Work

A cartographic fade to black: mapping the destruction of urban Japan during World War II

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper we examine the history, production, and use – practical and rhetorical – of maps created by the United States government during World War II as related to the development and execution of aerial bombing policies against Japan. Drawing from a range of maps and primary documents culled from libraries and archives in the United States, we argue that maps provide an important, and hitherto neglected, means through which to trace the exploration and eventual embrace of the incendiary bombing of Japan’s cities. In particular, our aim is to show how maps, along with the men who made and used them, played a central role in the planning and prosecution of air raids on urban Japan. We also address the mobilization of American geographers into the war effort, the re-configuration of America’s spatial intelligence community during World War II, and the ways in which maps were constructed in the context of total war.

Source: Journal of Historical Geography

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhg.2012.02.004

Authors: David Fedman, Cary Karacas

Institutions: Stanford University, College of Staten Island, City University of New York

Language: English

Topic: World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,220