Guide to the Charles B. Burdick Military History Collection
SJSU Library Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
© 2010
Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Charles B. Burdick Military History Collection
Collection number: MSS-2010-03-01
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
Finding aid funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Processed by:
- Robert Donahue
- Date Completed:
- 2010
- Encoded by:
- Robert Donahue
© 2010 Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Charles B. Burdick Military History Collection
Dates: 1914-1984
Bulk Dates: 1939-1966
Collection number: MSS-2010-03-01
Creator:
Burdick, Charles B., 1927-1998
Collection Size:
93 Boxes, 217 Maps,
122.83 Linear Feet
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The Charles B. Burdick Military History Collection, 1914-1984 (bulk 1939-1966), represents the research files and collections
amassed by military historian and SJSU history professor, Charles B. Burdick. The collection documents the history of World
War I and World War II. World War I subjects covered include the Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles, which
formally ended World War I and military operations. World War II materials include publications originating from the German
High Command, as well as reports and statistics from countries such as Italy, Germany, Japan, and the United States. The collection
also includes print copies of the legal proceedings from the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, and maps of
important World War II locations. The formats represented include correspondence, ephemera, maps, newspaper clippings, reports,
and scrapbooks. This collection is arranged into three series: Series I: World War I & World War II Materials, 1914-1984 (bulk
1939-1958); Series II. International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) Materials, 1946-1948; and Series III. Military
Maps, 1919-1966 (bulk 1950-1966).
Physical location: Vault 1, Range 28A and 29B
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English, German, Italian, Japanese.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright is assigned to the San Jose State University Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the
original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
Charles B. Burdick Military History Collection, MSS-2010-03-01, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Robert Donahue. Finding aid EAD encoded by Robert Donahue. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen.
Project Information
This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008. The Project Director is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.
Biography
Charles B. Burdick (1927-1998) grew up in San José, California where he attended Lincoln High School before enlisting in the
United States Army during World War II. After serving in the Army, Burdick enrolled at San José State College in 1946. He
graduated with a B.A. in History in 1949, and obtained his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1954. He joined SJSU's History
Department in 1957, and became department chair in 1976. Throughout his teaching career, Professor Burdick worked diligently
to create a program dedicated to military history. In addition, he donated several large private book collections on military
history to the University Library, significantly adding to the monographic holdings in this area. Professor Burdick also taught
for many years at the Sixth United Army Intelligence School located at the Presidio in Monterey, California. Over the course
of his distinguished career, Burdick published dozens of articles and book chapters, and wrote and edited over twenty books.
His research and writing on the history of the German High Command in World War II remains an important part of the historiography
of World War II. After an association with San José State University that spanned forty-five years, Professor Burdick retired
in 1988. He died in 1998.
Bibliography
Roth, Jonathan.
Burdick Military History Project. Pamphlet. San José, CA: San José State University History Department, undated.
Walsh, James P., and Wheeler, Gerald E.
Charles B. Burdick and San José State. (From War, Revolution and Peace: Essays in Honor of Charles B. Burdick. Pp. 1-8. Remak, Joachim, ed. Lanham, MD: University
Press of America, Inc., 1987.)
Related Material
Charles B. Burdick War Poster Collection, MSS-2010-02-02, San José State University Special Collections & Archives.
The Burdick Military History Project, San José State University History Department. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/history/ (accessed
March 25, 2010).
Scope and Content of Collection
The Charles B. Burdick Military History Collection, 1914-1984 (bulk 1939-1966), represents the research files and collections
amassed by military historian and SJSU history professor, Charles B. Burdick. The collection documents the history of World
War I and World War II. World War I subjects covered include the Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles, which
formally ended World War I, and military operations. World War II materials include publications originating from the German
High Command, as well as reports and statistics from countries such as Italy, Germany, Japan, and the United States. The collection
also includes print copies of the legal proceedings from the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, and maps of
important World War II locations. The formats represented include correspondence, ephemera, maps, newspaper clippings, reports,
and scrapbooks.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into three series: Series I: World War I & World War II Materials, 1914-1984 (bulk 1939-1958);
Series II. International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) Materials, 1946-1948; and Series III. Military Maps, 1919-1966
(bulk 1950-1966).
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918 -- Records and correspondence
World War, 1914-1918 -- Maps
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Records and correspondence
World War, 1939-1945 -- Maps
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
Collection Contents
Series I:
World War I and World War II Materials
1914-1984
(bulk 1939-1958)
Physical Description: 20 Boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series documents the history of World War I and World War II.
World War I materials include several volumes of the Treaty of Versailles, as well as numerous pamphlets published by groups
such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Community Pulpit Series, promoting the concepts of peace, labor,
and morality.
World War II materials include documents printed in English, German, Italian, and Japanese. Formats include hand-written
notes concerning Italy during the war and post-war years, the German High Command, and United States military reports and
summations detailing U.S. bombings on Japan and Germany. In addition, this series includes Charles Burdick's personal research
notes and correspondence.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically by date range.
Box 1
World War 1 Pamphlets
1914-1918
Box 2
Maps of European Countries, Notes
1914-1947
Box 3
German Language Materials, Newspapers
1915-1947
Box 4
Treaty of Versailles, World War II Materials, Operation Barbarossa, Environment and Equipment Study
1919-1954
Boxes 5-6
World War II Materials, German Military, German Language Materials
1938-1978
Boxes 7-8
Newspaper Clippings
1939-1946
Box 9
World War II German Military Information
1939-1955
Box 11
World War II Germany, German Army
1943-1947
Box 12
World War II, Bombings of Japan and Germany
1944-1953
Box 13
Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) Project, Europe, Foreign Military
1945-1958
Box 14
Military Reports and Summations from Military
1946-1984
Box 16
Publications, World War II
1950-1966
Box 17
Research Notes, Reports, Italy, World War I, Russia
1950-1953
Box 19
Japanese Language Materials
Undated
Series II:
International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE)
1946-1948
Physical Description: 73 Boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series documents the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trials and Tokyo
War Crimes Tribunal. Supreme Commander of the Allied forces, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered the establishment of the
IMTFE and approved the charter, which was modeled on the Nuremberg Trials Charter of 1945-1946. The tribunal convened on
May 5th, 1946, to prosecute the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three specific crimes: Class A: crimes against peace;
Class B: war crimes; and Class C: crimes against humanity, committed during World War II. Twenty-eight political and military
leaders were charged with Class A crimes and more than 5,700 Japanese nationals were accused of Class B and C crimes, mostly
related to prisoner abuse; Emperor Hirohito and the Imperial Family were not prosecuted. The International Military Tribunal
for the Far East adjourned on November 12th, 1948.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically by date range.
Box 21
Captain Murphy - Analysis of Documentary Evidence, Books 1-3
1946
Box 22
International Prosecution Section
1946
Boxes 23-79
International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE)
1946-1948
Box 88
Prisoner of War Summation
1948
Box 89
Summation of Araki Sadao
1948
Boxes 90-91
Defense Documents and Judgements
Undated
Box 92
Prosecution of Japanese War Criminals
Undated
Box 93
International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE)
1947
Series III:
Military Maps
1919-1966
Physical Description: 217 Maps
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series includes maps of various locations in the Far East as well as some Pacific Islands. Many of the maps are based
on information from the World War II period, but were revised in the 1960s with information gathered since their original
publication in the 1940s.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by country. Posters are located in the flat file drawers labeled "Burdick Charts" in
Vault 1.
California - Undated - 2 Maps
China 1946-1964 - 10 Maps (one undated)
Farallon Islands - Undated - 1 Map
French Indonesia - 1950-1965 - 2 Maps
Guam - 1963 - 2 Maps
Japan - 1919-1965 - 52 Maps
Korea - 1964 - 2 Maps
Mariana Islands - 1960-1964 - 4 Maps
Philippine Islands - 1921-1986 - 114 Maps
Singapore - Undated - 17 Maps
Taiwan - 1950-1965 - 17 Maps
Vietnam - 1950-1965 - 10 Maps
