Personal Papers of Richard J. DeMartino as History Consultant to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East

MSS 2017-02

Personal Papers of Richard J. DeMartino as History Consultant to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East

Archives Record

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Dates

  • Creation: 1936

Extent

  • 14 Cubic feet
    34 archival boxes, plus some oversized items.

Abstract

Interesting historical chronology related to the IMTFE. Includes many Japanese documents and photographs.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to the Law Library in the Summer of 2017. Prof. Jamie Sedwick of Acadia University in Nova Scotia contacted the Special Collections Department to alert us of the existence of the papers and asked if we were interested in them. The library immediately contacted Ms. Kathleen O’Shea, Mr. DeMartino's wife and after some negotiations the papers arrive to Charlottesville in September of 2017.

Biographical / Historical Note

Mr. DeMartino personal records show the offer that the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Forces, Office of Civilian Personnel offer Lt. Richard J. DeMartino as Historical Advisor, P-5 in the “War Department with duty station in the occupation area (Japan and Korea). The date was April 10, 1946.

In the personal statement that DeMartino filled, he certified that he was born on August 28, 1922 in New York, NY. He attended Galvani Junior High School and Benjamin Franklin High School (1932-1938) and The City College of New York (1938-1942) B.S in Social Sciences. He was member of the Phi Beta Kappa and the History Society. He worked for New York State Civil Service (September – December 1942). In 1942 he entered the US Navy. He was honorably discharged from in July 2, 1943. He also states that he has “fair” knowledge of the Italian and Japanese languages and that both his parents were immigrants, born in Italy.

Mr. DeMartino contract as historical advisor terminated on April 17, 1947, but he continued working in the same capacity until May 19, 1948. In his memorandum of resignation DeMartino asks:

“permission to retain court record and other materials used in connection with the trial is believed forthcoming. This will require a baggage allowance for shipping in excess of the usual allotment.” [See DeMartino Civilian Personnel Record folder, box 1]

Material Specifications

The collection is divided in 5 series and two files of unrelated materials to the IMTFE:

Series 1: Ephemeris Files – consist of a detail account of day to day information beginning 1 – 10 January 1936- 10 March; 10 March 1941 to 1948.

Series 2: Onomastic Files – consist of files of persons related to the IMTFE.

Series 3: Miscellaneous Files: translations and other related files.

Series 4: Printed materials

Series 5: Photographs

Other materials not related to the IMTFE

DeMartino inscribed the documents with two annotations: a last name and a number. Special Collections kept these annotations between brackets [ ].

Scope and Content

This collection was organized by Richard J. DeMartino during his tenure as one of the "historian advisors" to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East between 1946-1948.

The files contain excerpts of official documents, documents and DeMartino's handwritten notes. Excerpts from the Diary of Marquis Kōichi Kido are present in each file, as if DeMartino was using Kido's notes as a guide to the research he was working on. There are also many excerpts from Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States Japan: 1931-1941, Washinton: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1943, 2 v.