Henry Morgenthau Jr. Papers, 1866-1953 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

The Papers of Henry Morgenthau Jr. is a collection in 23 series, with most contents arranged alphabetically. One significant series titled the Morganthau Diaries, is now available as a separate digital collection.

This extensive collection of official and personal papers documents Henry Morgenthau, Jr.'s involvement in New Deal fiscal policy during the Great Depression, wartime economic mobilization and aid to the Allies, post-war planning and the "Morgenthau Plan" for Germany, the plight of European Jews and formation of the War Refugee Board, planning for the Bretton Woods and United Nations conferences, as well as other social, political, economic and diplomatic issues.

Henry Morgenthau Jr.

Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (1891-1967), President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s longest-serving cabinet member, Hudson Valley neighbor, friend and advisor played key roles in support of FDR’s New Deal and World War II policies. During his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury (1933-1945) Morgenthau ensured financing for the New Deal’s economic stimulus policies. He helped design and implement Lend-Lease (1941), the War Bond Program (1942), the War Refugee Board (1944-1945), and the Bretton Woods Conference (1944); programs that assisted in the global economic recovery and supported the American and Allied efforts during World War II.

Born in New York City on May 11, 1891, Henry was the only son of Henry Morgenthau, Sr. and Josephine Sykes, both from prominent New York German-Jewish immigrant families.  Henry Morgenthau Sr., a lawyer and real estate investor, graduated from Columbia University and later served as Ambassador to Turkey under President Woodrow Wilson during World War I.

Morgenthau Jr. attended Cornell University from 1909-1910 and 1912-1913 but left before graduation purchasing a farm in East Fishkill, New York. The location of his farm and family connections to the Democratic Party brought Morgenthau in to the Roosevelt family circle. His 1916 marriage to Elinor Fatman of the New York banking Lehman family cemented Morgenthau’s place in New York financial and Democratic communities. Morgenthau campaigned actively for FDR in the 1920s supporting FDR’s candidacy for governor. After FDR’s election, as governor of New York, he appointed Morgenthau to the New York State Agricultural Advisory Commission (1928) and then to the New York State Conservation Commission (1930). Both Morgenthaus remained close friends and confidants of the Roosevelts during the Presidency. Elinor Morgenthau and Eleanor Roosevelt often went for horseback rides in Rock Creek Park. Henry had weekly lunches the President at the White House or in Hyde Park while Elinor joined Eleanor Roosevelt as her assistant in the wartime Office of Civilian Defense.

After his inauguration on March 4, 1933 FDR appointed Morgenthau to his first federal administrative position, Chairman of the Federal Farm Board. Morgenthau, a successful farmer, helped write the Executive Order that merged the functions of existing farm and agricultural agencies and created the Farm Credit Administration (FCA). Morgenthau served as the first FCA Governor until November 1933 when FDR nominated him to succeed William H. Woodin as Secretary of the Treasury.  Morgenthau would serve as Secretary of the Treasury for the duration of FDR’s presidency and through the first few months of Harry S. Truman’s administration.

During the war, Morgenthau precipitated implementation of two critical programs: Lend-Lease and establishment of the War Refugee Board. In January 1944, Morgenthau approached FDR with his concerns about the State Department’s handling of the European refugees, particularly Jewish refugees. As a result of his work, FDR issued Executive Order 9417 establishing the War Refugee Board on January 22, 1944. The War Refugee Board is credited with saving over 200,000 lives.

The establishment of the War Refugee Board was the culmination of years of effort to act on behalf of Europe’s Jews. Morgenthau’s marriage was performed by Rabbi Stephen Wise, who helped Gerhard Riegner get his message about Hitler’s plan to exterminate Europe’s Jews to the U.S. Government. Morgenthau himself received a telegram about the SS Saint Louis, prevented from landing in Cuba in 1939 and had been approached by Rabbi Wise and others to help French Jews. Morgenthau stated, at the time, that his role as Secretary of the Treasury prevented him from taking action on issues of foreign affairs. In 1940, Morgenthau supported a plan to purchase British Guiana for Jewish refugees, which the administration rejected. Two years later, in 1942, he acted in support of a rumored offer to pay for safe passage of Romanian Jews to from Nazi-occupied territories, but the program did not succeed. In late 1943, after being presented with evidence that the State Department actively refused to assist Jewish refugees, Morgenthau and his Assistants at the Secretary of the Treasury, John Pehle, Randolph Paul, and Josiah DuBois, Jr., and Foreign Economic Administration head Oscar Cox, he suggested that FDR act before Congress to take action to rescue Europe’s Jews. Morgenthau helped draft the press release and staffed the War Refugee Board with members of the Treasury Department. The War Refugee Board took on the task of the “immediate rescue and relief of the Jews of Europe and other victims of enemy persecution” coordinating with established rescue organizations, including the World Jewish Congress and Joint Distribution Committee, and utilizing the expertise of the American and European diplomatic corps, the Board received funding through donations from aid and refugee organizations. 

Late in 1944, Morgenthau helped set up the United States first refugee center for victims of the Nazis in Oswego, New York. His proposed post-war plan for Germany, known as the “Morgethau Plan,” would have stripped Germany of its industrial capability to ensure demilitarization. While most of his plan was not adopted, some elements were incorporated in to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Directive 1067 in occupied Germany. 

After leaving office in 1945, Morgenthau remained deeply involved in refugee affairs and spoke on behalf of “displaced persons” throughout Europe. He supported numerous Jewish philanthropies and served as financial advisor to the state of Israel from 1951 to 1954. He became General Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal from 1947 to 1950 and remained involved until his death in 1967.

Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and Elinor Morgenthau had three children, Joan, Robert, and Henry Morgenthau III. Elinor died in 1949 and Henry Morgenthau Jr. married Mrs. Marcelle Puthon Hirsch (1899-1972) in 1951. Fishkill Farms, established by Henry Morgenthau, Jr. in 1914, is still in operation and is run by the third generation of Morgenthaus.