On 30 September 1936, the League of Nations Council decided to appoint S. Lester as Deputy Secretary-General, in replacement of Pablo de Azcarate, although his appointment as High Commissioner in Danzig had been prolonged till October, 1937. S. Lester was to take up new responsibilities in February 1938.
S. Lester's departure from Danzig caused consternation among the opponents of the Nazi regime, and satisfaction among the Nazis, who regarded S. Lester as an obstacle to the establishment of a totalitarian State in Danzig, it was mainly a victory for A. Forster, the Nazi district leader and A. Greiser, the President of the Danzig Senate.
S. Lester succeeded P. Azcarate, who resigned the post of Under Secretary-General to become Spanish Ambassador in London.
September 1936, S. Lester appointed League of Nations Under Secretary-General, a position previously held by Ascarati, of Spain. S. Lester's appointment will take effect when his successor in Danzig is announced. By the appointment S. Lester became the second highest official at Geneva and will be in charge whenever Joseph A.C. Avenol, Secretary-General, is absent.
5 October 1936: the Council considered the position of the High Commissioner in Danzig. The Council asked Poland to take up matter on their behalf, i.e. abandon all formal attempt to hold up Danzig Constitution. Poland did not act. Nazi Government liquidated opposition press, abolished opposition Parties, arrested or forced out opposition leaders.
The Council reluctantly decided to maintain pretence (F. Walters) and to appoint a new High Commissioner in February 1937.
S. Lester placed in a special envelope, marked "Secret-Private Diary" his notes and some letters-copies for a crucial period July-December 1936. This envelope was mislaid but found many years later, after the rest of his papers (perhaps in the early eighties). Its contents have now been incorporated in the general collection of S. Lester papers, chronologically.
