Before the world had the United Nations, it had the League of Nations—a bold but flawed attempt to keep peace after the devastation of World War I. Born from idealism and the hope of a war-weary world, the League promised diplomacy over destruction. But when tested by rising fascist regimes and unchecked aggression, it stumbled. And the cost of that failure was World War II.

In this episode of WWII in Focus: Echoes Through AI, we explore the full story of the League of Nations—its founding, mission, and structure, as well as its role in key global conflicts of the 1920s and 1930s. Using AI-generated narration and historical data, we break down the League’s vision of collective security, international cooperation, and disarmament, and how those ideals collapsed under the weight of political apathy and authoritarian ambition.

We examine:

• How the Treaty of Versailles gave birth to the League

• Why the United States never joined

• The League’s early successes in settling border disputes

• Its failure to stop major aggressions like the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, and Germany’s remilitarization

• The role of the League’s structure and voting rules in its decline

• Its lasting legacy, and how it paved the way—imperfectly—for the creation of the United Nations

This episode sets the stage for the war that followed by showing what happens when global peacekeeping lacks teeth, and when rising threats are met with silence.

Narrated entirely by AI. Created by Hector Sanchez, U.S. Navy Veteran.

For WWII history buffs, war podcast listeners, and those who want to understand how the world unraveled—one diplomatic failure at a time.