War Crimes

Christine Sherman, M.J. Thurman

Description

"War Crimes: Japans' World War II Atrocities" demands a prominent place in military history. Mr. Thurman and his daughter, Christine Sherman, bring to life the atrocities which the tribunal was formed to prosecute. War crimes remain a part of world history, and the world should know about them.

Sujets

• War Crimes
• Histoire
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• Military history of Japan
• Military
• War crime
• World War II
• History
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781618585646
• Langue: English

Extrait

TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
412 Broadway • P.O. Box 3101 Paducah, Kentucky 42002-3101 [phone]
 
Copyright © 2001 Christine Thurman and Christine A. Sherman
Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company All Photos are Courtesy of the US Army Signal Corps
 
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of the author and publisher.
 
Turner Publishing Company Staff: Editor: Dayna Spear Williams Designer: Susan L. Harwood
 
Library of Congress Control No: 20-01092657
9781618585646
 
Printed in the United States of America. Additional copies may be purchased directly from the publisher. Limited Edition.
Table of Contents
Title Page Copyright Page Authors’ Biographies Publisher’s Message Preface CHAPTER 1 - IMTFE Organization CHAPTER 2 - Tribunal Personnel CHAPTER 3 - Defense Personnel CHAPTER 4 - Tribunal Physical Layout CHAPTER 5 - Prosecution Presentation CHAPTER 6 - War Against China CHAPTER 7 - Southern Regions CHAPTER 8 - War Against the United States of America and the Philippine Commonwealth CHAPTER 9 - War Against The Netherlands and the Netherlands East Indies CHAPTER 10 - Atrocities CHAPTER 11 - Defense Presentation Chapter 12 - Affidavit of Shigetaro Shimada CHAPTER 13 - Hideki Tojo - Prior to Pearl Harbor CHAPTER 14 - Hideki Tojo - Subsequent to Pearl Harbor CHAPTER 15 - Court Decisions CHAPTER 16 - Court Judgments CHAPTER 17 - Verdicts CHAPTER 18 - Sentences CHAPTER 19 - Executions Annex A: INDEX
Authors’ Biographies
Malcolm Joseph “Joe” Thurman was born on 26 August 1928 at Mulvane, Kansas. During World War II, while in high school, he was a member of the 3rd Missouri Infantry, Missouri State Guard. In late 1945, Joe became a merchant seaman and made voyages to the Middle East, Belgium and Japan. He enlisted in the US Army on 13 November 1946. Joe was sent to Japan in early 1947 and was assigned duties as a page at the International Military Tribunal— Far East (IMTFE). He remained in that duty assignment until the trial of the major Japanese war criminals was concluded. Joe remained in the Army for 29 years and retired as a chief warrant officer (W4) in 1975.

Malcolm J. Thurman
During his military service he was stationed in numerous European countries, Korea and Japan. While stationed in Berlin, Germany, he met and later married Christine Langner. They had two children: a daughter, Christine and a son, Joseph. After leaving military service, Joe was employed for 15 years by Litton Industries and Teledyne. Upon this final retirement he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. Joe died at his home on 15 July 1997, survived by his widow Christine, and their two children.
Joe’s daughter and co-author, Christine Sherman was born on 11 February 1955 at Berlin, Germany. She has lived in various European countries, Korea and the U.S. She obtained her juris doctorate in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. Subsequently, she was a career prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. She is currently residing in Nairn, Scotland with her husband and two children, Nicholas and Matthew, where she has begun researching her next book.

Christine A. Sherman
Publisher’s Message
MacArthur’s International Military Tribunal—Far East demands a prominent place in military history. Turner Publishing Company is proud to be part of documenting its story. In this book, Mr. Thurman and his daughter, Christine Sherman, bring to life the atrocities which the tribunal was formed to prosecute. War crimes remain a part of world history, and the world should know about them.
Turner Publishing Company would like to extend appreciation to Christine Thurman and Barry and Christine Sherman for their assistance in publishing the late M.J. Thurman’s research on the military tribunal.

Dave Turner, President Turner Publishing Company
I am proud of my father’s military service in the Navy during World War II; my brother, who was killed in the Army during Vietnam; my service in the Air Force and my oldest son, who is on active duty with the Marines.
Turner Publishing is honored to add WAR CRIMES: Japan’s World War II Atrocities to nearly 800 published Turner titles, among which are: Legacy of the Purple Heart; MacArthur’s Wisdom; MacArthur’s Speeches; Airborne 50th Anniversary; American Ex-Prisoners of War; Battle of the Bulge; Korean War Veterans Memorial; Pearl Harbor Survivors; Hump Pilots; Vietnam Fighter Pilots; Vietnam Helicopter Pilots; 101st Airborne and many other military books.
Sincerely,

Dave Turner
President
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander Allied Powers, International Military Tribunal - Far East Convening Authority.
Preface
Throughout the history of mankind there have always been wars and their resulting after effects. Normally, these wars have ended through negotiated settlements amongst the parties concerned or with the total destruction and subjugation of one side by the other. In the negotiated settlement what each side was to receive from the other was spelled out usually in the settlement documents. However, in the case of one side being vanquished by the other, the victors would normally enforce their will on their opponents, including what they wished to be done with the populace and their leaders.
It soon became apparent that with the size of the armies rising to the millions and the populace of the nations involved on both sides of the conflict growing to the hundreds of millions there was also an increased need for greater rules and controls of warfare.
Included in the rules and controls were the responsibilities of senior military commanders and national leaders with respect to the treatment and protection that was required to be accorded to POWs, internees, and the populace of conquered lands.

War Crimes
The Potsdam Conference had declared that stern justice should be meted out to all war criminals, including those who had visited such cruelties upon our prisoners. The justice or even the legality of war crimes trials as such will not be discussed in this book.
Such was the fate of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, who had fought so cruelly and effectively against General MacArthur during the Philippine campaign and was among the first to be executed. Yamashita was cut off from most of the units under his command during this campaign. It is hardly surprising that the discipline of many Japanese troops suffered and many horrible atrocities were committed.
Yamashita surrendered on 3 September 1945 and was charged with being a war criminal on the 25th of September. General MacArthur established a military tribunal in November which convicted Yamashita of having failed to provide the required effective control over his troops and sentenced him to death for a crime which had been, prior to that time, unknown in the annals of jurisprudence. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected as the Court said that they were not empowered to dispute the findings of a military court. When President Truman refused to take any action on a petition for clemency, Yamashita’s death was certain. Shortly after 6 a.m., 23 February 1946 General Yamashita “The Tiger of Malaya” was executed by hanging until he was dead.
General Homma’s case was far clearer cut than was that of General Yamashita. As the instigator of the infamous Bataan death march, the Emperor stripped Homma of his officer’s commission when the facts were made known to him. Homma was rapidly sentenced to death by the war crimes tribunal. In an effort to save him, Homma’s wife appealed to General MacArthur, but MacArthur, who probably wanted Homma’s scalp more than anyone else’s, declared that if Homma did not deserve his fate, then no one in ‘jurisdictional history ever did’. Homma’s sentence was carried out under MacArthur’s orders.

Emperor Hirohito
Another issue that had to be dealt with was whether Emperor Hirohito should be tried as a war criminal or not. Many Allies, primarily the Russians and to some extent the British, thought Hirohito should be indicted as a war criminal. General MacArthur strongly resisted every such proposal, even one put forth by President Truman. The suggestion of the President was quickly withdrawn when he saw how adamant General MacArthur was on the subject. From the outset, General MacArthur believed that there should be some continuity maintained with the old order for the benefit of the Japanese people. The reduction of their Emperor from a godhead to a constitutional monarch was shocking enough without having him tried and maybe even executed. This would have been counter-productive to the American efforts to conciliate their former enemy.
Additionally, by attempting to execute the Emperor, a ‘last stand’ form of mentality among the Japanese might be created and the Allies, primarily the United States, would have to field a substantial army to put down the uprisings that would inevitably follow to restore order. It would have taken several generations to rebuild a viable relationship between America and a conquered Japan if this took place. General MacArthur was aware of this and had already decided not to try the Emperor.
The war was officially ended when the Japanese Delegation signed the surrender documents aboard the American Battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and General MacArthur symbolically accepted the surrender by formally signing the documents for the Allies.

Japanese delegation headed by Defendants Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijkiro Umezu aboard the American battleship USS Missouri for the signing of the Japanese surrender.

Defendant Shigemitsu, as the representative for the Japanese Imperial Government, signs the surrender document aboard the American Battleship USS Missouri. Defendant Umezu later signed the document as the representative of the Japanese Armed Forces. General MacArthur then signed the documents accepting the Japanese surrender for the Allied Forces.
The Internati