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After its foundation in 1919, the Republic of Austria was unable to overcome serious economic and financial difficulties. Therefore the Republic of Austria appealed to international solidarity and addressed, in 1922, the League of Nations to request assistance.

Apart from a mission of the Financial Committee in Vienna in 1921, the League of Nations did not officially deal with the economic and financial situation of Austria before the end of 1922, when the Austrian Government requested the Allied Powers' help. This request was referred to the Council of the League of Nations.

The Council of the League of Nations and its advisory body, the Financial Committee were, indeed, concerned with analysing Europe's post-war financial disorder, as well as studying and carrying out plans for financial recovery. The Financial Committee, which was belonging to the Economic and Financial Section, was founded at the Brussels International Financial Conference of 1920 organized to solve the problem of the world financial crisis.

Financial assistance and control were organized for Austria through the Geneva Protocols (signed on 4 October 1922 and ratified by Austria on 2 December). A new temporary delegation of the Financial Committee representing the League of Nations in Vienna was appointed from 17 October to 16 December 1922 and later on a General Commissioner was also appointed. Both of them ceased their action on 30 June 1926 with the exception of the Loan Control Committee (reconstruction loan: Loan Trustee Service), which did not disappeared at the same time.

A detailed programme was worked out to balance the Austrian budget within approximately two years, and the country was given a loan of 26 million pounds sterling. In 1924, under the control of the League of Nations, the internal economy and the public financial system were reformed, and the budget was balanced. In 1926, the League of Nations' control was withdrawn.

This success, which was financial rather than economic, has naturally been compromised by the world depression, which began in 1929.

The Information Section represented the Press Office of the Secretariat.

The Covenant of the League of Nations stipulated that all matters brought before the Assembly, the Council and other bodies of the League of Nations were to be made available to the public whenever possible.

The Information Section provided journalists, press representatives, special correspondents and other interested parties, with information on the work of the League of Nations. It was also responsible for collecting and supplying information to the Secretariat and was, thus, allowed to send information missions outside.

The Information Section published press releases, reports and specific articles, collected from the League of Nations' monthly "Official Journal". It also published the annual reports of the Secretary-General, the registered Treaties, as well as the periodicals, monographs and other documents (pamphlets, films etc.) of the various Sections of the Secretariat, when these documents had to be circulated outside. However, not all documents intended for the public or the press were prepared by the Information Section. Its primary task was preparing documents about general questions or advertising concerning the League of Nations' activities, and was helped in the publication of these documents by the Publications and Reproduction of Documents Service.

The Information Section also prepared the work for the League of Nations' radio, called "Radio-Nations", that started its bi-weekly broadcasts in 1932.

External offices (in London, Paris, Tokyo, Bombay, New Delhi, Roma, Berlin etc.) were more or less directly dependent on the Information Section, but their archives are considered as external fonds.

In 1934, the Information Section was merged into the Political Section headed by

J. Nogueira. Although this Section officially disappeared in 1940 its activities were carried on by Department I.

The Political Section used to act as a Diplomatic Service within the Secretariat.

It had two main categories of responsibilities:

• to deal with international tension affairs under the competency of the League of Nations;
• to deal with the admission and withdrawal demands to the League of Nations.

Moreover, the Political Section dealt, on an information basis, with many various affairs.

The League of Nations' more specific political work has mainly been carried out in five directions:

• the improvement of the instrument of peace entrusted to it. (Refers to the 1919 Covenant of the League of Nations organised by a powerful group of States determined to prevent the repetition of such a calamity as the Great War. The idea was that of organizing the world justly and fairly. Gradually, between 1920 and 1932, the great majority of neutrals and all the former enemies of the founder States became Members of the League of Nations);
• the reduction of armaments (see Disarmament Section);
• the supervision of the territories placed under the mandate of various States (see Mandates Section);
• the execution of minority obligations assumed by treaty (see Minorities Section);
• and the settlement of the various international disputes between 1919 and 1935.

In 1933, because of the creation of a "Central Section", the Political Section was no longer in charge of the admission and withdrawal demands to the League of Nations, as well as some diplomatic or formal responsibilities.

In 1934, the Information Section was merged into the Political Section headed by
J. Nogueira and was responsible for Latin America questions and for Administrative Commissions.

In 1939, the Political Section officially disappeared and its activities were transferred to Department I.