,
TheChrisRoss, Wafulz, Van helsing, Leuce, Boomtown Rat, Themightyquill, Future Perfect at Sunrise, Acrazy007, Reywas92, Grahamec,
Goldfritha, Gogo Dodo, Bellerophon5685, Travelbird, A Softer Answer, ColinBowers, DocDee, Cakeman, Luckyherb, LeFrog, Tawker-
bot4, Codetiger, DumbBOT, The real avenger, Kozuch, Blindman shady, Asiaticus, Brad101, Hello17, Zeno89, JodyB, Victoriaedwards,
Bksicoo2, Nol888, Rocket000, JamesAM, Thijs!bot, Barticus88, Biruitorul, Newton2, RevolverOcelotX, Marek69, Bobblehead, Klaus-
neumann, CharlotteWebb, Natalie Erin, Escarbot, Quaxanta, AntiVandalBot, Luna Santin, Sushi111, Seaphoto, Brasoveanul, Smith2006,
DarkAudit, Jayron32, Aljohnston, Fayenatic london, LibLord, Malcolm, North Shoreman, MECU, Gdo01, Spartaz, Kent Witham, Thnsoc-
cer1308, Elaragirl, Wahabijaz, The man stephen, Gkhan, Wiki0709, Instinct, Redking7, Db099221, Andonic, Xeno, Hut 8.5, PhilKnight,
Beaumont, Fornost, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, JamesBWatson, CattleGirl, Mbc362, Farquaadhnchmn, Faizhaider, , Pawluk, Objec-
tivesea, Recurring dreams, KConWiki, Allstarecho, P.B. Pilhet, Vssun, DerHexer, JaGa, Cloudz679, Cocytus, Mus Musculus, MartinBot,
Xumm1du, Panicpgh, Poeloq, Cody6, Jemather, Rskellner, R'n'B, CommonsDelinker, Hairchrm, Ssolbergj, J.delanoy, Pharaoh of the
Wizards, DrKay, Trusilver, Rrostrom, Ali, Kemiv, Ginsengbomb, Drasai, Siryendor, Century0, Gzkn, Bothnia, It Is Me Here, Kikyo27,
Gurchzilla, Supuhstar, JayJasper, Encyclokool1, Easterino, NobleHelium, SJP, FJPB, Doomsday28, Olegwiki, SrikeitLikesmen, Hawoawo,
Juliancolton, Highimpact1, Bauerder, Dancomono, Zomg111, Bonadea, IceDragon64, Andy Marchbanks, Alex:D, Fennoscandia~enwiki,
Luminate, Sooner Dave, Deor, That-Vela-Fella, ABF, The Wild Falcon, Bry9000, Tfkalk, Philip Trueman, Kubaan, Rossen3, TXiKiBoT,
Mercurywoodrose, Gmialtft, Vipinhari, Sparkzy, Bagande, Z.E.R.O., Qxz, Don4of4, Joerg reitmaier, Slysplace, Mkpumphrey, Vgranucci,
BotKung, Willyman3000, Illumini85, Monty845, GavinTing, EmxBot, Kaly99, Deconstructhis, Uncle Scrooge, Antigc, SieBot, StAnselm,
Accounting4Taste, John.n-irl, Testing times, BotMultichill, Jbmurray, Crash Underride, Srushe, Supery12, Anti Vandal Spy, Welshsjj,
Bentogoa, Flyer22 Reborn, Qst, Arbor to SJ, Fupodorje, Mandsford, Reachtokaushik, JSpung, Lagrange613, Oxymoron83, Stefanjcarney,
KPH2293, Lightmouse, BotleyBoy, Mtys, Afernand74, Andrij Kursetsky, Leominster+1, Cyfal, TaerkastUA, Esperantix, Reallyjoel,
Denisarona, Randy Kryn, Haker94, TFCforever, ImageRemovalBot, Sylde, Ondra2, Ratemonth, ClueBot, Appalachianeer, Binksternet,
GorillaWarfare, The Thing That Should Not Be, RashersTierney, Alexdow93, Boing! said Zebedee, P. S. Burton, Piledhigheranddeeper,
Neverquick, Auntof6, Chey21, EnigmaMcmxc, Excirial, Anonymous101, Eeekster, Zaharous, Spirals31, Schippiy, Cenarium, Jotterbot,
Iohannes Animosus, DeltaQuad, Peter112785, Ckincaid77, Lionbreath02, Thehelpfulone, John Paul Parks, Michielodb, Dana boomer,
The Scriptor, SoxBot III, Indopug, Tdslk, LoneStar77, Gwandoya, ObeyK1NGTaz, Laser brain, Madmagician, WikiDao, Good Olfac-
tory, Batmen, HexaChord, Top8cat, Addbot, Shoeboy12, Willking1979, TehmidnightQ, DOI bot, Tcncv, Bezuidenhout, Asdfjklasdfjk-
lasdf, Ronhjones, Vishnava, Ziegenspeck~enwiki, Fluernutter, NjardarBot, Mnmazur, Nathanael123, Chamal N, Isaackuan, AnnaFrance,
Jfknrh, ContinentalAve, Blaylockjam10, Jmacza, Thewonderidiot, Fpkwsg1, Setanta747, Tassedethe, Numbo3-bot, InMyHumbleOpin-
ion, Issyl0, Tide rolls, Lightbot, TAL81, Addug, Jarble, AntiWhilst, Simon J Kissane, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Amirobot, Tempodivalse,
Sylixe, Useagev2, AnomieBOT, Drackir, Lonarchives, Floquenbeam, 1exec1, Jim1138, IRP, 90, Flewis, Materialscientist, ImperatorEx-
15.2 Images 23

ercitus, Citation bot, E2eamon, Eskandarany, LovesMacs, LilHelpa, Xqbot, TinucherianBot II, Capricorn42, Drilnoth, Nasnema, Ulf Hein-
sohn, Tyrol5, Shoegal5225, Notwej, GrouchoBot, Omnipaedista, Shirik, Felicity86, Locobot, AlasdairEdits, RobertG19, Shadowjams,
Spinach Monster, Tabledhote, Volgar, Koda1971, Sohan5544, Isseicreek, Johnada, Darwinius, Kolchak1923, Chcoc, Nimloth250, To-
bby72, Lothar von Richthofen, Perplex bob, Andre Kritzinger, HJ Mitchell, DillonLarson, Camnew6969, Citation bot 1, Lvl2prayer, Win-
terst, Yuyuop1, Pinethicket, Mr Who 0, Edderso, Degen Earthfast, LittleWink, Henry-bond-comedy, The.megapode, Seryo93, Bmclaugh-
lin9, Dude1818, White Shadows, Rabiddog51sb, Elginapples, Ruzihm, TobeBot, Etincelles, Jonkerz, XAtsukex, Lotje, Diannaa, Mini-
mac, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Andrea105, Vadac, Mean as custard, RjwilmsiBot, IANVS, MAXXX-309, Alfons2, WildBot, Enauspeaker,
EmausBot, Aarhusjutland, John of Reading, Orphan Wiki, T3dkjn89q00vl02Cxp1kqs3x7, Immunize, Remilord, Distal24, Super48paul,
Da500063, Dewritech, RA0808, Cupochicken, Tommy2010, Wikipelli, K6ka, Djhumble, Italia2006, Listmeister, Illegitimate Barris-
ter, Eddybud10, Mattayc16INC, SporkBot, Wikignome0530, Erianna, L Kensington, , Noodleki, Kranix, Nz101,
Counny, Defan24, DASHBotAV, Whoop whoop pull up, Petrb, LM2000, CM2G0005, ClueBot NG, Appenzeller, Eiilir, Crzyclarks,
Gardnej, This lousy T-shirt, BarrelProof, Bped1985, Hojinaska, ConconJondor, O.Koslowski, Kevin Gorman, Meagain1, Jjsmith123,
Widr, Wllmevans, Onen hag oll, Helpful Pixie Bot, HMSSolent, Helpfuleditor2, Lowercase sigmabot, BG19bot, Sarabowen, Vagobot,
AvocatoBot, Thanhnguyen2792, Michael Barera, Ollyjoancy, Kvickers123, Shawnathon95, Polmandc, Achowat, Chip123456, Overin-
tellectualization, Wertles, Travdot, Derdukerder, Ddcm8991, Loterline, ChrisGualtieri, Deansamsupernatural, Khazar2, Azure94, Euro-
CarGT, SJC123, Dexbot, Thatguy onlynameleft, Michael A Beko, Ranze, HelicopterLlama, TwoTwoHello, Lugia2453, Cheerioswith-
milk, Sriharsh1234, Richard Lozier, Chuck11111, 069952497a, Duncan.leo, Fnsdjklnfgdjsgnjdfgndfjklgdfjkl, Hsavfhgqwev, Blahh762,
Rob984, Frenchmalawi, BreakfastJr, Inglok, Matty.007, Kunibertus, Sam Sailor, Andrj15, DPRoberts534, Anonposeidon, Reesnlm,
Bilorv, Monkbot, Marcosoldfox, Thibaut120094, TheQ Editor, Monopoly31121993, Firstman255, Matiia, Dudouet FX, MiniEstadi1982,
Qualitatis, Fedgrousdr, Jim2016, RainTalonX, KasparBot, MB298, Sweepy, SSTyer, Cgschmidt3169, Merpzilla and Anonymous: 1329

15.2 Images
File:1st_Viscount_Bryce_1893.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/1st_Viscount_Bryce_1893.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw156872/James-Bryce-1st-Viscount-Bryce?
LinkID=mp00610&role=sit&rNo=7 Original artist: W. & D. Downey, published by Cassell & Company, Ltd
File:Childlabourcoal.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Childlabourcoal.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Flag_of_the_United_Nations.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Flag_of_the_United_Nations.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: Flag of the United Nations from the Open Clip Art website. Modications by Denelson83,
Zscout370 and Madden. Ocial construction sheet here.
United Nations (1962) The United Nations ag code and regulations, as amended November 11, 1952, New York OCLC: 7548838. Original
artist: Wilfried Huss / Anonymous
File:Flag_of_the_United_Nations_(1945-1947).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Flag_of_the_
United_Nations_%281945-1947%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Fokker_Dr._I_(117710246).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Fokker_Dr._I_%28117710246%
29.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: Fokker Dr. I Original artist: Jerzy Kociatkiewicz from Colchester, United Kingdom
File:Humanits_Numriques.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Humanit%C3%A9s_Num%C3%
A9riques.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work : http://www.martingrandjean.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/
HumanitesNumeriques.jpg Original artist: Calvinius
File:JanSmutsFM.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/JanSmutsFM.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Transfer was stated to be made by User:Xdamr. Original artist: ?
File:Kamerun_children_weaving.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Kamerun_children_weaving.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: NYPLDigitalGallery Original artist: Originally in Kelly Millers History of the World War for Human
Rights, originally published in 1919 by A. Jenkins and O. Keller.
File:LN_member_states_animation.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/LN_member_states_
animation.gif License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: view sources Original artist: Maps & Lucy
File:League_of_Nations_Anachronous_Map.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/League_of_
Nations_Anachronous_Map.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Reallyjoel
File:Nansenpassport.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Nansenpassport.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia Original artist: Fridtjof Nansen
File:No-nb_bldsa_5c006.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/No-nb_bldsa_5c006.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Fridtjof Nansen bildearkiv
Original artist: Creator:A. Frankl

File:Original_Geneva_Conventions.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Original_Geneva_

Conventions.jpg License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: Flickr Original artist: Kevin Quinn, Ohio, US
File:Palais_des_nations.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Palais_des_nations.jpg License: CC-BY-
SA-3.0 Contributors: Uploaded by Yann (talk contribs) with text " Yann Forget" Original artist: Yann Forget
File:SelassieInJerusalem.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/SelassieInJerusalem.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital
ID matpc.13591.
This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.
Original artist: Taken either by the American Colony Photo Department or its successor, the Matson Photo Service.
24 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

File:SesinDeLaSociedadDeNacionesSobreManchuria1932.jpeg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/

Sesi%C3%B3nDeLaSociedadDeNacionesSobreManchuria1932.jpeg License: Public domain Contributors: <a data-x-rel='nofollow'
class='external text' href='http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90501780/'>Bibliothque nationale de France</a> Original artist: Robert
Sennecke
File:Small_Flag_of_the_United_Nations_ZP.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Small_Flag_of_the_
United_Nations_ZP.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Symbol_of_the_League_of_Nations.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Flag_of_the_League_
of_Nations_%281939%E2%80%931941%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.fotw.net/ Original artist: The origi-
nal uploader was Mysid at English Wikipedia
File:Symbol_of_the_League_of_Nations_(simple).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Symbol_of_
the_League_of_Nations_%28simple%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: File:Symbol of the League of Nations.svg Original
artist: Inductiveload
File:Terra.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Terra.png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:The_Gap_in_the_Bridge.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/The_Gap_in_the_Bridge.png Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: Punch Magazine 10 December 1919 Rao, P. (1974). The League of Nations. London: The Historical
Association, p. 7 Original artist: artist: Leonard Raven-Hill
File:UN_building,_Genevra.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/UN_building%2C_Genevra.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: Image by: de:Benutzer:Filzstift Original artist: de:Benutzer:Filzstift
File:Wikibooks-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikibooks-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Bastique, User:Ramac et al.
File:Wikinews-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: This is a cropped version of Image:Wikinews-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Simon 01:05, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Updated by Time3000 17 April 2007 to use ocial Wikinews colours and appear correctly on dark backgrounds. Originally uploaded by
Simon.
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Wikisource-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Rei-artur Original artist: Nicholas Moreau
File:Wiktionary-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Wiktionary-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

15.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0