Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (1945)

101

April 24, 1945

HYDE PARK, Monday – We came back to Hyde Park yesterday morning, just one week from the time we all gathered here for the committal service in our hedge-surrounded garden. My sons and I went to look at the grave. If two soldiers had not been on guard, and the beautiful orchids flown up from the South had not covered the spot where the sod had been put back so carefully, we would hardly have known that the lawn was not as it had always been.

Before very long, the simple stone which my husband described very carefully for us will be in place. But in the meantime the children and the dogs will be quite unconscious that here a short time ago a solemn military funeral was held, and they will think of it as a place where flowers grow and where the hedge protects them from the wind and makes the sun shine down more warmly. And that is as my husband would have it. He liked children and dogs and sunshine and flowers, and they are all around him now.

We drove over the boundaries of the place yesterday afternoon trying to ascertain, from the maps we had, exactly what the memorandums meant which my husband so carefully wrote out for us. If you have ever tried to reconcile a map and the actual roads through the woods with the descriptions in a memorandum, no matter how accurate it is, you will understand how difficult we found it. Many a time we stopped where two trails ran into each other and wondered just exactly where this road really was on the map.

It was a wonderful day, but very windy and much colder than when we were here two weeks ago. We have had open fires in our living rooms all the afternoon and evening. But the house as a whole is very cold, and I don’t dare turn up our heat because we have a very limited amount of oil.

Miss Thompson looks with despair on three clothes-baskets filled with mail, and so, dear readers, if you don’t get any answers to your letters, you will know that eventually they will all be ready. Meanwhile, it is physically impossible to do more than thank you here for your kindness and your real understanding and sympathy.

Today our heavier tasks begin, as trucks arrive from Washington and things are unpacked and made available for the further business of settling an estate. I foresee that we have many long days of work in the big house before it is presentable for government visitors, and many long evenings ahead of us just opening and reading this incoming mail. Someday, however, we will actually find ourselves sitting down to read a book without that guilty feeling which weighs upon one when the job you should be doing is ignored.

102

April 25, 1945

HYDE PARK, Tuesday – Last night my feet ached, because all day long I had stood saying to people: “Yes, that trunk goes in such and such a room… Those things go into the library… Those things go into the dining room… Those can stay in the hall.” In the meantime Miss Thompson did the same thing at the cottage until, she said, her back ached. Both of us ran up and downstairs many times during the day and called each other on the telephone trying to decide where different things went.

Tomorrow the San Francisco conference will open. My husband and I had looked forward to traveling leisurely across the country and spending that day in San Francisco. He had talked over his speech; he had even looked over a first draft. But when I asked him why he really wanted to go all that distance for one day, he said: “I am going to pray over the delegates.”

I think that is the way we are all approaching this important conference. For a long time we have been building points of contact where the United Nations could work on some specific thing in unison. The organization of food for the world, the organization of rehabilitation and relief, world labor problems, world educational problems – all these have been stepping stones. Delegates from many nations have discussed these problems one at a time. Early meetings of the leaders of the great nations laid a greater stress on plans for winning the war, but lately they have begun to envision the broad lines of peace on which all the nations might work together.

Now, at last, we come to the San Francisco meeting, the purpose of which is not to write in detail all the plans for the future. Rather, it is merely to set up an organization before which, at a later time, these problems of peace will come up for discussion. The setting up of this machinery is not an end in itself, but it is an essential step on the way. Without the machinery, future generations could never build a peaceful world.

Someone said to me the other day that in the past we relied so completely as a nation upon my husband in international matters, that perhaps more of us would now recognize our duty to carry some of the burden ourselves. Instead of being satisfied just to follow, we would take a more active interest. I know that President Truman and our Secretary of State, Mr. Stettinius, together with the other members of our delegation, will do all they possibly can to bring about a cooperative spirit among the delegates and to set up a framework within which we can work in the future.

Our job is to build an atmosphere in the country as a whole that will reassure the other peoples of the world as to our firm intention to live in a peaceful and democratic world. Above everything else, we should let our delegates know that we are keenly following every move at this historic meeting.

103

April 26, 1945

HYDE PARK, Wednesday – I had to go around so actively with executors and appraisers all day yesterday, that I almost forgot to stop and really enjoy the country. Many years ago I learned that nature had more to give, from the healing point of view, than any human being. As I awoke very early this morning and heard the first birds twittering around my porch, I realized what a great joy the fresh green leaves and the return of the birds in the springtime always are. This season lifts the spirit, no matter how busy one may be. Those few minutes in the early morning are sure to bring to mind the words of the psalmist: “Lift up thine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.”

We walked tonight up to the top of the hill back of my cottage and saw the sun go down. It appeared so flamingly through the trees that I thought a house was on fire. Then, as we came home, the rain began to fall very gently – that soft spring rain which gives you the feeling you can almost see things grow. My lilies-of-the-valley are just young green shoots coming up out of the ground; but in the garden of the big house, where they are better protected, flowers are beginning to show. The lilacs are out, and as we walked through the woods two white dogwood trees gleamed, almost in full bloom. Yes, the world does live again. Perhaps nature is our best assurance of immortality.

Miss Thompson still sits with clothesbaskets of mail surrounding her. When we discovered today that her ration books had been mailed to her, although she has not yet received them, we decided they were probably among the few thousand unopened letters. It is miraculous to me that she is able to find most of the really important mail. For instance, letters announcing what trains people will arrive on, or what I must do to get fuel oil for my cottage these chilly nights, all seem to be found in spite of the confusion.

One of my friends whom I have not seen for some time – Mrs. Eliza Keates Young, who lives in the small rural community of Milton, just across the river from us – sent me a verse which may be a comfort to a great many whose dear ones are meeting death in the war. It reads:

They are not dead who live in lives they leave behind: In those whom they have blessed they live a life again.
So many mothers and wives write me that life has ceased to have a meaning since the man they loved so dearly has left this world. But that little verse should make us work to make our lives something which the warrior would feel worthy of his sacrifice.

104

April 27, 1945

HYDE PARK, Thursday – The Veterans’ Administration has existed ever since the last war. It has been upheld by the veterans’ organizations and, without question, Gen. Hines has done a remarkably good administrative job with conditions as they were up to this war. Now, however, conditions have changed.

Instead of a comparatively few men being in veterans’ hospitals, the number will be steadily increasing. Instead of the type of case which came to the hospitals previous to 1941, when custodial care was, on the whole, fairly satisfactory, there is now a stream of youngsters who must get the best possible medical care in order to give us back vigorous and active citizens for the work which needs to be done in the world.

Gen. Hines is not a doctor. Admittedly, the salaries paid to doctors in the Veterans’ Administration are not very high. Perhaps the worst situation is in the hospitals for mental care. With our limited number of psychiatrists, these particular hospitals should be near the big medical establishments, instead of which they have been placed in isolated parts of the country.

A metropolitan newspaper yesterday carried an editorial on the subject of the GI Bill of Rights and the Veterans’ Administration. They suggested that possibly it was a trifle difficult for Representative Rankin’s committee to do a really unbiased investigation of veterans’ hospitals.

I doubt very much whether any group of laymen visiting any of these hospitals could discover what really needs to be done, but there are qualified medical people who could get the information and give it to the Congress.

In the interest of the taxpayer as well as in the interest of the young men who fought this war, I hope there will be a real investigation by qualified people.

105

April 28, 1945

NEW YORK, Friday – The Congressional committee now visiting concentration camps in Germany are viewing things which we at home find it difficult to take in. The horror-filled pictures and stories which we have been getting day by day in our various newspapers make one shudder. The sufferings inflicted on war victims is cruel enough. But one also wonders what must have been done to a people who are willing to inflict such suffering. Something must have happened that we know nothing about to turn people who were highly educated and civilized into sadists who enjoy seeing other human beings suffer.

I read that one of our men, who had been a prisoner of the Germans and who is now back in this country, laughed when it was suggested that the townspeople near one of these camps did not know what was going on. He pointed out that there was constant communication between the camp and the town, and that it would have been impossible for the people of the town to be oblivious of what was happening. It is therefore not just a question of soldiers obeying orders. It is a question of civilians reaching such a state of servitude that they accepted without protest whatever happened to other human beings.

No wonder we are concerned about what kind of government and education shall be carried on during the occupation period. None of us can achieve much that is worthwhile unless we understand what happened to these people; and I am frank to say that, for me, it is still a complete mystery. I went to school with German girls, I have known German men and women. The military caste always seemed to me obnoxious, both as travel companions and as passersby on the street. But the average human beings in Germany seemed just like other people.

The Nazi regime, the SS and the Gestapo are, of course, an obvious explanation. But how could they have become entrenched without the people being aware of what was happening? That is the really terrifying question. One wonders if other people could be fooled in the same way, and one longs to know how to prevent its happening anywhere to any people ever again.

Our men who have been prisoners of war, and who have seen these horrors which we read about, will have lost some of that confidence in their fellow human beings which is part of the heritage of every American citizen. It will take time to make them believe again that predominately people have good intentions, and I don’t think they will be patient with talk which does not materialize into action.

106

April 30, 1945

NEW YORK, Sunday – Rep. Mary Norton of New Jersey is making a magnificent fight for the passage of the Fair Employment Practices bill. This bill would give us a permanent group in the government whose function it would be to see that, as far as employment goes throughout this country, there is complete equality of opportunity and treatment for all.

Many people have come to think of this bill as being of value only to certain minority groups. I think it is important for the public in general to understand clearly that the bill, while it may be of value to these groups, is equally vital to each and every one of us who are citizens of the United States. If we do not see that equal opportunity, equal justice and equal treatment are meted out to every citizen, the very basis on which this country can hope to survive with liberty and justice for all will be wiped away.

Are we learning nothing from the horrible pictures of the concentration camps which have been appearing in our papers day after day? Are our memories so short that we do not recall how in Germany this unparalleled barbarism started by discrimination directed against the Jewish people? It has ended in brutality and cruelty meted out to all people, even to our own boys who have been taken prisoner. This bestiality could not exist if the Germans had not allowed themselves to believe in a master race which could do anything it wished to all other human beings not of their particular racial strain.

There is nothing, given certain kinds of leadership, which could prevent our falling a prey to this same kind of insanity, much as it shocks us now. The idea of superiority of one race over another must not continue within our own country, nor must it grow up in our dealings with the rest of the world. It is self-evident that there are people in certain parts of the world who, because of different opportunities and environment, have not progressed as far as other people in what we call civilization. That does not mean, however, that they will forever be inferior in our type of civilization. Given the same kind of opportunities, they may do better than we have done.

Looking at the war-torn world of today, we cannot say that our civilization has been perfect. We can only say that we have created greater material comfort for human beings and that we are struggling to find a way of living together peacefully and cooperatively in the future.

That is a great step forward, and we are taking it internationally; but we must also take it within our own borders. We cannot complain that the Germans starved and maltreated our boys if we at home do not take every step – both through our government and as individuals – to see not only that fairness exists in all employment practices, but that throughout our nation all people are equal citizens. Where the theory of a master race is accepted, there is danger to all progress in civilization.

107

May 1, 1945

NEW YORK, Monday – Yesterday morning I went to Brooklyn for the christening of one of our new super-carriers, the Franklin D. Roosevelt. There is something overwhelming in the size of such a ship when you see it in drydock before the water is let in to float it. It was the first time I had seen a ship launched in this way, and I don’t think it gives one quite the same thrill as when you hear the hammer strokes knocking out the supports and see the ship suddenly begin to move down the ways.

It has one great advantage, however, from the point of view of the person who has to christen it. If the bottle does not break the first time, you can try, try again, and meanwhile the ship is not moving away from you! You need not have any of that terrible sinking of the heart when you wonder if you are going to accomplish your appointed task before the ship leaves you for good.

It is considered bad luck if the bottle does not actually break so I have always suffered in anticipation of failing to get the ship properly christened. As it was, Mrs. John H. Towers, sponsor of the ship, could really enjoy herself yesterday, not only breaking the bottle, but speaking her christening words with great deliberation.

I was glad to have a chance to see some of the workmen as we inspected the ship after the ceremonies. One feels such pride in the magnificence of the task accomplished that it is pleasant to be able to tell the men how much you admire the job they have done.

Secretary of the Navy Forrestal told me that my husband had gone over the plans for this ship with the greatest interest, and I am sure that in his mind’s eye my husband saw it a completed ship. He had the faculty of reading blueprints and seeing a ship or a building as it would ultimately be – just as he could read a road map and actually recognize the lay of the land, when we traveled through any part of the country. That faculty of visualizing what a thing really will look like once you have seen it on paper is, I believe, God-given and rarely acquired!

The picture of that great ship, as the water was slowly let into the basin around her, has stayed in my mind. I am very sure that my husband would be proud and happy to have his name connected with the Navy which he loved, and to feel that his ship will help win the war and keep the peace in the days to come. May God bless her and the men aboard her.

I noticed that nearly all of the marines who acted as a guard of honor at the Navy Yard were servicemen with many stars on their overseas ribbons. Some of them belonged to the First Division, in which I always have a special interest because they were the first to land on Guadalcanal, and because I actually have seen that spot and know what they went through.

I was back at the apartment by 12:30, and the rest of my day was given up to seeing old friends.

108

May 2, 1945

WASHINGTON, Tuesday – I know others must feel, as I do, the tenseness of waiting for some further news of the final end of the war in Europe. That brief moment when we thought that the Nazis had actually surrendered made me realize what a relief it will be when we can feel that only the ordinary accidents of life surround our men in the European theater.

As more and more people are liberated from prisons and concentration camps, I keep wondering if their return will not mean a great awakening among us to the realization of the full horror of war. Who could make it more clear than a boy who had been in one of these camps and in contact with the German people?

I hope we are not going to be too easy with ourselves. It would be pleasant to close our eyes and ears now and say: “These things could never be. Human beings could not do such things, and therefore we will not believe them or listen to them.” That would be an easy way out because we would not have to decide how we could prevent any recurrence in the future, in any part of the world, of the Fascism which brought these things about.

We have been much more concerned in this country about the people among us who might be communists. The great majority of the Dies Committee investigations were directed at what they feared were communist activities. The reason, I imagine, is that the only thing in Communism that most of us know much about has to do with the economic theories, and those of us who have considerable of this world’s goods are troubled by what we think these theories signify. Gradually we will learn more about the social, political and economic practices of the USSR, and we will adjust ourselves to cooperating with them while preferring our own habits and thoughts and customs.

But we should give more thought than we have given in the past to the dangers of the Fascist theories. They affect not just our economic situation. Judging by the results as we see them in the concentration camps in Europe, they also affect the nature and the souls of all human beings who fall under their domination. We cannot cooperate with sadists and with human beings who are devoid of pity.

Yesterday afternoon Miss Thompson and I came down to Washington. She had had no time to close her apartment here, and there were a number of things that I had not managed to finish. It was a curious sensation coming into this city again, and I think it will probably take me a little while before I approach it as a casual visitor.

109

May 3, 1945

WASHINGTON, Wednesday – From a number of sources I hear that some of the men in the services are worried about the $10,000 government insurance policies which they hold. They have discovered that the present insurance will expire in November, 1945, and they do not know whether the policies will be extended.

On making inquiry, I find that a bill to extend these policies will be sponsored by the Veterans Administration, which has not the slightest doubt it will be passed. The policies apply to both enlisted men and officers, and I think that every man holding one should see to it that his policy is extended and that the deductions from his pay continue.

I have been getting a number of letters from servicemen’s mothers and widows who were dependent on the men and who need their insurance. For one reason or another, in many cases there seems to be a long delay. Of course, it occasionally happens that a boy tells his family he is insured, but then neglects to take the insurance out.

I wish very much that some kind of automatic insurance could be worked out whereby every man entering the service is automatically insured for the benefit of his next of kin. It would be simpler to run it this way, and would require fewer people in the Veterans’ Bureau than at present. I have wondered exactly why this automatic, universal insurance has never been favorably considered.

I was very much interested in the announcement the other day that the Congress was considering certain amendments to the G.I. Bill of Rights. It seems suddenly to have been discovered that the passage of legislation does not automatically mean that the servicemen get the benefits intended. I am glad that discovery of various mistakes in the legislation has been made now, before a greater number of men come home.

There are two weaknesses, not widely mentioned, which I think are most important. First, there is the educational limit which makes that portion of the G.I. Bill of Rights apply only to people under 25. A man over 25 may need a refresher course even more than a younger man, and he should be able to get it under the educational provisions of the bill.

Secondly, there is the two-year limit for obtaining a loan to enter a business or buy a farm. It seems to me quite evident that, as long as the war is on, it will be very difficult for any veteran to engage in a new business successfully. In many cases, it would be better for him to acquire more experience in a business which is already functioning. But if he must take his loan immediately or forfeit it, he is naturally forced to take it now.

These faults in legislation are not the only weaknesses in the bills. A tremendous organizing job, however, needs to be done to implement whatever legislation is passed. Tomorrow I should like to talk a little bit more about this.

110

May 4, 1945

WASHINGTON, Thursday – Until I actually see a photograph of Hitler dead, I shall feel rather skeptical. The horror of Mussolini’s death would, I think, make any of the German officials do everything possible to escape a like fate.

It has often been said that Hitler had a double. Unless one really saw his body, and it was identified by people who knew him but who were not his close associates, I think one would be justified in wondering if he had not killed his substitute and tried, himself, to escape. It may be that escape is impossible, but one cannot help feeling that these men made their plans long in advance. That they will make every effort to escape seems a foregone conclusion.

To many of us who have watched the development of TVA and know what it has meant to human beings, as well as to river and land development, the reappointment by President Truman of David E. Lilienthal is a source of great satisfaction. Recognition of a good job done anywhere encourages people to do good jobs everywhere else, and so, while I want to congratulate Mr. Lilienthal, I also want to congratulate the President on encouraging such good public service. The best plans in the world have to be carried out by human beings – and human beings always do better work when they know that it will receive recognition.

I want to add a little to what I said yesterday about implementing legislation passed for the benefit of our servicemen. I believe that every community should have a committee made up of its leaders in education, agriculture, business and the professions; that these men and women should be ready to give counsel to returning servicemen, and to continue doing it as long as it is needed.

Take education as an example. I am already getting letters from boys who were drafted before they completed high school. If they are fortunate enough to come home, they will undoubtedly need not only to complete their high school course, but possibly to go on to further training and education. It is obvious, however, that after service in the armed forces it will be quite impossible for them to return to the regular classes. They will have matured; the work they have done in service will have given them certain things they did not have when they went away. Special courses should be available to meet their needs, and they should be allowed to move forward faster than the youngsters whose schooling has been uninterrupted.

In numerous communities throughout our nation, training for many occupations is not available. Yet no community should be without the information as to how that training may be obtained for any of their boys who needs it. There may not be many boys returning to your community at the present moment. But the preparation for their return should be going on daily, because you will find there is much you have to learn before you are prepared to meet the needs of the men who have fought the war for you.

111

May 5, 1945

WASHINGTON, Friday – I have had letters from a number of veterans stating that the G.I. Bill of Rights, as far as getting a loan is concerned, gives them nothing that they could not get in the ordinary way. They add that the red tape surrounding it makes the whole proceedings so long and complicated that most of them feel difficulties are being put in their way, instead of help being extended.

This is another reason why I think local committees should be functioning. The information bureaus set up by the Veterans Bureau for the benefit of returning servicemen probably can give all the necessary information in reply to the questions that a boy has at the start. But, unfortunately, they are rarely set up to follow through and see that each individual’s problem is properly considered to the end.

I know of one boy, for instance, who wanted to buy a farm. He knew rather little about farming, and in his ignorance was about to purchase some land where it would have been impossible for him to make a living. Fortunately, a kindly and public-spirited farmer learned about his plan in time. He came over and explained to the boy the kind of land he was buying; that the cost of making it productive would be far too great for the resources which the boy had at hand.

I know, too, that many a young man, when he first gets home, should not be allowed to make a decision about a permanent occupation too quickly. Certain things, like quiet surroundings, have a greater appeal when you have just spent months as a target for bombs dropping from the sky, and when noise has been one of your constant companions. Later, they may not loom up as important.

Every returning serviceman should be allowed some months to reorient his life, and I believe one or two experiments in different occupations may be advisable. Many men will go back to what they did before the war and function happily. Others will know precisely what they want to do and will go ahead without hesitation. But we should not be surprised if for some there is a period of uncertainty. We should try to cooperate and tide over the period until the man is again stable and secure.

Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday, and so we visited her little boy, Johnny, in the hospital, taking with us a birthday cake made for his special benefit. His one favorite kind of cake, which I imagine is also a favorite with many other little boys, is chocolate all the way through, with white icing. Since supper has to be at 4:30 in the hospital, we had to light the candles while it was still daylight outside. He was a little disappointed, because he prefers to have them lit in the dark. Such creatures of habit are we, even at the age of six.

I am afraid this could not be a very happy birthday for Anna, but she and her husband and I dined together and we talked a great deal about her father and how much he enjoyed all family celebrations.

112

May 7, 1945

NEW YORK, Sunday – A friend of mine has just sent me a prayer by John Oxenham, a British poet. It is a very beautiful prayer for older people, or for people who have spent themselves so greatly that they fear not to be able to give their best in their remaining years on earth:

Lord, when Thou see’st
that my work is done,
Let me not linger here
With failing powers,
A workless worker in a
world of work;
But with a word,
Just bid me Home
And I will come,
Right gladly will I come,
Yea – Right gladly will I
come–

I have always felt that one could have a certain sense of resignation when people die who have lived long and fruitful lives. My rebellion has always been over the deaths of young people; and that is why I think so many of us feel particularly frustrated by war, where youth so largely pays the price. It seems as though youth was so much needed to carry the burdens of peace.

A friend of mine, however, not long ago said something to me which may be comforting to many other women. In speaking of her young son, she remarked that what she wanted for him was that he should feel that he had fulfilled his mission in life; that if he had not spent himself during this war fighting for the things in which he believed, he would feel empty. If he died and was not here to carry on in peacetime, she would still not rebel. She would know that to have denied him participation in the great adventure of fighting against the forces of evil, so that the forces of good might have an opportunity in the future to grow, would have left him warped and unable to carry on the battle for a better world in peace.

Of one thing I am sure: Young or old, in order to be useful we must stand for the things we feel are right, and we must work for those things wherever we find ourselves. It does very little good to believe something unless you tell your friends and associates of your beliefs. Those who fight down in the market place are bound to be confused now and then. Sometimes they will be deceived, and sometimes the dirt that they touch will cling to them. But if their hearts are pure and their purposes are unswerving, they will win through to the end of their mission on earth, untarnished.

113

May 8, 1945

NEW YORK, Monday – Yesterday afternoon I had a visit from a very wonderful and gallant friend of mine. She has been crippled with arthritis for some years, but like my husband, no physical disability has ever really daunted her. As the body grew less active, she has concentrated more and more on the activities of the mind.

Her visit to me was undertaken as a high adventure and she accomplished it with complete success, for strangely enough, courage in an individual always calls out the best in others. Everywhere along the line she commanded not only admiration and respect, but a real desire to be of help. I enjoyed her visit very much, and we discussed a subject which must be close to the heart and mind of every citizen today. Largely confined by the four walls of her home, she wondered how she could still give comfort and backing and tangible support to those who are doing the things for the world in which she believes. Isn’t that the question each of us is asking today?

I have been thinking a good deal about this lately, and I believe one thing to do is to fix our minds on what our ultimate objectives are. We should decide what are the main things which we want to see achieved, and then judge day-to-day happenings by whether that main trend is being adhered to. Even when the minor happenings seem to be set-backs, and in themselves are not quite the thing that, with our limited knowledge as citizens, we would want done, we must try to look at the whole picture.

For instance, I feel that out of the San Francisco conference we are going to get substantial agreement on some kind of machinery through which the nations of the world are going to function. I do not think that all of us will be satisfied with everything that is happening in San Francisco. But, as private citizens, I think we must remember that we cannot pass judgment until we know more about the reasons why our representatives have accepted certain things. As an individual, I am not convinced that the Argentine today is any different in its government from the Argentine of some months ago. I am completely mystified as to what Russia’s reason may be in her Polish attitude; but I know that our delegates and those of other nations have had difficult problems to meet.

Compromises are never satisfactory. They are always the half-way measures which really please no one. Nevertheless, if they must be made in order to establish the machinery through which we are going to build confidence in each other, then we must look upon them as steps to our ultimate objectives. Confidence will be built eventually by our adherence to our highest standards in dealing with others, and by our own refusal to accept from others any lower standards.

We will have to wait for the final reports and clarification on what our representatives have accomplished to understand the whole picture. I think we are moving forward, and, as private citizens, we owe our chosen delegates the confidence and backing that we can only give by believing that they never lose sight of the ultimate objectives.

114

May 9, 1945

NEW YORK, Tuesday – All day yesterday, as I went about New York City, the words “V-E Day” were on everybody’s lips. Part of the time, paper fluttered through the air until the gutters of the streets were filled with it. At Times Square crowds gathered – but that first report the other night had taken the edge off this celebration. No word came through from Washington and everybody still waited for official confirmation. Today it has come.

Over the radio this morning President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill and Marshal Stalin have all spoken – the war in Europe is over. Unconditional surrender has been accepted by the Germans. I can almost hear my husband’s voice make that announcement, for I heard him repeat it so often. The German leaders were not willing to accept defeat, even when they knew it was inevitable, until they had made their people drink the last dregs in the cup of complete conquest by the Allies.

Europe is in ruins and the weary work of reconstruction must now begin. There must be joy, of course, in the hearts of the peoples whom the Nazis conquered and who are now free again. Freedom without bread, however, has little meaning. My husband always said that freedom from want and freedom from aggression were twin freedoms which had to go hand in hand.

The necessity to share with our brothers, even though it means hardship for ourselves, will now face all of us who live in the fortunate countries which war has not devastated.

I cannot feel a spirit of celebration today. I am glad that our men are no longer going to be shot at and killed in Europe, but the war in the Pacific still goes on. Men are dying there, even as I write. It is far more a day of dedication for us, a day on which to promise that we will do our utmost to end war and build peace. Some of my own sons, with millions of others, are still in danger.

I can but pray that the Japanese leaders will not force their people to complete destruction too. The ultimate end is sure, but in the hands of the Japanese leaders lies the decision of how many people will have to suffer before ultimate peace comes.

What are our ultimate objectives now? Do we want our Allies in Europe, and later in the Far East, to have the opportunity to rebuild quickly? Looked at selfishly, we will probably gain materially if they do. That cannot be our only responsibility, however. The men who fought this war are entitled to a chance to build a lasting peace. What we do in the next months may give them that chance or lose it for them. If we give people bread, we may build friendship among the peoples of the world; and we will never have peace without friendship around the world. This is the time for a long look ahead. This is the time for us all to decide where we go from here.

115

May 10, 1945

NEW YORK, Wednesday – When I went to make my broadcast yesterday morning the studios were a madhouse of activity, and I kept wondering how the men ever managed to keep their minds on their jobs.

After the short broadcast was over, I went to the television studio, where Julien Bryan was presiding over the interviews. It was a great pleasure to meet again a war correspondent whom I had last seen on Guadalcanal, and a nurse who had returned home in February after imprisonment for many weary months in San Tomas. How wonderful these young people are! They seem to go through so much and still be able to take it in their stride.

Some of my young cousins lunched with me. One of them has a son whom she last heard from in February in a German prison camp. That camp was freed by the Russians a few days ago. With all my heart I hope she will soon hear that her boy is safe. I think so often of the women all over this country who watch for the liberation of a special prison camp and then wait anxiously to hear whether their particular man is among those freed. If he is not, they hope that he was moved to some other camp, and again they start waiting – that endless waiting which takes a tremendous toll of one’s self-control and sets one’s whole nervous system on edge.

During the day I listened to many of the broadcasts, and I am still wondering why the Russians withheld their announcement of the end of the war until 6 in the evening. In any case, now it has been announced by the Big Three and there must be great rejoicing in Russia, which has suffered so much.

I have the greatest admiration for the way the Russian women have helped carry on the war. I am particularly glad that Mrs. Churchill has been able to spend so much time in Russia. She has done valiant work in Great Britain for Russian relief, and deserves the decoration which I see was conferred on her at the Kremlin the other day. She must have witnessed a great deal during this rather long visit, and what she takes back to the British people will be of great interest and value to them.

It is now more important than ever that the clothing collection which has been going on throughout the nation, under Henry Kaiser’s leadership, should bring very high returns. The time limit has been extended and in many cities collection depots are still open. On May 5, incomplete reports from 2,213 of the 6,920 communities organized for the drive showed a collection of 71,675,696 pounds. This sounds like enough to clothe a great many people. But the needs of Europe alone are going to be colossal, and so be sure to turn in anything more that you can give. If you happen to live in a community not yet organized, there is still time to organize now. This is our first gesture since peace in Europe has arrived, and therefore it must come up to expectations.

116

May 11, 1945

NEW YORK, Thursday – Removal of the curfew and the racing ban, with the promise also that reconversion will begin in certain industries and that holders of “A” cards may get a little more gasoline in the future, are naturally accepted by everyone as tangible proofs that part of the war burden is being eased. It must not make us feel for one minute, however, that the necessity for an all-out war effort is any less than it was before the war ended in Europe.

Peace cannot be lasting unless we accept our responsibilities toward the peoples in Europe and in Asia. We have chosen the path of understanding and cooperation between nations to bring about a lasting peace. That really means that we must understand our fellow human beings throughout the world and must feel a constant responsibility toward them.

I have a long letter today telling about conditions in India and the need for outside aid. An organization has been formed, and the Quakers are dispensing dried milk, medical supplies and diet-supplementary drugs which are shipped from here at Indian government expense. This was begun last year at the request of the President’s War Relief Control Board upon the recommendation of the American Mission in New Delhi.

Their first contributions came from the big labor groups in this country and from Governor Richard Casey of Bengal. Now they must appeal to the people of this country to give month by month what they feel are the absolute necessities for the people of India. I hope that local community chests throughout our country will be asked to give grants out of their collections, in this way representing the whole people of our communities.

India seems very far away, but that sense of distance is just what we must somehow surmount in our thinking. Many of our men are fighting in India today and will come home and tell us of the people there and their difficulties. Very few of us here have any conception of the problems which the people of India face in the development of unity in their nation, nor do we understand what problems the British Government and the people of India will eventually have to work out. The more we know, the more helpful we can be, and as our men come home from there they can tell us many things.

I have received a number of notices that people have given blood donations, at Red Cross centers, in memory of my husband. I am very grateful for this, and I am glad also that with the end of the war in Europe some of our blood donor centers are going to be closed, since the armed forces will not need quite as large a supply. That is a step forward which gives a lift to our hearts.

117

May 12, 1945

HYDE PARK, Friday – Before I do anything else this morning, I want to thank the many people who sent me telegrams and letters telling me how much they wished that my husband might have been here on V-E Day to see the end of the European war. I rejoice with them that that part of our task is successfully over.

It is kind and warming to my heart that people thought of my husband on that day. I am also glad that they coupled the thought of my husband with the thought of his successor, pledging the President their loyalty and work in helping to accomplish the objectives of our country. We all want a victorious end to the war in the Pacific and the establishment of a framework within which the generations of the future may keep on building a peaceful world.

I want also to thank the great number of people who have sent me letters of sympathy and condolence. Even if it were physically possible to answer all these kind messages, I could not obtain the paper at this time to use for letters or cards of acknowledgment. But that does not mean I have not appreciated the love shown for my husband and the sympathy and kindly feeling expressed to my family and myself.

All of these letters are going into the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, and will eventually be part of the historians’ material for use as the picture of this period is painted. I think it a very important picture to paint, for one of the things that impresses me is the fact that it is possible, through our modern system of communications, for a leader to be close to many people whom he may never meet face to face. Many people tell me that my husband’s voice in their homes actually made them feel that they were part of his family. This seems to me an important thing to preserve under a democratic form of government, and I hope it will continue to be a tie between every leader of our country and the people of our nation.

We are back at Hyde Park now, and for some time to come I shall be choosing and packing things in the big house, trying to have it ready as soon as possible for the government to open to the public. In the evenings I shall be sorting and reading the great quantity of mail which we have not as yet been able to go through. But the daily round of work will have its interruptions. People will be coming to see us, and the outer world does press into one’s personal affairs with dramatic impact.

118

May 14, 1945

HYDE PARK, Sunday – Every day when I go over and look at my husband’s grave, I find that another official of a foreign state has sent either earth to be strewn over it, or flowers. It will be some months before the stone for which my husband himself left specifications can be put in place, but the grave will always look blooming and alive, which is what my husband liked. When he looked at a desert, he always said that he could recognize the beauty, but he much preferred green trees and blooming flowers to a landscape that looked as though the business of living had passed it by.

Yesterday Secretary and Mrs. Ickes came up to look over the big house and the grounds which the government will soon take over. As we went from room to room, I told the Secretary about the various things of interest, and he suddenly said: “You will have to write the markers for everything in this house.” I realize that I will have to do this, and I will also have to tell the guides the stories about the house. Otherwise, the visitors will miss a great deal that is of real significance – things which add to the interest of any historical house.

Jonathan Daniels was at Poughkeepsie yesterday for a Vassar College meeting, and afterward came to visit us. It was a great pleasure to see him.

I have been getting a good many letters of late about the Equal Rights Amendment, which has been reported out favorably to the House by the House Judiciary Committee. Some of the women who write me seem to think that if this amendment is passed there will be no further possibility of discrimination against women. They feel that the time has come to declare that women shall be treated in all things on an equal basis with men. I hardly think it is necessary to declare this, since as a theory it is fairly well accepted today by both men and women. But in practice it is not accepted, and I doubt very much whether it ever will be.

Other women of my acquaintance are writing me in great anxiety, for they are afraid that the dangers of the amendment are not being properly considered. The majority of these women are employed in the industrial field. Their fear is that labor standards safeguarded in the past by legislation will be wrecked, and that the amendment will curtail and impair for all time the powers of both State and Federal government to enact any legislation that may be necessary and desirable to protect the health and safety of women in industry.

I do not know which group is right, but I feel that if we work to remove from our statute books those laws which discriminate against women today, we might accomplish more and do it in a shorter time than will be possible through the passage of this amendment.

119

May 15, 1945

HYDE PARK, Monday – Yesterday in the old Episcopal church of which my husband was senior warden for many years, we held our service of thanksgiving for the end of the European war. We did not forget, however, to pray that our war in the Pacific would also soon come to a victorious end. People here, as everywhere, have their minds and hearts set on what happens in that area, knowing full well that there will be no peace which really brings us a lightening of the burdens of the world until Japan is also subdued.

In commemoration of Mother’s Day, our minister spoke of the suffering of mothers in the war period, but I want to talk a little today not alone about their suffering, nor about the thought which Mother’s Day is supposed to stimulate in every child. I should like to have mothers everywhere recognize that their responsibility to their children, which they so often think is limited to physical and moral care, is really never fully carried out unless they fulfill their responsibility as citizens.

The life of a child and his opportunity to grow physically, mentally and morally, is largely conditioned by the type of community in which he lives. The health of the community, the measures undertaken by government – local, state and federal – to safeguard the health of the people, are going to affect the life of each individual child. The standards of the schools mean either opportunity for development, or apathy on the part of the child. Poor teachers and a dull curriculum will never stimulate a child of limited capacity to do the best that lies within his powers, nor will they give an opportunity to the gifted child to develop to the maximum his unusual abilities. A lack of recreational opportunities will, without question, mean that more young people may get into trouble of one kind or another.

All of these things are part of the interest of a citizen, and fathers and mothers have not carried out their full responsibility to their children at home if they do not take an active part in making their communities meet the needs of the children adequately. Added to these home considerations, there is now the greater consideration of the world, which is going to press closer and closer to the life of every community. We have learned that war engulfs us and engulfs our children in spite of our own desire to be at peace. Consequently, every parent has the responsibility of understanding his country’s foreign policy and helping to guide the relationship between his nation and the peoples of other nations.

120

May 16, 1945

HYDE PARK, Tuesday – I spent this morning up at the top cottage trying to put it in order for one of my children, who hopes to spend part of the summer there. My husband planned this cottage for his own personal pleasure and relaxation. He never used it except for a few hours at a time when he wanted a peaceful spot to write a speech or to sit and talk with his friends. Sometimes he would choose to have a picnic meal there, but more often he wanted quiet in order to think. The house is not exactly arranged for the use of a family, particularly when there are children; but I am now trying to make it livable for the summer.

A good part of my day yesterday was spent going over the Wiltwyck School. A group of ladies came in the morning who wished to talk to Dr. Cooper and get an idea of the way these young boys are handled. Boys between the ages of 8 and 12, brought into court often because of home conditions, are frequently in a very disturbed emotional state. But proper care returns them eventually to improved homes and enables them to live a normal community life. The ladies left after a brief lunch with me, and I then went over to the big house to work for two or three hours.

As I listened to the news this morning, I realized that our men are doing some very hard fighting both on Okinawa and in the Philippines. I hope it will make us all the more anxious not only to buy bonds in this Seventh War Loan drive, but to do what we can to help sell them. The end of the war in Europe has not made it any less important for us to put all of our savings into War Bonds when we can. The news said the loan started well, but we must sustain our efforts. The more help we give financially and in daily work, so that supplies flow to our fighting fronts in the full amount needed, the more discouraged the enemy will be.

In view of the needs of our fighting men and of the liberated countries, I hope that for a time at least we are not going to complain too much if we cannot buy meat or if the shops do not have the things we would like to buy. During the summer, when vegetables and fruits and fish are fairly plentiful, perhaps those of us who do not do heavy work can voluntarily get along with less meat than we would ordinarily like. Black markets and efforts to remove the price ceiling may seem very attractive. But in the end, that is the type of self-indulgence which brings us inflation and hurts the pockets of every individual, rich or poor, in this country.