JAPANESE SURRENDER PHOTO ALBUM
Fine World War II photo album containing 36 original 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" and smaller snapshots, showing various scenes of the Japanese surrender and the end of the war in the Pacific. The first six photographs consist of bird's-eye aerial images of a Japanese navy yard, most likely the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, showing a wide variety of Japanese cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and transports at anchor, representing the greatly diminished force of the Japanese fleet following the loss of most of their capital ships. One notable boat visible in the foreground of the first image is the submarine I-402, one of a class of three which were the largest submarines built during World War II, fitted with a large aircraft hangar capable of carrying specially-designed fighter aircraft. Additional images depict the heavy damage caused by repeated Allied bombing raids. The next series of eighteen photographs depict events aboard the battleship USS MISSOURI during the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sep. 2, 1945. These images depict flights of Allied planes flying over Tokyo Bay, the deck of the battleship crowded with British, French and American officers, groups of American press photographers and their Japanese counterparts, General DOUGLAS MACARTHUR (1880-1964) giving a speech before a group of assembled Allied generals, and the signing of the document itself by Japanese Foreign Minister MAMORU SHIGEMITSU (1887-1957), and then by American Fleet Admiral CHESTER NIMITZ (1885-1966). The remaining twelve photographs depict scenes from combat zones around the pacific, and include depictions of destroyed Japanese tanks, American soldiers in the jungle, dead Japanese soldiers around a disabled landing barge, emaciated Japanese prisoners under guard by American soldiers, an American military cemetery, and more. Many of the photos featured in this album bear the name Jack Doerler on the verso in red ink, likely the photographer. Several images also bear black ink notations to the obverse, with some further showing small tears, else very good.