LOOKING BACK AT THE MORGENTHAU LEGACY
By ANDREW KEH
New York Times
Nov 16 2009
At the end of this year, when Robert M. Morgenthau leaves his job as
Manhattan district attorney — the position he has held since 1975 —
it will be not just the end of an era for the prosecutor’s office,
but also the close of another chapter in the Morgenthau family’s
complex, century-long legacy of public service.
An exhibition that opens Monday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in
Battery Park City examines the lives of three Morgenthaus: Robert,
now 90; his father, Henry Morgenthau Jr. (1891-1967), who was
secretary of the Treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and
his grandfather, Henry Morgenthau Sr. (1856-1946), who was ambassador
to the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Titled "The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service," the exhibition features
objects and historical documents. "I hope it will encourage people
to be involved with public service," Mr. Morgenthau said of the
exhibition during a media preview on Friday morning.
Mr. Morgenthau said it was his grandfather who first encouraged him
to serve others, telling him: "I couldn’t get into public service
until I was 55. You don’t have to wait that long."
His priorities were further shaped, he said, by a near-death experience
while aboard the destroyer Lansdale during World War II. On April 20,
1944, the ship was attacked and sunk by an enemy torpedo.
As he treaded water in the Mediterranean Sea, unsure of whether he
and his crewmates would be saved, Mr. Morgenthau vowed to devote his
life to public service, he said.
"I made a lot of promises to the Almighty," Mr. Morgenthau said.
Mr. Morgenthau’s cap, medals and oar from his time in the Navy are on
view in the exhibition, alongside campaign materials from his failed
gubernatorial run in 1970.
Also on display is a note from Sonia Sotomayor, newly sworn in as an
associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, dated Aug. 25.
The message, handwritten in blue ink, reads: "Few can say they have
a friend and mentor like you. I was blessed the day we met. Thank
you for all your support."
Henry Morgenthau Sr., one of 12 children born into a Jewish family
in southern Bavaria, came to New York in 1866. He was appointed to
his ambassadorship in 1913, and is today credited with drawing needed
attention to the Armenian genocide.
A telegram written in 1915, by which he informed the secretary of
state that "a campaign of race extermination is in progress," is
prominently displayed in the exhibition.
Also displayed is correspondence that Henry Morgenthau Jr. had with
his staff and with President Roosevelt regarding the American response
to the Holocaust.
The Morgenthau and Roosevelt families became friendly while living as
neighbors in Dutchess County, N.Y., and President Roosevelt appointed
Henry Jr. as his Treasury secretary in 1934.
As evidence of the atrocities committed against Jews in Europe
began to emerge, many people, including Henry Jr. and his staff,
accused the State Department and the Allied powers of ignoring and
even suppressing information about the crisis.
Officials of the Treasury took it upon themselves to compose a report
that is said to have compelled President Roosevelt into action —
though historians still debate whether that action was sufficient.
On view in the exhibition is a copy of the staff’s original report,
titled "A Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This
Government in the Murder of Jews." Henry Jr., the display shows,
changed the title before forwarding it to the president, out of worry
that his friend would find it offensive.
Three days after receiving the report, Roosevelt signed Executive Order
9417 (on loan at the museum from the National Archives) to create the
War Refugee Board, which, according to the display, saved the lives
of an estimated 200,000 European Jews.
Melissa J. Martens, one of the exhibition’s curators, called the
documents "cornerstones of America’s response to the Holocaust."
Ms. Martens said she and her co-curator, Karen Franklin, were given
broad access to the family’s trunks, bookshelves and closets to find
the diverse objects that ultimately made it to the exhibition.
Mr. Morgenthau is the chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, and
David G. Marwell, the museum’s director, acknowledged the strangeness
of creating an exhibition about his "boss."
But he explained that he relished the opportunity partly because it
gave the museum a rare opportunity to feature exhibits on the Armenian
genocide and Roosevelt’s policies during the Holocaust.
The exhibition will run through December 2010