World War II Diplomatic History The Axis in Defeat Documents on Germany and Japan, 1946

Department of State

Book

United States Department of State. The Axis in Defeat: A Collection of Documents on American Policy Toward Germany and Japan, 1946, compiles official texts defining Allied war aims, Axis surrender, military occupation, and early United States policy toward defeated Germany and Japan. Issued as the transition from wartime coalition to postwar administration was still underway, the volume documents the governmental system through which military defeat was converted into occupation authority and political reconstruction. Through declarations, surrender instruments, directives, and policy statements, it reveals how Allied governments established legal authority over the former Axis powers and provides primary-source evidence for the study of World War II diplomacy, military government, occupation policy, and the origins of the postwar international order.

United States Department of State. The Axis in Defeat: A Collection of Documents on American Policy Toward Germany and Japan. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1946. Department of State Publication 2423. The volume includes the German and Japanese surrender documents; the declaration concerning Germany’s defeat and the assumption of supreme authority by the Allied powers; directives concerning military government and occupation; and documents defining General Douglas MacArthur’s authority as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan. Its broader contents begin with wartime declarations such as the Atlantic Charter and continue through the policies governing surrender and occupation, allowing readers to trace the diplomatic and administrative progression from Allied strategic planning to direct control of Germany and Japan. The compilation was later cited by the State Department’s editors as one of the official documentary collections useful for locating texts concerning American wartime and postwar policy.

One volume. v, 118 pages, with map and facsimiles. Printed wrappers. Approximately 8vo. The collection was published during the first phase of Allied occupation, when the defeat of Germany and Japan had created immediate questions concerning sovereignty, disarmament, war crimes, democratization, and the administration of occupied territories. Its juxtaposition of wartime declarations with surrender and occupation documents makes visible the mechanisms by which broad Allied objectives were translated into binding political and military authority. Covers age-toned, with creasing to two pages; otherwise clean and complete. Good condition. A substantial official compilation for examining the legal and diplomatic framework imposed upon Germany and Japan at the close of World War II.

Item #9529

Price: $125.00