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U.S. Army tailor made, short waisted officer's jacket worn by a Signal Corps photographer for the war crimes trials

Object | Accession Number: 2013.458.5

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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Modified officer's olive drab uniform jacket with civilian lapel patches worn by Ray D'Addario, a US Army Signal Corps and then contract photographer at the postwar trials of war criminals held by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Germany. The jacket was specially tailored for Ray and the short waist and action pleats provided greater mobility and ease of movement when the arms were extended to photograph. The previous standard hip-length officer's jacket was not suitable for combat. In 1943, a shorter jacket, known as the Eisenhower jacket, was issued. Many soldiers had their jackets modified because of supply delays. It is not known whether Ray's jacket is a modified standard issue or was all handmade for him. Ray was assigned to photograph and film the defendants, prosecutors, and other attendees during the courtroom proceedings. The best known trial, Major German War Criminals, was held in Nuremberg. The 24 defendants were charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit those crimes. The verdicts were delivered on October 1, 1946. Soon after, Ray was discharged from the military. He then was hired as a civilian contractor by Telford Taylor, the newly appointed American chief war crimes prosecutor, as chief photographer for twelve subsequent trials held by the US. Ray returned to the US after these trials concluded in April 1949.
    Date
    use:  approximately 1945 September-1949
    Geography
    use: International Military Tribunal; Nuremberg (Germany)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Max Lewkowicz
    Markings
    interior, right breast pocket, label, stitched, white thread: D.J. KAUFMAN / INC. / WASHINGTON, D.C.
    interior, right breast pocket, label, black ink : MADE EXPRESSLY FOR / Mr. / Date
    interior, right breast pocket, label, black ink: A, F, of L ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF / UNITED GARMENT / SPECIAL ORDER / WORKERS OF AMERICA / 242 / REGISTERED [illegible logo]
    interior, left breast pocket, label, black and red ink : GENERAL EXECUTIVE / ORG. / April 12th / 1891 / BOARD / 1804661
    Contributor
    Subject: Raymond D'Addario
    Biography
    Raymond (Ray) D’Addario was born on August 18, 1920, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, to Vincent (1881-1964) and Antonetta (b. 1893) D’Addario. His parents were both born in Italy and immigrated to the United States, Vincent in 1902 and Antonetta in 1919. The couple married shortly after her arrival. Vincent was a grocer. Ray had one younger brother, Vincent (1930 - 2011). In 1938, Ray graduated from high school and began working as a freelance photographer for several newspapers in Springfield, Massachusetts. He also taught photography in local schools for the WPA (Works Progress Administration).
    Soon after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II. On November 17, 1942, Ray enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, which was responsible for documenting the war and for recording training and propaganda films. After basic training in early 1943, Ray’s company was deployed to London, England, where all US Army photographic material was sent for processing. His company was in London for just over a year before being dispatched in 1944 to Wiesbaden, Germany. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered.

    In August 1945, the United Nations War Crimes Commission authorized a military tribunal to be conducted by the four major powers, the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union in Nuremberg, Germany. The purpose of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) was to prosecute those responsible for violence against the civilian population and for crimes against humanity, evidenced by the Holocaust, perpetrated by Nazi Germany. Ray was one of a dozen Pictorial Service soldiers sent to Nuremberg to document the IMT. Before any trials began, Ray helped move the still and video camera equipment to the Palace of Justice, where it was installed in two rooms on the second floor. One room served as a small staff space, while the other was set-up as a dark room.

    The first trial indictments were announced in October 1945 for the Major German War Criminals trial. The 24 defendants were charged with four counts: crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit these crimes. The trial began on November 20, 1945, and the verdicts were delivered on October 1, 1946. Once the trial began, Ray was kept very busy, capturing both still photos and film recordings of the defendants, prosecutors, and translators in courtroom 600. Ray captured shots of individuals coming and going from the courtroom, and of the prisoners in their cells. He took more photographs than any of the other photographers, including a series of photos of the defendants in the dock, flanked by military police. Copies of his photos and those taken by other photographers were circulated for no charge to news agencies and magazines. Ray’s mother sent him several rolls of Kodachrome film, which allowed Ray to be the first photographer to capture the courtroom in color. The color film was difficult to develop, and had to be sent to the Pictorial Service’s main laboratory to be processed. Ray was the first photographer to have full color photographs of the courtroom published. In early 1946, Ray became eligible for discharge from the Army, but opted to stay in the service and continue documenting the trial. Around this time, he met Margarete Borufka, a Czech refugee, who was working as a secretary and translator at the Palace of Justice. The two started dating.

    In fall 1946, following the end of the military tribunal, Ray was honorably discharged. Ray was offered the chance to stay in Nuremberg by Telford Taylor, the newly appointed US chief war crimes prosecutor. He hired Ray as a civilian contractor to be chief photographer of the twelve subsequent war crimes trials held by the US. These trials prosecuted 200 plus German officials and collaborators, such as concentration camp guards and doctors, police, soldiers, and civilians. While covering the trials, Ray married Margarete. In December 1948, Margarete left for America. Ray stayed in Germany until the trials ended in April 1949. Ray returned to his hometown and opened a camera shop. Ray and Margarete had two children. Ray’s photographs of the Nuremberg defendants in the dock were the most widely circulated images from the first trial. Much of his work from the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials has been published and distributed all over the world. Ray, 90, died on February 13, 2011, in Holyoke.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Dress Accessories
    Category
    Neckwear
    Object Type
    Neckties (lcsh)
    Physical Description
    Long-sleeved, short-waisted, single breasted, olive drab wool uniform jacket. It has a notched collar and lapels, 1 button epaulets, padded shoulders, and a full-length, concealed front placket with 4 brown plastic buttons. On the upper chest are 2 exterior, 1 button flap patch pockets with box pleats; the flap also has 2 concealed snaps. It has a wide waistband with an extension tab and 2 concealed snaps. The back has action pleats to provide greater mobility in moving the arms to the front, with the topstitched seams ending just above the waistband. It has an inside welt pocket on the right breast with 3 manufacturer's tags. The inner collar band has a ribbon hanging loop. The inside upper back and arms are lined with satiny, light olive drab cloth. An elasticized strap of red cloth is sewn horizontally across the inside upper back; this would pull the action pleat back into place after exertion. On the inside of the jacket, just above the waistband, are 4 large, bronze colored metal, J-shaped belt hooks. On each lapel is an inverted, triangular, light brown cloth patch with a blue embroidered border and the letters US. The lower left sleeve has a rectangular, brown cloth patch made from 2 smaller patches, each with 3 once gold colored, but now blackened, bullion thread bars. It is not known whether this jacket is a modified standard issue or was all handmade for the owner
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 19.000 inches (48.26 cm) | Width: 16.750 inches (42.545 cm)
    Materials
    overall : wool, cloth, plastic, metal, metal thread, ribbon, thread

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The uniform jacket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Max Lewkowicz.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2024-12-02 09:26:04
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn85524

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