League of Nations

The Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. It was the headquarters of the League of Nations until 1946, when it became the European office of the United Nations.

The League of Nations at its opening session in 1920 in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization was dissolved in 1946 and superseded by the United Nations.

International organization formed after World War I to solve international disputes by arbitration. Established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1920, the League included representatives from states throughout the world, but was severely weakened by the US decision not to become a member, and had no power to enforce its decisions. It was dissolved in 1946. Its subsidiaries included the International Labour Organization and the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, both now under the United Nations (UN).

The formation of the League was first suggested by President Wilson in his Fourteen Points as part of the peace settlement for World War I. The USA did not become a member since it did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Although the League organized conferences, settled minor disputes, and did humanitarian work, it failed to handle the aggression of the 1930s - of Japan against China, Italy in Ethiopia, and Germany against neighbouring countries.