World War II: State-War-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee Records

Description

SWNCC: Post-War Policy and Coordination (1944-1949)

Pre-December 1944 (During World War II):

• Informal Interagency Coordination: Cooperation between the Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Secretaries of the armed forces of the United States exists primarily through informal meetings, often mediated by President Roosevelt.
• “Committee of Three” Meetings: The Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Navy hold weekly meetings, though this committee lacks specific mandates or authorized powers.

December 1, 1944:

• SWNCC Foundation Proposed: Edward Stettinius Jr. (new Secretary of State) proposes to Henry Stimson (War Department Secretary) and James Forrestal (Navy Secretary) the creation of a joint secretariat for post-war planning.
• SWNCC (State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee) Established: SWNCC is founded to synchronize the views of the State, War, and Navy Departments on common interests and establish policies for politico-military questions. Its primary aim is to provide analyses and recommendations on political and military concerns arising at the end of World War II, laying groundwork for much of U.S. postwar foreign policy.

December 1944 – Fall 1947:

• SWNCC Operations: The committee is actively directed by Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy.
• Initial Focus: SWNCC’s first tasks include addressing anticipated issues in the occupation of Europe and Japan.
• Expert Consultation: SWNCC brings in government and private sector specialists (e.g., historian Hugh Borton) to assist with governing former enemy states and address forthcoming occupation issues.
• Emperor Hirohito Question: SWNCC addresses the treatment of Japanese Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). Hugh Borton’s suggestion for Hirohito’s retention is largely accepted by Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur.
• Policy Drafting: The Committee drafts directives for the control of Germany and Austria and coordinates agency views into policy recommendations for international presentation.
• Key Issues Covered: SWNCC records from this period include documents related to American, German, Italian, and Russian Prisoners of War, Atom Bombs, Biological Warfare, German War Crimes, the Japanese Constitution, Japanese Directives, Legal Aspects of Unconditional Surrender, Military Government for Germany, Surrender Terms for Germany and Japan, and more.
• SWNCC Meeting Minutes: Minutes of SWNCC meetings are documented from 1944 to 1947.
• SWNCC Decimal Policy Files: Extensive policy and subject files are generated from 1944 to 1947.

Fall 1947:

• Committee Renamed to SANACC: The State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC) is renamed the State-Army-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee (SANACC), reflecting the inclusion of the Air Force.

Fall 1947 – June 1949:

• SANACC Operations: The committee continues its work under its new name.
• SANACC Decimal Policy and Subject Files: Records continue to be generated under the SANACC designation, dating from 1944 to 1949.

June 1949:

• Committee Termination: The State-Army-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee (SANACC) is terminated.
• Functions Transferred: Its functions are taken over by the newly established National Security Council (which was created in 1947).

Cast of Characters

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt: (Mentioned as active during World War II) The U.S. President who often mediated informal interagency coordination meetings before the formal establishment of SWNCC.
• Edward Stettinius Jr.: Secretary of State (appointed December 1, 1944). He proposed the creation of the joint secretariat that became SWNCC to Henry Stimson and James Forrestal.
• Henry Stimson: War Department Secretary. One of the three secretaries to whom Edward Stettinius Jr. proposed the formation of SWNCC.
• James Forrestal: Navy Secretary. One of the three secretaries to whom Edward Stettinius Jr. proposed the formation of SWNCC.
• John J. McCloy: Assistant Secretary of War. Directed the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC) and was described as a close advisor to President Roosevelt.
• Hugh Borton: Historian. Brought in by SWNCC to study the “Emperor Hirohito question” and suggested the retention of Hirohito, a suggestion largely accepted by General Douglas MacArthur.
• Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito): Emperor of Japan. His treatment and potential retention were a key issue addressed by SWNCC, with Hugh Borton providing recommendations.
• General Douglas MacArthur: Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. Largely accepted Hugh Borton’s suggestion for the retention of Emperor Hirohito.

World War II: State-War-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee Records 

14,185 pages of documents from the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC) and the State-Army-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee (SANACC), dating from 1944 to 1949, concerning World War II and its aftermath.

The files contain a text transcript of all computer recognizable text embedded into the graphic image of each page of each document, creating a searchable finding aid. Text searches can be done across all files in the collection at once.

SWNCC was founded in December 1944, to synchronize the views of the State, War, and Navy Departments in matters in which they all had a common interest, and to establish policies for their Departments on politico-military questions delegated to it. The materials include copies of the originals in typescript with period handwritten additions and corrections. The Committee was formed to “provide the executive branch with analyses and recommendations on the political and military concerns arising at the end of World War II;” these committees “produced the groundwork on which much United States postwar foreign policy was based.”

The National Security Council did not exist until 1947 with the passage of the National Security Act. During World War II there was a greater need then before for cooperation between the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the sectaries of the armed forces of the United States. During the war interagency coordination existed primarily through informal meetings, often mediated by President Roosevelt.

The “Committee of Three” was formed when the Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Navy began holding weekly meetings. However, this committee had no specific mandate and no authorized powers.

When Edward Stettinius Jr. became Secretary of State on December 1, 1944, he made a proposal to War Department Secretary Henry Stimson and Navy Secretary James Forrestal that they create a joint secretariat for the planning of post war occupations and the implementation of U.S. foreign policy.

The new secretariat, State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNNC), was directed by a close advisor to President Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy.

Among the first things addressed by SWNNC were anticipated issues that were likely to arise in executing the occupation of Europe and Japan. To help with the particulars of governing former enemy states, the SWNNC brought in government and private sector specialists to address forthcoming occupation issues.

One key issue the Committee addressed was the treatment of Japanese Emperor Shōwa, better known in the West by the English version of his personal name Hirohito. SWNNC brought in historian Hugh Borton to study the Emperor Hirohito question. Borton suggestion for the retention of Hirohito was largely accepted by Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur.

The Committee drafted directives for the control of Germany and Austria and coordinated the views of its member agencies into policy recommendations for presentation by the United States to the world community.

From the fall of 1947 until its termination in June 1949, the Committee was named the State-Army-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee. In 1949 its functions were taken over by the National Security Council.

Collection includes:

State – War – Navy Coordinating Committee Meetings Documents

433 pages of minutes of meetings held by the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC, “swink”) from 1944 to 1947.

State – War – Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC) and (SANACC) Decimal Policy Files, 1944-1947, Subject Files, 1944-1949.

13,752 pages of State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC) and State-Army-Navy-Air Force Coordinating Committee (SANACC), records dating from 1944 to 1949. Highlights among the 190 section subject headings include:

American Prisoners of War

Atom Bombs

Biological Warfare

Death Sentence for Prisoners of War

German Prisoners of War

German War Crimes

History of SANACC and Subcommittees

Industrial Mobilization

International Red Cross

Italian Prisoners of War

Japanese Constitution

Japanese Directives

Japanese War Claims

Legal Aspects of Unconditional Surrender

Military Government for Germany

Military Prisoners for Labor

Mistreatment of POW’s

Proclamations Terminating War

Rearmament of French Air Force Subcommittee

Refugees

Reinterment of Human Remains

Russian Prisoners of War

Surrender Terms for Germany

Surrender Terms for Japan

SWNCC Procedures

Weapons