The most famous leaders of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom have served at various times on the International Executive Committee, which has acted as the governing body of the organization since its formation at the Second International Congress at Zurich, Switzerland in May 1919. Historically, the International Executive Committee has been responsible for a number of matters: organizing and setting the agenda for the organization's international congresses; contacting world dignitaries either individually or at summit meetings like those in Munich, Germany in 1938 or Geneva, Switzerland in 1955; working between the two world wars with the League of Nations and, after World War II, with the United Nations; writing and distributing WILPF literature, and its publications like Pax International and Pax et Libertas (see Series V); assisting, communicating with -sometimes mediating between- national sections; and coordinating WILPF's activities with other activist and pacifist organizations throughout the world.
The International Executive Committee of WILPF has always contained a number of outstanding personalities to carry out these responsibilities. The original International Executive Committee of 1919, for instance, con sisted of the following members:
President: Jane Addams, U.S.A.
Vice-Presidents: Lida Gustava Heymann, Germany; Helena Swanwick, Great Britain.
Secretary-Treasurer: Emily Greene Balch, U.S.A.
Assistant Secretary: Cor Ramondt-Hirschmann, Holland.
Committee Members: Gabrielle Duchene, France; Marguerite Gobat, Switzerland; Yella Hertzka, Austria; Martha Larsen, Norway; Chrystal Macmillan, Great Britain.
The efforts of these and several other well-known leaders of WILPF -some of whom worked in the international office at Geneva, but most of whom traveled widely and also remained active members of their own national sections- are documented in Series I, International Executive Committee. Series I is divided into eight parts, each designated by a letter of the alphabet. Preceding the complete reel list for each part is a more detailed description, which addresses the arrangement, content, and types of materials found in that part. Duplicate items within each part of Series I were not microfilmed, but some duplication may occur between parts. For instance, the Swarthmore Collection (Part H) was microfilmed in its entirety to preserve the integrity of the collection, despite periodic duplication of items in Parts B, D, and F.