Historical Note
As United States involvement in the Second World War deepened, the American military began to make contingency plans based on the likelihood of an eventual Allied victory and the need for qualified personnel to administer the occupation of liberated countries in Europe and Asia. In 1943, a training program for such personnel was established at Stanford and other universities (including Harvard and the Universities of Chicago and Michigan) under the authority of the Office of the Provost Marshal General of the United States Army. This program, known as the United States Civil Affairs Training School (or CATS) program, drew upon military personnel with experience in civil affairs or with special language abilities. The schools' curricula involved intensive courses in the languages, history, sociology, and culture of the various countries which were considered likely to be occupied by Allied forces. Particular emphasis was placed on the study of the economies of these countries, and exercises were conducted which simulated the kinds of problems likely to be encountered by occupation authorities.
The CATS program drew extensively upon the resources of the universities with which it was associated. At Stanford, university officials and faculty were recruited for the CATS program, and both the staff and the research materials of the Hoover Library played an important role in the program. Because of the need for Japanese language instructors, the CATS program also recruited among the Nisei population in the various relocation camps established after the American entry into the war. These Nisei instructors had to receive special permission from the American military in order to participate in the CATS program.
The CATS program operated at Stanford University from late 1943 until the middle of 1945. Throughout most of this time, its director was Harold Fisher, a Hoover Library official.
From the guide to the U.S. Civil Affairs Training School, Stanford University records, 1942-1945, (Hoover Institution Archives)
