Diaries of Henry Morgenthau, Jr.

• Morgenthau, Henry, 1891-1967

• Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

ABSTRACT: During Henry Morgenthau, Jr.'s nearly 12 years as FDR's Secretary of the Treasury, he compiled more than 860 diary volumes. These are not typical diaries; rather, they are Morgenthau's daily record of his official activities, including transcripts of his meetings and telephone conversations as well as copies and originals of the most important correspondence and memoranda that passed over his desk. Morgenthau also kept a diary of his brief tenure as Farm Credit Administrator in the early months of the New Deal before becoming Treasury Secretary.Because of Morgenthau's long tenure in government and his close personal relationship with Roosevelt, the diaries also document Morgenthau's involvement and interest in New Deal fiscal and monetary policy during the Great Depression, wartime economic mobilization and aid to the Allies, post-war planning and the so-called "Morgenthau Plan" for Germany, the plight of European Jews and the War Refugee Board, planning for the Bretton Woods and United Nations conferences, as well as other social, political, economic and diplomatic issues.