James Heindel Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 000074

Scope and Contents

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The James Heindel Collection includes artwork, photographs, correspondence, publications, documents, and later research materials related to James Heindel’s time in postwar Japan, with a particular focus on Sugamo Prison and the Japanese War Crime Trials.

A significant portion of the collection consists of original graphite drawings by Japanese prisoners, including Fumio Fujiki and Tokio Tobita, depicting daily life, prison interiors, labor, religious services, recreation, and other aspects of incarceration at Sugamo Prison. Several drawings include correspondence on the reverse from Heindel to his family describing conditions and routines within the prison. Along with these drawings are photographs of prisoners and prison facilities, including images of prisoners outside Sugamo Prison and exterior views of the prison complex and associated structures. A notable figure in the photographs is Hideki Tojo.

The collection also contains correspondence and writings, including letters to family members and an article describing Heindel’s observations of Sugamo Prison inmates, including Yasuo Knodo and Ishikawa, and information they shared. Additional materials include a letter from Fumio Fujiki to Heindel’s mother, jailer duty documentation annotated by Heindel, and printed publications and research files produced in later years. These later materials include scholarly articles, exhibition-related research, and published works examining Sugamo Prison artwork.

Dates

Creation: 1946 - 1948
Creation: 2004
Creation: 2015

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection in any form must be obtained from the National Museum of the Pacific War, Center for Pacific War Studies.

Biographical / Historical

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James “Jim” Heindel, 1928-2012, served in the United States Army as part of the occupation forces in Japan following World War II. Born in Kaukana, Wisconsin, Heindel enlisted after admiring returning World War II veterans and seeking to experience military service for himself. From 1946 to 1948, he served with the Eighth Army as a jailer at Sugamo Prison, which housed Class A, B, and C Japanese war crimes suspects and convicted prisoners connected to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. According to the family accounts, the Army intentionally staffed Sugamo with “fresh G.I.’s” rather than combat veterans in order to reduce the risk of retaliation or mistreatment towards Japanese prisoners.

As a jailer, Heindel worked within the prison, overseeing inmates, distributing food, and maintaining order. During his service, he became acquainted with several prisoners, including Fujiki Fumio and Tobito Tokio. Family recollections describe Heindel as generally reserved about his military service, though he occasionally recounted stories from his time patrolling the prison cell blocks at Sugamo Prison.

After leaving the service, he attended St. Norbert College in DePere, where he graduated with a major in English and a minor in Spanish. He married Mary Brittnacher on June 22, 1955, in Wrightown, and was employed for 38 years as a Spanish and Latin teacher in Beaver Dam, retiring in 1980. He died on February 7, 2022, in Beaver Damn, Wisconsin.