Henry Morgenthau Jr. (; May 11, 1891February 6, 1967) was the

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

during most of the administration of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. He played the major role in designing and financing the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

. After 1937, while still in charge of the Treasury, he played the central role in financing the United States participation in World War II. He also played an increasingly major role in shaping foreign policy, especially with respect to

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

, support for China, helping Jewish refugees, and proposing (in the "

Morgenthau Plan The Morgenthau Plan was a proposal to weaken Germany following World War II by eliminating its arms industry and removing or destroying other key industries basic to military strength. This included the removal or destruction of all industria ...

") measures to deindustrialize Germany. Morgenthau was the father of Robert M. Morgenthau, who was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

for 35 years; Henry Morgenthau III, an American author and television producer; and noted pediatrician Dr. Joan Morganthau Hirschhorn. He continued as Treasury secretary through the first few months of

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

's presidency, and from June 27, 1945, to July 3, 1945, following the resignation of Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr., was next in line to the presidency. Morgenthau was the only

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

to be next in line to the presidency in the presidential line of succession.

Early life and education

Henry Morgenthau Jr. was born into a prominent Jewish family in New York City, the son of Josephine (née Sykes) and Henry Morgenthau Sr., a real estate mogul and diplomat. His parents were born in Germany. He had three sisters. He attended

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

, later transferring to the Dwight School. And though he never earned a high school diploma, he studied architecture and agriculture at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. However, struggling to concentrate and read, he twice left school and also never received a college degree. In 1913, he met and became friends with Franklin and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

. He operated a farm named Fishkill Farms near the Roosevelt estate in upstate New York, specializing, like FDR, in growing Christmas trees. He was concerned about distress among farmers, who comprised over a fourth of the population. In 1922, he took over the '' American Agriculturalist'' magazine, making it a voice for reclamation, conservation, and scientific farming. In 1929, Roosevelt, as

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, appointed him chair of the New York State Agricultural Advisory Committee and to the state Conservation Commission.

Political career

New Deal

In 1933, Roosevelt became President and appointed Morgenthau governor of the

Federal Farm Board The Federal Farm Board was established by the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 from the Federal Farm Loan Board established by the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916, with a revolving fund of half a billion dollarsWilliam H. Woodin resigned because of poor health, Roosevelt appointed Morgenthau

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

; even conservatives approved. Morgenthau was a strict monetarist. President Roosevelt, Morgenthau, and Federal Reserve Chairman Marriner Stoddard Eccles jointly kept interest rates low during the depression to finance massive public spending, and then later to support rearmament, support for Britain, and U.S. participation in WWII. In 1934, President

asked Morgenthau to examine the taxes of

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

because FDR was "advised that Hearst was planning to use his newspapers to launch a major attack on the New Deal and its economic policies". Treasury Secretary Morgenthau explained that he examined the taxes of Hearst and actress Marion Davies and "advised FDR to mount a preemptive attack on both her and Hearst".

Campaign against corruption

Morgenthau used his position as Treasury chief to investigate organized crime and government corruption. Treasury Intelligence and other agencies (the notoriously fragmented United States federal law enforcement system had five in the Treasury Department alone) were uncoordinated in their efforts; efforts to create a super-agency were stalled by

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

, who feared his FBI would be overshadowed. Nevertheless, Morgenthau created a coordinator for the Treasury agencies; although the coordinator could not control them, he could move them to some cooperation. Former head of IRS' criminal investigators Elmer Lincoln Irey, who had directed major investigations including the successful prosecution of

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

, assumed the position in 1937. Investigations of official corruption caused the fall of political boss Thomas "Big Tom" Pendergast of Kansas City. A Mafia-related shootout and massive official corruption led to successful investigations against Pendergast and the local Mafia head Charles Carrollo. Other officials — as well as gangsters, in a few rare cases — were convicted as a result of Morgenthau's investigations.

Fiscal responsibility

Morgenthau believed in

balanced budget A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...

s, stable currency, reduction of the

national debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occ ...

, and the need for more private investment. The Wagner Act regarding labor unions met Morgenthau's requirement, because it strengthened the party's political base and involved no new spending. Morgenthau accepted Roosevelt's double budget as legitimate — that is, a balanced regular budget, and an "emergency" budget for agencies, like the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA),

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...

(PWA) and

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC), that would be temporary until full recovery was at hand. He fought against the veterans' bonus until Congress finally overrode Roosevelt's veto and gave out $2.2 billion in 1936. In the 1937 "Depression within the Depression", Morgenthau was unable to persuade Roosevelt to desist from continued

deficit spending Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit, the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budg ...

. Roosevelt continued to push for more spending, and Morgenthau promoted a balanced budget. In 1937, however, Morgenthau successfully convinced Roosevelt to focus on balancing the budget through major spending cuts and tax increases; Keynesian economists have argued that this new attempt by Roosevelt to balance the budget created the

recession of 1937–1938 The recession of 1937–1938 was an economic downturn that occurred during the Great Depression in the United States. By the spring of 1937, production, profits, and wages had regained their early 1929 levels. Unemployment remained high, but i ...

. On November 10, 1937, Morgenthau gave a speech to the Academy of Political Science at New York's

Hotel Astor Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 4 ...

, in which he noted that the Depression had required deficit spending, but that the government needed to cut spending to revive the economy. In his speech, he said: His biggest success was the new

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

program; he reversed the proposals to fund it from general revenue and insisted it be funded by new taxes on employees. Morgenthau insisted on excluding farm workers and domestic servants from Social Security because workers outside industry would not be paying their way. He questioned the value of the deficit spending that had not reduced unemployment and only added debt: To reduce the deficit he argued for increased taxes, particularly on the wealthy.

Jewish refugees

Once confronted by

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, the Allied Powers reacted slowly. In 1943, Morgenthau's Treasury Department approved the World Jewish Congress' plan to rescue Jews through the use of blocked accounts in Switzerland, but the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

and the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...

procrastinated further. Morgenthau and his staff persisted in bypassing State and ultimately confronting Roosevelt in January 1944 with the '' Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews''. Due to incessant highly visible rescue activism by the

Hillel Kook Hillel Kook (; 24 July 1915 –18 August 2001), also known as Peter Bergson (Hebrew: פיטר ברגסון), was a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist activist and politician. Kook led the Irgun's efforts in the United States during W ...

(aka Peter Bergson) led Bergson Group and pressure by Morgenthau and some of his staff, President Roosevelt finally acted and created the United States War Refugee Board (WRB) in January 1944. The board sponsored the

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

mission to Budapest and allowed an increasing number of Jews to enter the U.S. in 1944 and 1945; as many as 200,000 Jews were saved by the board. Hurwitz (1991) argues that in late 1943, the Treasury Department drafted a report calling for the creation of a special rescue agency for European Jewry. At the same time, several congressmen connected with the "Bergson Group" introduced a resolution also calling for the creation of such an agency. On January 16, 1944, Morgenthau presented Roosevelt with the Treasury report, and the president agreed to create the War Refugee Board, the first major attempt of the United States to deal with the annihilation of European Jews. Blum argues that by mid-1944, the War Refugee Board: As for the top Germans, Morgenthau at one point in summer 1944 suggested to Roosevelt that the top 50 or 100 German "arch-criminals" should be shot upon capture. He changed his mind and by early 1945 proposed formal trials.

Morgenthau Plan

In 1944, Morgenthau proposed the

for postwar Germany, calling for Germany to lose its heavy industry, and the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

"should not only be stripped of all presently existing industries, but so weakened and controlled that it can not in the foreseeable future become an industrial area". Germany would keep its rich farmlands in the east. However Stalin insisted on the Oder-Neisse border, which moved those farming areas out of Germany. Therefore, the original Morgenthau plan had to be dropped, Weinberg argues, because it was "too soft on the Germans, not too hard as some still imagine". At the Second Quebec Conference on September 16, 1944, Roosevelt and Morgenthau persuaded the initially very reluctant British prime minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

to agree to the Morgenthau Plan, likely using a $6 billion

agreement to do so. Churchill chose however to narrow the scope of Morgenthau's proposal by drafting a new version of the memorandum, which ended up being the version signed by the two statesmen. The gist of the signed memorandum was "This programme for eliminating the war-making industries in the Ruhr and the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

is looking forward to converting Germany into a country primarily agricultural and pastoral in its character." The plan faced opposition in Roosevelt's cabinet, primarily from Henry L. Stimson, and when the plan was leaked to the press, there was public criticism of Roosevelt. The President's response to inquiries was to deny the press reports. As a consequence of the leak, Morgenthau was in bad favor with Roosevelt for a time. German Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

used the leaked plan, with some success, to encourage the German people to persevere in their war efforts so that their country would not be turned into a "potato field". General

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

complained to Morgenthau that German resistance had strengthened. Hoping to get Morgenthau to relent on his plan for Germany, Roosevelt's son-in-law, Lt. Colonel John Boettiger, who worked in the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

, explained to Morgenthau how the American troops had had to fight for five weeks against fierce German resistance to capture

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and complained to him that the Morgenthau Plan was "worth thirty divisions to the Germans". In late 1944, Roosevelt's election opponent, Thomas E. Dewey, said it was worth "ten divisions". Morgenthau refused to relent. On May 10, 1945, Truman signed the U.S. occupation directive

JCS 1067 The Morgenthau Plan was a proposal to weaken Germany following World War II by eliminating its arms industry and removing or destroying other key industries basic to military strength. This included the removal or destruction of all industrial ...

. Morgenthau told his staff that it was a big day for the Treasury, and that he hoped that "someone doesn't recognize it as the Morgenthau Plan". The directive, which was in effect for over two years directed the U.S. forces of occupation to "take no steps looking toward the economic rehabilitation of Germany". In occupied Germany Morgenthau left a direct legacy through what in

OMGUS The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS; ) was the United States military-established government created shortly after the end of hostilities in occupied Germany in World War II. Under General Lucius D. Clay, it administered the ...

commonly were called "Morgenthau boys". These were U.S. Treasury officials whom General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

had "loaned" in to the Army of occupation. These people ensured that JCS 1067 was interpreted as strictly as possible. They were most active in the first crucial months of the occupation, but continued their activities for almost two years following the resignations of Morgenthau in mid-1945, and some time later, of their leader, Colonel Bernard Bernstein, who was "the repository of the Morgenthau spirit in the army of occupation". They resigned when, in July 1947, JCS 1067 was replaced by JCS 1779, which instead stressed that "An orderly, prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany." Morgenthau's legacy was also seen in the plans for preserving German disarmament by significantly reducing German economic might. (see also

Allied plans for German industry after World War II The industrial plans for Germany were designs the Allies of World War II considered imposing on Germany in the Aftermath of World War II to reduce and manage Germany's Productive capacity, industrial capacity. Background At the Potsdam conferenc ...

) In October 1945, Morgenthau published a book titled '' Germany is Our Problem'', in which he described and motivated the Morgenthau plan in great detail. Roosevelt had granted permission for the book the evening before his death, when dining with Morgenthau at Warm Springs. Morgenthau had asked Churchill for permission to also include the text of the then still secret "pastoralization" memorandum signed by Churchill and FDR at

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

but permission was denied. In November 1945, General

, the Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone, approved the distribution of 1,000 free copies of the book to American military officials in occupied Germany. Historian Stephen E. Ambrose draws the conclusion that, despite Eisenhower's later claims that the act was not an endorsement of the Morgenthau plan, Eisenhower both approved of the plan and had previously given Morgenthau at least some of his ideas on how Germany should be treated. Following his resignation in 1945, Morgenthau, along with other prominent liberals such as

, called for a "harsh peace" for Germany. Ultimately though, the policy was adopted of reintegrating a fully industrialized and de-Nazified modern Germany into Europe, as idealized in

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

's influential 1945 short film "Here is Germany".

Bretton Woods

Morgenthau was first appointed by the U.S. President

as temporary President of the

Bretton Woods Conference The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, to ...

, which established the

Bretton Woods system The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial relations among 44 countries, including the United States, Canada, Western European countries, and Australia, after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement until the ...

, the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States; it is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers lo ...

(the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

). During the inaugural plenary session on July 1, 1944, the head of the Mexican Delegation, Eduardo Suarez, nominated him as Permanent President of the Conference. This motion was seconded by the Brazilian Head Delegate, Arthur de Souza Costa, and widely supported by several other delegations such as the Canadian and Soviet ones.

Later life

In 1945, when Harry S. Truman became president, Morgenthau insisted on accompanying him to

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

by threatening to quit if he was not allowed to; Truman accepted his resignation immediately, after he privately said he would refuse to send "any of DR's advisor"Jew boys" to Potsdam. Years later Truman also referred to him as a "block head, nut" who "didn't know shit from apple butter." He devoted the remainder of his life to working with Jewish philanthropies, and also became a financial advisor to Israel. Tal Shahar, an Israeli

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

(agricultural community) near

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, created in 1948, was named in his honor (''Morgenthau'' (modern spelling: ''Morgentau'') means "morning dew" in German, as does "Tal Shahar" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Legacy

Morgenthau donated his diary of 840 volumes to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He died of heart and kidney failure at Vassar Brothers Hospital in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, in 1967, and is buried in Mount Pleasant, New York. His son Robert M. Morgenthau was the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

from 1975 to 2009. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

''Hamilton''-class cutter USCGC ''Morgenthau'' (WHEC-722) was named in his honor. The ship was sold to Vietnam Coast Guard as CSB-8020.

Personal life

Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr

He was married to Elinor Lehman Fatman, granddaughter of Mayer Lehman, a co-founder of

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

; they had three children — Joan Elizabeth Morgenthau Hirschhorn, married to Fred Hirschhorn Jr.; Henry Morgenthau III, and Robert M. Morgenthau."Joan Morgenthau Hirschhorn"
''The New York Times''. October 7, 2012. In 1913, Morgenthau purchased a farm in

Hopewell Junction, New York Hopewell Junction is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 1330 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel– Poughkeepsie– Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Stati ...

, naming it Fishkill Farms. The farm still belongs to the Morgenthau family. And despite his nearly life-long political career, Morgenthau insisted on identifying himself, and listing his occupation on his passport and tax forms, as a "farmer." On October 30, 1931, along with then Gov. Franklin Roosevelt, Morgenthau became a member of Tri-Po-Bed

Grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

in Poughkeespie, NY, an appendant body of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

References

Book sources

* * * * * * * *
online

External links

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. October 15, 1945. Reaction to the publication of Morgenthau's book ''Germany is Our Problem'' where he promotes the Morgenthau Plan.
"Vengeance v. Vision"
''Time''. September 22, 1967. Review of ''Years of War, 1941–1945; From the Morgenthau Diaries'' by John Morton Blum.
U.S. Treasury – Biography of Secretary Morgenthau

by Gary Bass * * FBI records on Henry Morgenthau Jr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenthau, Henry Jr. 1891 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American politicians American foreign policy writers American male non-fiction writers American people of German-Jewish descent American people of World War II Anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment in the United States Bretton Woods Conference delegates Cornell University alumni Dwight School alumni Franklin D. Roosevelt administration cabinet members American anti-fascists Jewish anti-fascists Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Jewish members of the Cabinet of the United States Lehman family Henry Jr. Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Politicians from New York City The Holocaust and the United States Truman administration cabinet members United States secretaries of the treasury Writers from New York City