The charter itself was laid on a circular table surrounded by the flags of fifty nations, which represented over 80 percent of the world’s population. The charter was five hulking tomes, facsimiles in five languages—English, Russian, French, Chinese, and Spanish. The logistical challenges of creating this document were staggering; a staff of 135 translators had worked around the clock in seven-hour shifts for days, on twenty electric reproduction machines.
UN starting
