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

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-2017-02

Scope and Contents

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.

Dates

  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1936 - 1948

Creator

Language of Materials

English and Japanese

Biographical / Historical

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]

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.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

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.

Materials Specific Details

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 [ ].

Subject

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Arthur J. Morris Law Library
580 Massie Road
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22903 United States