THREE GENERATIONS OF SERVICE
Adam Dickter
The Jewish Week
Nov 17 2009
Robert M. Morgenthau on Sunday tours the exhibit on the lives of
himself, his father and grandfather at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
– A Living Memorial To The Holocaust in Battery Park City. Photos
courtesy of the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial To The
Holocaust
It seems rare, even somewhat awkward for a museum to feature an exhibit
such as "The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service" that, in large part,
tells the story of its founding chairman.
"This is a unique occurrence, " conceded David Marwell, director of the
Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial To The Holocaust. "But the
family is unique. There is something special in the Morgenthau DNA."
For Marwell and his staff, a look at three generations of Morgenthau
men who gave back to their family’s adopted nation offered an
opportunity to weave together several important narratives.
"We had always wanted to do an exhibit on the Armenian genocide and
on Roosevelt and the Holocaust," says Marwell. "This was a chance to
do both at the same time."
Henry Morgenthau, Sr. was appointed U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman
Empire by President Woodrow Wilson and is credited with calling
attention to the Armenian persecution. Thirty years later his son,
Henry Morgenthau Jr., would play a similar role on behalf of Jews
as a close confidante of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who served as his
secretary of the Treasury during World War II. Robert Morgenthau is
a war hero, former federal prosecutor, 1962 gubernatorial candidate
and one of the longest-serving district attorneys in American history.
Marwell says the exhibit was not intended to coincide with Robert
Morgenthau’s departure from office, but had been planned before he
announced he would not seek a 10th term.
Among the artifacts in the exhibit are telegrams from Henry Sr. about
the Armenian plight, Henry Jr.’s report on "The Acquiescence of
This Government in the Murder of Jews," a tea set used by Elinor
Fatman Morgenthau to entertain Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert’s navy cap,
medals and DA phone logs and a note from Henry Jr. that was passed
to FDR during a meeting explaining that he was "a little shicker,"
Yiddish for drunk, after lunch at a friend’s home.
The president’s response on the same note calls on him to leave the
room "in due time" if he needs to vomit.
That exchange, says Karen S. Franklin, one of the exhibit curators,
challenges the perception that the Treasury secretary submerged his
Jewish heritage.
"Not only did he freely use that Yiddish expression," she says,
"but the president knew exactly what he was talking about."