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United States. Civil Affairs Training School records
XX413  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial and personnel records, handbooks, syllabi, and instructional materials relating to the politics, governments, economies, and cultures of Japan, other areas in the Pacific, and various countries in Europe; and intelligence assessments of the war in the Pacific. Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 
Background
As United States involvement in the Second World War deepened, the American military began to make contingency plans based on the likelihood of an eventual Allied victory and the need for qualified personnel to administer the occupation of liberated countries in Europe and Asia. In 1943, a training program for such personnel was established at Stanford and other universities (including Harvard and the Universities of Chicago and Michigan) under the authority of the Office of the Provost Marshal General of the United States Army. This program, known as the United States Civil Affairs Training School (or CATS) program, drew upon military personnel with experience in civil affairs or with special language abilities. The schools' curricula involved intensive courses in the languages, history, sociology, and culture of the various countries which were considered likely to be occupied by Allied forces. Particular emphasis was placed on the study of the economies of these countries, and exercises were conducted which simulated the kinds of problems likely to be encountered by occupation authorities.
Extent
62 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize folders, 1 card file box, 3 sound discs (25.8 Linear Feet)
Restrictions
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Availability
Microfilm use only except Box 59, Folder 6 and Boxes 62-63. Materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.