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ROOSEVELT, Franklin D. (1882-1945), President. An archive of 46 typed letters signed ("Franklin D. Roosevelt"), as President, to Charles Engelhard, 5 February 1934 - 29 December 1943, with carbons of Engelhard's letters and telegrams to FDR. 4tos, all of FDR's letters on White House stationery; Engelhard's letters on carbon; housed in two red leather ring binders.
IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE FROM WITHIN HITLER'S GERMANY AND STALIN'S RUSSIA: ENGELHARD'S VALUABLE REPORTS FROM THE HEART OF EUROPE Engelhard acts as Roosevelt's eyes and ears on the European scene in the years leading up to World War II. A major donor and supporter of Roosevelt's Warm Springs Foundation (FDR asked him to join the Board of Trustees in 1938), Engelhard's extensive business travels brought him into contact with major businessmen and government officials in all the principal European capitals. And unlike most statesmen, he was able to move around and take the pulse of the ordinary people. His insights were invaluable in shaping Roosevelt's picture of Europe - especially Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. On 16 September 1936, FDR thanks Engelhard for an extensive report on conditions in France, Russia and Germany: "What you tell me of your travels is extremely interesting." Soviet officials had told the American businessman that they feared "the warlike attitude of Japan as well as Germany, and is quite predisposed for the most cordial trade relations with the United States on a strictly business basis." Engelhard expresses his disgust at "the Hitler movement...particularly on religious and social grounds," but he also think the Nazis would do business with the U. S. when it was in their interest.
On 6 September 1938, in the midst of the Munich crisis, Engelhard tells FDR that "the rearmament including the digging of trenches even in the center of Germany, goes on at a pace which seems really alarming." Roosevelt thanks Engelhard in particular for a vivid portrait of the German people which the businessman sent on the very day Hitler invaded Poland, 1 September 1939: "Hitler controls the German people sentimentally, bodily, materially and financially," Engelhard says, "and while there is a good deal of murmuring, there is no chance of opposition, as long as Hitler continues to be politically successful." Roosevelt tells him "Your visit to Europe on the very eve of the present war afforded you an opportunity to make valuable observations upon those political and economic forces which will determine...the outcome of the struggle..."
Engelhard was not only an eye-witness to Europe's plunge into the abyss, he was also present at some of the most historic moments of the Roosevelt administration. On 30 June 1936, he tells FDR about his excitement over having heard the "Rendezvous with Destiny" speech live: "I am proud that I was personally present when your eloquent words went forth...May God give you strength to fulfill and complete your great mission." A historically significant archive that allows us to trace what Roosevelt knew about the character of Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and numerous other volatile great powers in the crucial years leading up to World War II.
IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE FROM WITHIN HITLER'S GERMANY AND STALIN'S RUSSIA: ENGELHARD'S VALUABLE REPORTS FROM THE HEART OF EUROPE Engelhard acts as Roosevelt's eyes and ears on the European scene in the years leading up to World War II. A major donor and supporter of Roosevelt's Warm Springs Foundation (FDR asked him to join the Board of Trustees in 1938), Engelhard's extensive business travels brought him into contact with major businessmen and government officials in all the principal European capitals. And unlike most statesmen, he was able to move around and take the pulse of the ordinary people. His insights were invaluable in shaping Roosevelt's picture of Europe - especially Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. On 16 September 1936, FDR thanks Engelhard for an extensive report on conditions in France, Russia and Germany: "What you tell me of your travels is extremely interesting." Soviet officials had told the American businessman that they feared "the warlike attitude of Japan as well as Germany, and is quite predisposed for the most cordial trade relations with the United States on a strictly business basis." Engelhard expresses his disgust at "the Hitler movement...particularly on religious and social grounds," but he also think the Nazis would do business with the U. S. when it was in their interest.
On 6 September 1938, in the midst of the Munich crisis, Engelhard tells FDR that "the rearmament including the digging of trenches even in the center of Germany, goes on at a pace which seems really alarming." Roosevelt thanks Engelhard in particular for a vivid portrait of the German people which the businessman sent on the very day Hitler invaded Poland, 1 September 1939: "Hitler controls the German people sentimentally, bodily, materially and financially," Engelhard says, "and while there is a good deal of murmuring, there is no chance of opposition, as long as Hitler continues to be politically successful." Roosevelt tells him "Your visit to Europe on the very eve of the present war afforded you an opportunity to make valuable observations upon those political and economic forces which will determine...the outcome of the struggle..."
Engelhard was not only an eye-witness to Europe's plunge into the abyss, he was also present at some of the most historic moments of the Roosevelt administration. On 30 June 1936, he tells FDR about his excitement over having heard the "Rendezvous with Destiny" speech live: "I am proud that I was personally present when your eloquent words went forth...May God give you strength to fulfill and complete your great mission." A historically significant archive that allows us to trace what Roosevelt knew about the character of Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and numerous other volatile great powers in the crucial years leading up to World War II.