Transcription: Guerrero, the President of the International Court of Justice accompanied us from Geneva and we were to pick up Costa du Rels, President of the Council, en route as he was in France. - Holma wisely decided to travel less conspicuous- ly and was "on holiday" by himself. - The  journey was interesting and although I had been  very much alarmed at the prospect of six days ina  bus, this part at any rate was a relief  from the pressure under which I had been working.               We gor through the Franco- Swiss frontier without difficulty and reached Nimes at 11.30p.M    having made a brief stop in a way-side café to eat a picnic meal. We have had to make  a détour occasionally because of a bridge  blown up; the Rhone bridges were destroyed  right down to Valence near which we were told  the German advance guard had reached; they  were however prevented crossing the river;  it was a pity to see many fine bridges  shattered.            We left Nimes the next morning (Sunday) at 6.30 or 7 and luched in Perpignan. The vendange was in progress as we drove through literally scores of miles of vineyards. There  was practically no motor traffic, though some  vehicles were using the wood gas. In one or  two towns we did catch sight of non-Frech uniforms representing the German or Italian Commissions of Disarmament and control and an occasional vast park of abandoned army  vehicles.            Our special little bus reached the  frontier at Le Perthus about 1.30 and again  the French frontier was easy enough to pass. I had however been warning Jacklin and Guerrero that our passing would be made difficult on the  Spanish side. Guerrero being a Latin-American Spaniard was put first with his passport. In  a few minutes he explained to me that there was  difficulty; the official had turned up in his  book an order prohibiting the passage of League officials or anybody connected with the League.            The following is a bare summary of what  followed as I reported a few days later to the  Supervisory Committee:        26/9         The League party consisted of Lester, Jacklin,  Bisler, da Silva (Portuguese) and one English and one French stenographer. They were accompanied by Guerrero,  President of Court and were to pick up Costa du Rels,  President of Council, in France but latter was delayed  at Cannes and had to travel separately.          Guerrero

Transcription: placed at his disposal, should also report for duty again in the Secretariat on the same date,  if that were agreeable to him. - On receiving this latter communication by the way, Avenol had telephoned to Jacklin sputtering with fury he was doing the most important work of his life,  that he would be angaged on it until the end of November and that he was being treated like a  Member of Section. He refused Jackin's suggest- ion that he might tell me something about it and threatend to bring the matter to the Su- pervisory Commision. - I had then remarked to Jacklin that I would be greatly relieved if I were treated by him as something so important  as a Member of Section and that while I had hoped not to have to make any report on Avenol to the Supervisory Committee, if he raied the matter, I would indulge myself for half-an-hour. - The other letter to Kisch was written by hand.  I think the reason must have been that he dared not to ket his private Secretaru see it. In it he said he wished only to express his heartfelt and profound admiration for the gallant fight the British were putting up ; they were fighting not only for themselves, but for all of us in the  world! I have often been nauseated by Avenol in recent months, but thi swas the limit ; it reflected I suppose the r eaction on him of the  continued British defence, but he also disclosed to Jacklin another reason by word of mouth: he told him he hoped to be made the go between the French and British Governments. When Jacklin told me this, I laughed saying that neither one or the other would touch him: Avenol was nobody in France and a lot less than that in London. He certainly is an  incredible creature.  Sent knowledge to Salem 26/9 Lester to Hambro Following is for your use at Supervisory Commission Stop I had intended discussing with the Commission the situa- tion of the Secretariat in Switzerland, the possibilities of work and survival here, the question of temporary transfer of all or part elsewhere. I have been rendered uneasy by the signs  of change of attitude of the Swiss Government in the last two months Stop There have been certain facts and fairly clear tendency which have led me to conflusion that the Swiss Govern- ment would not be displeased at Secretariat departure or liquidation Stop Appreciate Switzerland's difficulties due  to geographical position and recent events Stop Increasing volume of obstacles however render continued efficiency of technical services very doubtful and cannot shirk raisng  problem of transfer Stop Communications by letter are often  slow and uncertain and telegraphic communication with Geneva  is deteriorating Stop I have personally for more than sic months favoured - and still favour - transfer from Switzerland of vital techni- cal elements, but policy puresued till first September prevented serious consideration and preparation and seemed  envisage practical liquidaction this year.  The consequences of the closing of the Spanish frontier by secret order the day the Labour Office party passed through now reveals a new and worse situation.  I realize there are arguments for the maintaining  official headquarters at Geneva, or somewhere in Europe,  to keep the basis for unltimate reconstruction of inter-

Transcription: Extract from letter to  A. L. Princeton   20/9/40                                                 Will you be astonished to hear that our  amiable friend has suddenly become anglophile? I  myself find  it completely nauseating myself, but I am not surprised: the time-table he had established went wrong, for one thing; secondly, the background in his own country has  been changing rapidly; thirdly, he may still be thinking  f a visit to God's own Republic; fourthly, he has the hope of receiving certain favours from the meeting; fifthly, he thinks he has again reason to attack me because I refuse to continue from after the end of  this month, the payment of a special allowance apart from a three months gratuity abd suggested that he might  be able to do with less than the two secretaries attached to him whilw I was doing his work and mine with one! However this is all very comic and only provides the  lighter side to a somewhat preoccupied man but I am too busy to bother my head about the rascal. Yours.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday; September 27th 1940        After concerted and difficult negotia- tions, vital meeting of Supervisory Committee ,  without which we feared the Secretariat and the League might almost cease to exist, was  arranged to be held at Liscbon. -   Hambro was  on a lecture tour in the United States and  tried to get it held there; Holam, the Finn,  did not want to attend a League meeting owing  to the delicate situation between his country  and Russia and Germany respectively (all  those Baltic States are leaning very much to the German side in the hope that a German  victory will lead to the redisintegration of the  new Russian conquests). Eventually we secured  the quorum: Hambro from the Middle-West, Kisch from London, Holma from Vichy and Pardo en  route from Geneva to Washington.- Phelan was waiting in Lisbon mainly for the purpose. We  seat off, in advance, a draft budget and one or two other papers merely preliminary to the  discussion.         Hambro suddenly decided he could be in Lisbon on the 28th of September; that was on the 15th; preparations were rushed here,  visas applied for for myself, Jacklin, Bieler, da Silva (Portuguese) and three of our girls. We got the French and Swiss visas easily; the  Portuguese was delayed: suddenly there arose  a doubt as to whether they would let the Comm- ittee meet privitely in an hotel on League  financial business in their territory.  This  was  unclear note  due to nervousness about the Axis Powers.         We had decided to leave on Saturday the 21st, counting six days for the motor journey to Lisbon to arrive a day before the meeting.  It was not until Friday at 12 o' clock that the  Portuguese authorization came through.  Diplo- matic visas were granted at once for every one. The Spanish said: no diplomatic visas except  for diplomatic passports and I was the only  person to have one, but when Hill presented  himself at the Spanish Legation in Berne, he  was told that I could get an ordinary visa from the Consul in Geneva. I grinned and bore  this and we got our Consular visas on Saturday  at 11.30 and left in a small bus at 12.30.

Transcription: Unclear Note      P1/9 (2) 5th September 1940                Vejarano (formely Secretariat now Spanish Government service)  returned from Rome a few days ago.   Charron asked him to his office on   4/9/41 and (according to V's reamarks to Ag.) inquired  if he (Vej.) knew what were the plans of the Axis Powers for thepost-war economic and finacial reconstruction of Europe.   "Because if you do I  could do a lot of preparation here. I have a lot  of the elements myself for that work." Vej. commented that  unclear note  he had such knowledge of  plans it would be most unlikely he would disclose  it but says he replied that "he knew no more than  was in the Press and from Funk's public speeches."

Description: Handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester's time as Acting Secretary General of the League of Nations in Geneva. One of the most notable entries in this diary is Lester's extensive account of his meeting with James Joyce and his family in Geneva in December 1940. The Joyce family had fled their home in Paris the previous May and sought Lester's help in obtaining a visa for their daughter Lucia; the Nazis had refused to issue her with a visa and she remained in a mental health clinic in German-occupied France. A related letter from Joyce to Lester prior to this meeting is also included in the diaries, as are letters from Giorgio Joyce, son of James and Nora Barnacle [Joyce], and Carola Giedion-Welcker, a German-Swiss art historian and close friend of the Joyce family, following the death of James Joyce in Zurich less than a month later. Diary also includes letters and telegrams from: Alec [Alexander] Loveday, Director of the Economic, Financial, and Transit Department of the League; Sir Walford Selby, British diplomat; Arthur Sweetser, League of Nations Public Information Section; John Gilbert Winant, Director- General of International Labour Organisation; [Humphrey] Hume Wrong, Canadian Advisory Officer to the League of Nations; Elizabeth Wiskemann, British historian; Royall Tyler, Economic and Financial Section of the League of Nations; Carl Hambro, Head of the Supervisory Commission of the League, and René Massigli, French diplomat. Also includes letters and telegrams to: Ned [Edward Joseph] Phelan, International Labour Organisation; Carl Hambro, Head of the Supervisory Commission of the League; Elsie Lester; copy letter from Seán Murphy, Irish Minister Plenipotentiary in France to James Joyce, author; Nora Barnacle, wife of James Joyce, and Frank P Walters, Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations. Some of the diary entries and correspondence 15 feature codenames with later annotations by Lester giving the individuals' real names. Diary also includes two black and white photographs: one of the overturned bus that Alec [Alexander] Loveday and others had been travelling in when it crashed near Grenoble, France, in August 1940, and the other is of a Connemara pony taken by Ann Lester [Gorski].

Description: Hans Hümke trat mit 15 Jahren am 29.10.1914 als Freiwilliger in den Heeresdienst ein und kam zunächst zum Ersatzbataillon des Fußartillerieregiments 1. Anfang Januar 1915 wurde er zur 7. Batterie desselben Bataillons versetzt. Ab Februar 1915 bis Mai 1918 diente er im Königlich-Preußischen 1. Garde-Reserve Fußartillerieregiment, 3. Batterie, und wurde während dieser Zeit zum etatmäßigen Unteroffizier befördert. Er war zunächst an der Ostfront im Einsatz, so nahm er u.a. an der Schlacht bei Wilna (Oktober 1915), bei Riga (September 1917) und bei Kämpfen in der Ukraine (Februar/März 1918) teil. Im April 1918 wurde er an die Westfront beordert und nahm an den Stellungskämpfen in Flandern und bei der Schlacht und der Erstürmung des Kemmelberges (Belgien) teil. Hümke wurde verwundet und kam ins Lazarett. Nach dem Krieg, am 29.04.1920, wurde er zum Sergeant befördert. In dem letzten Eintrag vom 27.10.1920 wird vermerkt, dass er zur Fußabteilung der 5. Batterie des Reserve-Artillerieregiments 1 versetzt wurde. Hümke zog auch in den Zweiten Weltkrieg und starb im Dezember 1944 bei Kampfhandlungen. || Militärpass von Hans Hümke, dem Vater von Marianne Jörß.

Description: Shelfmark: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 758

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