page_title: History of Geneva
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: History of Geneva / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Die bedeutungsvolle Schlussitzung des Völkerbundrates in Genf. Blick in den Völkerbundsaal von der Rednertribüne aus während der bedeutungsvollen Schlussitzung. ("The significant closing session of the League of Nations in Geneva. View into the League of Nations from the speaker's rostrum during the meaningful closing session.")
context_page_description: The History of Geneva dates from before the Roman occupation in the second century BC. Now the principal French-speaking city of Switzerland, Geneva was an independent city state from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century. John Calvin was the Protestant leader of the city in the 16th century.
context_section_description: On 30 June 1907, aided by strong Catholic support, Geneva adopted a separation of church and state. The Protestant faith received a one-time compensatory sum of 800,000 Swiss francs (then about US$160,000), while other faiths received nothing. Since then the Canton of Geneva has given aid to no creed from either state or municipal revenues.
  The international status of the city was highlighted after World War I when Geneva became the seat of the League of Nations in 1919—notably through the work of the Federal Council member Gustav Ador and of Swiss diplomat William Rappard, who was one of the founders of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Europe's oldest graduate school of international and development studies. Furthermore, the International School of Geneva, the oldest currently operating International School in the world, was founded in 1924 by senior members of the League of Nations and the International Labor Office.
  In the wake of the war, a class struggle in Switzerland grew and culminated in a general strike throughout the country—beginning on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, and directed from the German-speaking part of the nation. However the prevailing friendliness toward France in Geneva moderated its effect upon that city.
  On 9 November 1932, several small Fascist-inspired political parties, such as the National Union, attacked Socialist leaders, which action led to a later demonstration of the Left against the Fascists. On that occasion, young recruits in the Swiss Army fired without warning into a crowd, leaving thirteen dead and 63 wounded. As a result, a new general strike was called several days later in protest.
  After World War II, the European headquarters of the United Nations and the seats of dozens of international organizations were installed in Geneva, resulting in the development of tourism and of business.
  In the 1960s, Geneva became one of the first parts of Switzerland in which the rights movements achieved a certain measure of success. It was the third canton to grant women's suffrage on the cantonal and communal levels.
caption: League of Nations conference in 1926
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