A shaky memory: the attitude toward the Great War within the League of Nations

The article examines the reconstruction of the historical memory of the First World War within the League of Nations in the 1920s - 1930s. The research was based on documents from the recently digitized archive of the League of Nations in Geneva. The proclaimed goals of the League of Nations, that is, the prevention of a new world war, disarmament and the preservation of the sovereignty of European countries in the new world order determined the main feature of the formation of the memory of the last world war: its basis was the ideology of political pacifism. This ideology which amounted to an incomplete denial of the use of weapons and the use of the armed forces for the defense and security of states was widely disseminated in the League of Nations by representatives of states that participated in the war. Based on political pacifism in the League of Nations, the process of forming a collective transnational memory of the past war was underway, and this memory was reflected in the treaties registered in the League of Nations. However, the period of its active international activity was too short for the construction of a stable memory and memorial culture of the Great War. On the other hand, the Secretariat of the League of Nations did not want to promote and strengthen the memory of the world war and sought to replace the memory of it with representations of the League of Nations as an organization that completely rejects war and creates a new peaceful world order.