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United States. Civil Affairs Training School records
XX413  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternative Form Available
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Content Note

  • Title: United States. Civil Affairs Training School records
    Date (inclusive): 1942-1947
    Collection Number: XX413
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 62 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize folders, 1 card file box, 3 sound discs (25.8 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: 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. 
    Creator: Stanford University
    Creator: United States. Civil Affairs Training School, Stanford University
    Creator: United States. Civil Affairs Training School, Harvard University
    Creator: Harvard University
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    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.

    Use

    For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], United States. Civil Affairs Training School records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Alternative Form Available

    Also available on microfilm (65 reels). Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org. 

    Historical Note

    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.
    The CATS program drew extensively upon the resources of the universities with which it was associated. At Stanford, university officials and faculty were recruited for the CATS program, and both the staff and the research materials of the Hoover Library played an important role in the program. Because of the need for Japanese language instructors, the CATS program also recruited among the Nisei population in the various relocation camps established after the American entry into the war. These Nisei instructors had to receive special permission from the American military in order to participate in the CATS program.
    The CATS program operated at Stanford University from late 1943 until the middle of 1945. Throughout most of this time, its director was Harold Fisher, a Hoover Library official.

    Scope and Content Note

    The United States Civil Affairs Training School records consist largely of the school's academic and administrative records. There is a large amount of the course material used in classroom instruction (see ACADEMIC FILE), extensive personnel records (see ADMINISTRATIVE FILE), as well as numerous reports and intelligence estimates used for research by students (see RESEARCH MATERIAL). Much of this material gives insights into the concerns of American military planners regarding post-war occupation regimes, as well as indicating the military's perceptions of enemy countries, both as military powers and as socio-cultural formations.
    There is material in the collection which discusses the origins of the school, its role within the administrative hierarchy of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, and its relations with other CATS programs (see ADMINISTRATIVE FILE, CORRESPONDENCE, and SUBJECT FILE). The question of the use of Nisei instructors is documented in the personnel records of the school.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    World War, 1939-1945 -- Japan
    Sound recordings
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Ocean
    World War, 1939-1945 -- United States
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Occupied territories
    Military government
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Europe