On March 21, 1948, George Kennan discussed Occupation policy with Norman during a second stopover in Tokyo in the course of Kennan's fact-finding tour of East Asia on behalf of the U.S. State Department. In the interview Kennan revealed aspects of the new geostrategic thinking in Washington aimed at "containing communism." (Upon his return to Washington, Kennan reported his sense that Canadian views concerning Occupation policy diverged somewhat from those of the U.S. administration.)

Norman's report on his conversation with Kennan was filed on March 22 and was passed on to the Canadian ambassador (Heeney) in Washington on March 26, with a covering note by Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester Pearson. Click here for both Norman's message and the covering note. [LAC RG-25 "Occupation 46-48, G2," 50061-40 pt. 3, March 22, 1948]

Norman met with General MacArthur on November 22, 1948, to discuss the judgment of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the issues associated with it. The following day he wrote MacArthur a lengthy letter expanding on his views. In it he expresses his personal opposition to the death penalty.

Click here for a facsimile of Norman's letter. [LAC RG-25 Vol. 3642 File 4060-C 40 pt. 3]

Close attention was paid by the Canadian government to the circumstances surrounding General MacArthur's removal, during the Korean War, from his unprecedented position of power in East Asian affairs. MacArthur's "retirement" speech before a combined session of the U.S. Congress on April 19, 1951, was subjected to particularly close scrutiny. Reproduced here are Norman's summary (7 pages) and detailed analysis (13 pages) of that speech, composed for the Department of External Affairs (now DFAIT) and other Canadian decision-makers.

Summary - with covering letter [LAC RG-25 Vol. 6031 File 50293-40 pt. 1]

Detail [LAC RG-25 Vol. 6031 File 50293-40 pt. 2]