Description:

World War II
Tokyo, Japan, 1946-1947
Tokyo War Crimes Files of Prosecuting Attorney For POW Camp Atrocities, 500+ Pages, Unpublished Court Documents, Photos and More
Archive

A rare, fascinating, and revealing archive of 500+ pages from the estate of Attorney Andrew A. Adinolfi (1908-1977) who prosecuted war crimes committed by camp guards and other personnel who committed atrocities within the nine POW Hiroshima-area camps and sub-camps during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE). The treatment of POWs in Japanese camps rivaled that of the more notorious Nazi camps, and subsequently the internment and maltreatment of POWs were a major focus of the war crimes trials of the IMTFE. The IMTFE sentenced 920 perpetrators to be executed, including defendants prosecuted by Adinolfi himself, mentioned in our archive.

Hiroshima-area camps were responsible for exponentially more deaths of Allied POWs than the atomic bomb itself: over 35,500 Allied soldiers perished in before Japan's surrenderer on August 14, 1945. The personnel prosecuted by Adinolfi served in the following camps: Fukuoka and its sub-camps such as 1B Yunoto and 2B Yoshinwara; the notorious Kure Prison/Ofuna; Sendai; Omine Machi; Ohama; Yamane; Niihama; Innoshima, and more.

Incredibly damning testimony from the survivors of the atrocities (and those who did not survive) includes graphic content such as: "…The Beast [a guard] secured a green bamboo pole…struck us almost continuously for about forty five minutes…kicked me on the jaw with his hob-nailed shoes. My jaw was laid open to the bone….I was revived with a bucket of water and the Beast continued…".

Another account reads "[The guard] forced an…internee to kneel on a mass of twisted wire holding a bucket of water for approximately 40 minutes, while he compelled another prisoner to kneel on a log with a stick behind his knees and a bucket of water on each thigh…".

The documents include over 20pp of testimony from POWs, original sheets of criminals and accusations made by prisoners as well as the names of soldiers who reported the crimes; photography includes a GI digging up human remains; an original string-bound book with all personnel in Hiroshima camps written out by hand, some with red crosses next to name; original mug shots of defendants; 18pp listing the commandants and guards by name, the camp in which they served, the crimes committed, and the names and country of the POWs who reported the crimes. Other material comes in the form of Adinolfi's personal papers such as medical questionnaires, biography, procedural legal guides, service record; news clippings related to him, and more.

Some highlights of this lot include:

1. Testimony in the form of 18pp. of handwritten charts organized by camp, with descriptions of the crime, the perpetrator (usually the commandant or a higher-up), the details of the offense (beating with sticks and bottles, slapped and beaten while kept in kneeling position for five days, made to stand up from 6am-6pm for days) the victim and the outcome (death, wounds, worked to death, illness, starvation), the informer of the crime, and the country of the victim.

2. Names of notorious commandants include those from: Fukuoka Camp Commandant, Asao Fukuhara (hanged); Fukuoka branches 1B Yunoto and 2B Yoshinwa, Commandant Hajime Honda (fate unknown) and others such as Toshitoro Habe, Commandant of six camps near Osaka (eight years' hard labor). From Innoshima, Akira Nomoto (two years' hard labor); from Niihama: Commandant Takuji Murakami (hanged); Corporal Haruo Okada (24 months); Medical Orderly Kiyoshi Nishiyama (40 years' imprisonment or hanged) and Camp Physician Kayosuke Saito (hanged). Still more are identified by nicknames given by POWs: "the Butcher," "Bull," "Mad Harry," "Dog Wangler," "Fat Boy," "Straw Hat," "Happy Jack," etc.

3. A 2pp. list of the criminals personally prosecuted by Adinolfi, with remarks indicating whether the persons were tried by "common trial" or referred to other countries for trial. This document concludes with Adinolfi's outcome of the individual cases which includes 43 convictions, 19 forwarded, etc., with a total of 68 imprisoned. Also included is a list of 19 live witnesses.

4. 18pp of copies of POW testimony in narrative form spelling out the maltreatment which ranges from physical abuse and starvation to the more unusual torture practices such the application of Moxibustion, which entailed burning dried Mugwort on various parts of the body to allegedly cure surface ailments, and being forced to stand for 48 hours while beaten, withholding Red Cross boxes, and more.

5. A 25pp 10" x 6" onion skin string-bound book comprising a handwritten list all personnel in Hiroshima and vicinity camps, some with red crosses next to names, each handwritten.

6. Adinolfi's handwritten notes titled "Case Status," containing the names of defendants and the outcome of their trial, all made on the interior of a legal-size manila folder and certainly deserving of more research.

7. Six (6) mug shots of Japanese criminals: Masao Koshinawa, Mataichi Okubo, Toshio Toshio, Hatsuaki Kanbe (2), and one not identified.

8. Five (5) 5" x 7" photos showing a GI digging up human bones/skeleton.

9. Two (2) photos showing Japanese with Americans, appearing to be questioned about maps; another with same American having them demo how they beat someone.

10. 53 more photographs showing photos of bombed POW camp, one photo showing barebones barracks interior of War Crimes; the interior of barracks; photos of civilians, and more.

11. A hand-drawn map of camps; diagram of a barracks; and more.

12. 100pp of trial material including victims' testimony, procedural materials, lists of live witnesses, etc.

WITH: 10 period Pacific Theatre partial newspapers such as Nippon Times, Stars and Stripes, ca. 1948, also news clippings about the trials of the criminals Adinolfi personally prosecuted; 75+ pp. printed documents re: rules of procedure in war crimes trial, Geneva Convention text, etc.; 57pp. "Secret" combat reports from Europe 1944-1945 (warranting research); 100pp trial material, including victims' testimony, procedural material, etc.; 75+pp of Adinolfi's personal papers, questionnaires, physical, career, paystubs, receipts, directions for personnel relocating their family to Japan; 20pp regarding travel; 12pp. Adinolfi's attempt to obtain compensation for an injury received during while in Tokyo in 1948; 34pp. procedural doc for translators.

Also included are two books: "Tokyo: Fall of 1945".(Bunka-Sha, Inc. 1948), 7.25" x 10" unpaginated with note written by Adinolfi within: "Scenes in this booklet actually depict life as it existed in Tokyo when I was there"; "Japan Today" by Shodo Taki (Society for Japanese Cultural Information 1948). 371pp. 7" x 10".

Andrew A. Adinolfi (1908-1977?) received his law degree from Fordham University in 1934. He served as a sergeant in the Ninth Air Force in Europe from 1943-1945 in various capacities, including the Counterintelligence service. Adinolfi was former City Marshal from the Bronx before being chose as a prosecutor in the war crimes trial of Takanosuke Gunji and Juso Yamamoto (mentioned in the archives), among many others.

The contents of this archive are almost probably unique and the only extant examples. Adinolfi's personal wooden desk sign with his name in both English and Japanese is included with archive. Material exhibits various degrees of age-toning, wear, folds and so forth, but is overall very good. Richly deserving of further research!

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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