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Diary 6: September 1938 - March 1939 Item 25
TRANSCRIPTION
P1/6 (1)
-2-
might seem more natural if a specific occasion arose in
connection with Danzig affairs. For example, the High
Commissioner has made the formal application in Danzig
of the Aryan Law a touchstone of his influence and prestige;
several times he has skilfully succeeded in having
action postponed (although in fact a great deal of the
Aryan Law is in practice applied in the Free City). If
the Authorities in Danzig again show themselves to be
dissatisfied with the virtual application of anti-semitic
principles and wish formally to enact the equivalent of
the Reich law, Burckhardt could make this the opportunity
for a general report on the lines suggestion (and which
represent his personal conviction) that the functions of
the High Commissioner cannot be properly carried out and
that the responsibility of the League ought to be reduced.
I do not regard the presence of the High Commissioner
in Danzig as a serious element in maintaining the
status quo. I do not believe the transfer to the Reich
would now be a casus belli. The ultimate future of Danzig
was settled in the Autumn of 1936, and subsequent events
have confirmed it. The present arrangement may last one
year or two years, but I do not expect either the League
or its High Commissioner to be allowed to play a part in
the final discussion. I should like to think that we
should then be able to retire with dignity but nothing
in recent history encourages such hope. It is a pity
Colonel Beck has not been in Geneva for the past ten
months, but he has himself publicly deplored the under-
taking by the League of tasks which it cannot fulfil and
has pointed to Danzig as a case in point.
S. Lester
November 3rd 1938.
Language(s) of Transcription
LOCATION
Gdańsk (Poland) (54.3612, 18.5499)
Story Location
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
Document Date
Document Type
Document Description
Language of Description
Keywords
External Web Resources
STORY INFORMATION
Title
Diary 6: September 1938 - March 1939
Creator
Lester | Seán | 1888-1959
Contributor
Lester, Seán, 1888-1959
Seán Lester
Date
September 1938-30 March 1939
Type
Text
Rights
This collection has been digitised and made available by Dublin City University Library. Please credit Dublin City University Library when using these images, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Language
eng
Identifier
#ws85q5671
LandingPage
https://www.europeana.eu/item/707/_ws85q5671Country
Ireland
DatasetName
707__Dublin_City_University
Begin
1936-05-01
End
1937-02-28
Language
en
Created
2022-03-23T16:13:34.244Z
2022-03-23T16:13:36.837419Z
2022-03-23T16:13:36.838261Z
Story Description
Handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester' time as Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations in Geneva. Includes copy letters from Lester to: Joseph Avenol, Secretary General of the League of Nations, and RM Smyllie, editor of the Irish Times. Includes letters to Lester from: Daniel Anthony Binchy, University College Dublin lecturer and former Irish diplomat; John Marcus O' Sullivan, TD, academic and former member of the Irish delegation to the League of Nations; Alfred O’Rahilly, professor of mathematical physics at University College Cork, mainly concerning the potential promotion of O’Rahilly's new book Electromagnetics: A Discussion of Fundamentals in Switzerland; James Cousins, Irish writer and lecturer at the University of Travancore, India. Includes copy letters from: Arthur Sweetser to [?Lewis Lerwin] in the USA;, and HR Cummings, London representative of the League of Nations Secretary General, to Joseph Avenol. Also includes a list of names and occupations of individuals in the museum sector who attended at luncheon on 8 March [?1939].
TRANSCRIPTION
LOCATION
DESCRIPTION
PEOPLE
STORY INFO
TUTORIAL
P1/6 (1)
-2-
might seem more natural if a specific occasion arose in
connection with Danzig affairs. For example, the High
Commissioner has made the formal application in Danzig
of the Aryan Law a touchstone of his influence and prestige;
several times he has skilfully succeeded in having
action postponed (although in fact a great deal of the
Aryan Law is in practice applied in the Free City). If
the Authorities in Danzig again show themselves to be
dissatisfied with the virtual application of anti-semitic
principles and wish formally to enact the equivalent of
the Reich law, Burckhardt could make this the opportunity
for a general report on the lines suggestion (and which
represent his personal conviction) that the functions of
the High Commissioner cannot be properly carried out and
that the responsibility of the League ought to be reduced.
I do not regard the presence of the High Commissioner
in Danzig as a serious element in maintaining the
status quo. I do not believe the transfer to the Reich
would now be a casus belli. The ultimate future of Danzig
was settled in the Autumn of 1936, and subsequent events
have confirmed it. The present arrangement may last one
year or two years, but I do not expect either the League
or its High Commissioner to be allowed to play a part in
the final discussion. I should like to think that we
should then be able to retire with dignity but nothing
in recent history encourages such hope. It is a pity
Colonel Beck has not been in Geneva for the past ten
months, but he has himself publicly deplored the under-
taking by the League of tasks which it cannot fulfil and
has pointed to Danzig as a case in point.
S. Lester
November 3rd 1938.
- English (English)
P1/6 (1)
-2-
might seem more natural if a specific occasion arose in
connection with Danzig affairs. For example, the High
Commissioner has made the formal application in Danzig
of the Aryan Law a touchstone of his influence and prestige;
several times he has skilfully succeeded in having
action postponed (although in fact a great deal of the
Aryan Law is in practice applied in the Free City). If
the Authorities in Danzig again show themselves to be
dissatisfied with the virtual application of anti-semitic
principles and wish formally to enact the equivalent of
the Reich law, Burckhardt could make this the opportunity
for a general report on the lines suggestion (and which
represent his personal conviction) that the functions of
the High Commissioner cannot be properly carried out and
that the responsibility of the League ought to be reduced.
I do not regard the presence of the High Commissioner
in Danzig as a serious element in maintaining the
status quo. I do not believe the transfer to the Reich
would now be a casus belli. The ultimate future of Danzig
was settled in the Autumn of 1936, and subsequent events
have confirmed it. The present arrangement may last one
year or two years, but I do not expect either the League
or its High Commissioner to be allowed to play a part in
the final discussion. I should like to think that we
should then be able to retire with dignity but nothing
in recent history encourages such hope. It is a pity
Colonel Beck has not been in Geneva for the past ten
months, but he has himself publicly deplored the under-
taking by the League of tasks which it cannot fulfil and
has pointed to Danzig as a case in point.
S. Lester
November 3rd 1938.
Language(s) of Transcription
English Translation
Transcription History
P1/6 (1) -2- might seem more natural if a specific occasion arose in connection with Danzig affairs. For example, the High Commissioner has made the formal application in Danzig of the Aryan Law a touchstone of his influence and prestige; several times he has skilfully succeeded in having action postponed (although in fact a great deal of the Aryan Law is in practice applied in the Free City). If the Authorities in Danzig again show themselves to be dissatisfied with the virtual application of anti-semitic principles and wish formally to enact the equivalent of the Reich law, Burckhardt could make this the opportunity for a general report on the lines suggestion (and which represent his personal conviction) that the functions of the High Commissioner cannot be properly carried out and that the responsibility of the League ought to be reduced. I do not regard the presence of the High Commissioner in Danzig as a serious element in maintaining the status quo. I do not believe the transfer to the Reich would now be a casus belli. The ultimate future of Danzig was settled in the Autumn of 1936, and subsequent events have confirmed it. The present arrangement may last one year or two years, but I do not expect either the League or its High Commissioner to be allowed to play a part in the final discussion. I should like to think that we should then be able to retire with dignity but nothing in recent history encourages such hope. It is a pity Colonel Beck has not been in Geneva for the past ten months, but he has himself publicly deplored the under- taking by the League of tasks which it cannot fulfil and has pointed to Danzig as a case in point. S. Lester November 3rd 1938.
P1/6 (1) -2- might seem more natural if a specific occasion arose in connection with Danzig affairs. For example, the High Commissioner has made the formal application in Danzig of the Aryan Law a touchstone of his influence and pres- tige; several times he has skilfully succeeded in having action postponed (although in fact a great deal of the Aryan Law is in practice applied in the Free City). If the Authorities in Danzig again show themselves to be dissatisfied with the virtual application of anti-semitic principles and wish formally to enact the equivalent of the Reich law, Burckhardt could make this the opportunity for a general report on the lines suggestion (and which represent his personal conviction) that the functions of the High Commissioner cannot be properly carried out and that the responsibility of the League ought to be reduced. I do not regard the presence of the High Commi- ssioner in Danzig as a serious element in maintaining the status quo. I do not believe the transfer to the Reich would now be a casus belli. The ultimate future of Danzig was settled in the Autumn of 1936, and subsequent events have confirmed it. The present arrangement may last one year or two years, but I do not expect either the League or its High Commissioner to be allowed to play a part in the final discussion. I should like to think that we should then be able to retire with dignity but nothing in recent history encourages such hope. It is a pity Colonel Beck has not been in Geneva for the past ten months, but he has himself publicly deplored the under- taking by the League of tasks which it cannot fulfil and has pointed to Danzig as a case in point. S. Lester November 3rd 1938.
English Translation
Handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester' time as Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations in Geneva.
Includes copy letters from Lester to: Joseph Avenol, Secretary General of the League of Nations, and RM Smyllie, editor of the Irish Times.
Includes letters to Lester from: Daniel Anthony Binchy, University College Dublin lecturer and former Irish diplomat; John Marcus O' Sullivan, TD, academic and former member of the Irish delegation to the League of Nations; Alfred O’Rahilly, professor of mathematical physics at University College Cork, mainly concerning the potential promotion of O’Rahilly's new book Electromagnetics: A Discussion of Fundamentals in Switzerland; James Cousins, Irish writer and lecturer at the University of Travancore, India.
Includes copy letters from: Arthur Sweetser to [?Lewis Lerwin] in the USA;, and HR Cummings, London representative of the League of Nations Secretary General, to Joseph Avenol.
Also includes a list of names and occupations of individuals in the museum sector who attended at luncheon on 8 March [?1939].
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