Dear Ms. Alna,

  I am writing to share with you some of the information I learned in the lesson unit, "Where did the idea of an international world body come from?" Such information about the history and beginnings of the Organization can be useful as it helps us view our contribution to the United Nations in a broader context.

  One of the things I discovered was that the concept of a world forum where international issues would be discussed was in people's minds long before 1945. Even as far back as the 1920's, the visionary writer H.G. Wells, author of such famed classics as The Time Machine and The First Men on the Moon, proposed such an international body. The writer described himself as "British by birth, but a citizen of the world." In fact, people from many parts of the world tried to promote such a body. The writer Leonard Woolf wrote in support of such a world forum and even started a publishing house, the Hogarth Press, so that he could publish documents in support of it. Another 'spiritual father' of the United Nations was Leon Auguste Bourgeois, a French statesman who won the Nobel Prize in 1920 for his active promotion of a body that would foster cooperation among nations.

  With the destruction caused by the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson put forth a proposal to create a League of Nations along with the South African Prime Minister, Jan Smuts. Such efforts, among many others, led to the creation of the League of Nations in 1920. Unfortunately, the League of Nations did not succeed. In the late 1930's, with the growing political tensions in Europe, nations began to withdraw from the League. There are many reasons for the League's eventual dissolution, but a chief one was its failure to stop the Second World War, which caused the world to polarize into hostile factions. After the Second World War, however, the nations of the world recognized more than ever the necessity of forming a world body to settle conflicts peacefully. The United Nations started in 1945 to, as the opening of its Charter says, "end the scourge of war".

  I am glad to have the chance to share this information with you. I hope you will find it useful.

Ms. Jessica Alna
Director
Grape Organization
Geneva