lucky strikes and caffeine. he was an experienced social worker, an ambitious in-your-face new deal reformer, but he preferred the company of the rich and the wellborne. they said he had a mind like a razor, and a tongue like a skinning knife. ..

>> the book begins on may 10, 1940. it was a day when the germans had both countries. they had a ploy to invade luxembourg and france. it was the day that was made 10 from 1940. within a few weeks, the rest of europe would be under. on that day, actually it was evening, roosevelt happened to be upstairs in the white house. he had just finished and his

oval office study. as usual, you know, he was bantering and telling stories back-and-forth and telling jokes. eleanor roosevelt had consoled hearing following the death of his second wife, barbara, in 1937 of breast cancer. since that time, the first lady had been a surrogate mother of furies young daughter, who is 87. she lived in virginia and was there today. and so by that time, harry was almost a part of the roosevelt family.

he was at that time the closest friend and confident of the roosevelts if anybody could be about time. president says that harry was not feeling well that evening and he knew that hawkins had had two thirds of his stomach removed at the mayo clinic. because of the diagnosis of the time with cancer. this is about two years before 1940. so since that time, he had been unable to gain any weight. something was terribly wrong with his digestive system. so the president insisted that his friends stay friend stay upstairs for the night in the

white house. so harry was the man who came to dinner. and he never left. [laughter] he stayed in the southeast corner of the white house and the lincoln rooms for 3.5 years. he lived there. just a couple of doors down from the president's bedroom. his daughter, diana, lived on the third floor near the parlor for the whole 3.5 years until the end of 1943. he actually lived in the lincoln room, which was the room that lincoln used as his office during the civil war. the room that was often depicted in the recent lincoln movie. so what he did was set up a card table in that room and he didn't have a title or particular portfolio. but he set up a card table and started doing business with the

president. obviously, he was available 24/7. so is as the nation was drawn into the war during those years, harry was devoted and devoted his life to helping the president win the war. he was shortly forming what turned out to be a lifelong friendship with winston churchill and his wife, carmen time. he would even earn a measure of respect from joseph stalin, the brutal dictator of the soviet union. so what was it about harry? especially in typical of wartime diplomacy.

his origin left a few clues. he was born in iowa. the sun of a furnace maker with champagne tastes. his father, he traveled the midwest gambling on bowling matches, of all things. his father was a ferociously competitive bowler. but his mother, anna, was a strict methodist and a believer in total justice and helping the poor. it was his mother, anna, who insisted that the family settle down and curnow, iowa. the home of grinnell college. so for kerry, grinnell was

impressive at the time. it had an impressive faculty. they were devoted to the social gospel movement. the idea that the principles of christianity could be applied to solve all the nation's social ills. harry graduated in 1912 he followed in the footsteps of his sister, ada. he became a social worker. he became a worker at the settlement house of the lower east side of manhattan. the largest concentration of immigrants live there. for the next 20 years, beginning in 1912, he rose to leadership positions in the whole number of

social services and welfare agencies, providing disaster assistance and relief to servicemen and their families during world war i. unemployment and jobs programs or another can be handled and heading up a huge organization in new york city that provided health care services to the poor. by the mid-to late 1940s, he was among the most famous social workers in america. he cofounded the american association of social workers. as he rose to the top of his profession, his first marriage began to lose its stitches. he married a hungarian born

jewish woman ethel gross, and she had been mentored by many of the women at the top of the new york social scale on the liberal side. and she was committed to the cause, as was harry. they raised three sons. about 1926 or 1927, based on letters and so forth, it appears that harry but she was too clingy and he had inherited his father's champagne taste. he hung out in new york with house and he gambled. a lot of money. and he had a strong addiction to english romantic poetry and had

an affair with a woman and fell in love, and then he hired a psychoanalyst in 1929, who he thought could help him get out of this love affair, but nothing worked. he was on the verge of bankruptcy. feeling in despair with the onset of the great depression, he divorced uncle. he divorced her and the divorce decree provided her with half his salary. the feeling of depression was a godsend for harry. because that's what introduced him to franklin and eleanor roosevelt. and that is when it enabled him, his new wife, barbara, the woman from the office -- they moved to

washington dc. so there you have unemployment in america a 25%. new president, franklin roosevelt in 1933 hired harry to head up the first of several of his jobs programs. culminating with him as leader of the wpa, which was the works progress administration. the centerpiece of the new deal. the mission was to put americans back to work on public works and construction projects. he looked as if he had slept in the office at night, which he often did.

harry achieved spectacular results as head of the wpa. they put 8.5 million people back to work. it also put $10 million back into the economy. once again, harry became one of the most visible members of the roosevelt administration and the new deal. he was on the cover of time magazine twice. he hung out with the kennedy family and other notable families of the time. in 1938 and 1939, the president's encouragement -- i have notes on us this -- harry began promoting himself as a presidential candidate. looking to the election in 1940. he leased a farm in iowa, of course.

his hopes were dashed when hundreds were reporting a story about a comment that he allegedly made to a friend at the racetrack, which did not put the administration in a good light read the comment attributed to him was we shall tax and spend. whether true or not, of course, he denied it. it stuck with him for the rest of his life and became a rallying cry for those who hated roosevelt and the new deal. as if that wasn't enough, in september of 1939 when war broke out in europe, he found himself back at the mayo clinic. the doctors ruled out a recurrence of cancer, but they could not figure out why he was

unable to absorb nutrients. so they gave him a blood transfusion and injections of liver extracts. a combination that was administered to him often for the rest of his life. i'm times at work and sometimes it didn't. for the rest of his life, he was unable to gain weight. his digestive system -- it was a mass. sometimes he is was on the verge of starvation for me before he moved into the white house, he had his little house in georgetown -- a little rented

house with his daughter, diana. he was still recovering. the president had some challenging issues on his mind. the president knew that hitler would turn to the west. he threatened to invade the british isles. and japan was on the march, aggressively sell. the national security is gravely threatened. they were copiously isolationists at the time. the democratic national convention was scheduled to start in july of 1940 in chicago. the president was deciding if he would run for an unprecedented third term or whether he would

essentially politically step aside and become a lame duck. so the new deal had not solved the question yet. the president believed that he had an opportunity to come to achieve greatness as a wartime president. these thoughts were on his mind may 10, 1940, when he asked hopkins to live just a few doors down from him. so what was it that caused the president to initiate such an intimate relationship with his

advisor? well, it was a number of things. the first thing came from roosevelt himself. look instead to the president, why do you keep that man so closely to you remap that man being hopkins. he did not like him. and roosevelt said, you know, someday you'll understand. but he asked for nothing except to serve me. by that time, hawkins had set aside his personal and political agendas. he lived to say that hopkins had razor sharp political instinct. he had a looming and

illuminating way of thinking. hopkins translated roosevelt's vision into concrete action. which roosevelt needed. then he had contempt of bureaucracy and cutting through the red tape. then he had these helpful political connections. because he was helping out with relief during the depression, he knew the mayors and governors. then another major reason why it was so close. this is the key to their relationship, i think. hopkins three presidents move on

like anyone else. he came as close as anyone to gain admittance into what robert sherwood called roosevelt heavily for state interior. unlike mrs. roosevelt, he knew when to be still in the president's presents for one to back off and tell a joke. and then they were close because hopkins was just great company. roosevelt loved to be around him. he was a window on the world that roosevelt could not inhabit because of his paralysis. so hopkins would come back at night in manhattan or washington and regale the president and dish the gossip from the great country houses where he stayed during the weekend.

churchill used as a that hopkins had the gift of sardonic humor. he was very funny. he was very sarcastic. finally, we each shared disabilities. on one hand, a handicap them but then it empower them. roosevelt knew what courage it took for hopkins work under great pressure that he worked, with essentially a dysfunctional digestive system. it was 1940 came to a close, hopkins was living in the white house for eight months and by that time is virtually indispensable.

during the summer of 1940, he moved to chicago. he orchestrated the draft that led to the president being nominated for a third term. then he went to new york and put together a campaign, juki lee the speech writing team and of course, harry. the time came when roosevelt and hopkins left together. the idea that united states

supply the country fighting germany with more material that they needed and they wouldn't have to pay until after the war was over. on the last day in 1940, london was burning and the citizens have endured four months of almost nightly rates under the city of london. thousands of civilians have been killed. on december 29, 1940, the largest single attack took place when hundreds were radioed the st. paul cathedral. they trapped millions around the

cathedral and the city. on new year's eve churchill drafted the cable to roosevelt he said dear mr. president, i do not know what is in your mind. and i do not know what your plans to do, but we are fighting for our lives. ten days later, january 10, 1941, hopkins was in the basement of number 10 downing street, churchill's residence, the prime minister's residence, having lunch alone with winston churchill.

he was an extraordinary man. he played and was declared a decisive part in the whole movement of the war. he said that his was the sole of the shoe of the crumbling white house.

i always enjoyed his company, roosevelt said, especially when things went ill. he could be very disagreeable and say hard and solid things. churchill's words. so hopkins laid the gr laid thek for an incredibly important relationship with winston churchill. then a few days later in england, actually it was scotland. three days later he cemented the relationship with the british people. hopkins was at the head table and he was asked to say a few words to the crowd.

so he rose his class, looking frail and tired and unkempt. he said, i suppose you wish to know what i plan to tell the president when i returned to the united states. i will quote you one verse from the book in which my scottish mother was brought up. where you go, i will go, where you lodge, i will lodge. your people shall be my people and your god shall be my guide. even to the end. winston churchill was brought to tears. but that's not a hard thing because he's like speaker john boehner.

[laughter] but the important thing is that his words spread throughout great britain, especially the phrase even to the end. he threw a lifeline to the british people and they never forgot it. during that time he was in england, there was a period of six weeks that he stayed with subsequent visits to the country during the war. hopkins would stay with winston churchill's country house. clementine was famous for not being prone to get along with people that she did not know. he was very discriminating.

but she got along famously with hopkins. he had a good sense of humor and she was amused by his constant complaints to her about it she long underwear. so he would be in the downstairs bathroom shivering in his long overcoat that was made of wool and his scarf and hat. working on his memos and cable. and she would mother him at night. he would be kept up well over

night drinking brandy. she would put a hot water bottle between the sheets, which she did. and she was entranced by hopkins touch with her often grumpy husband. the poke fun at the prime minister without offending. one morning churchill turned to hopkins and said this water tastes funny. and he says, of course it does, it has whiskey in it. the ntu, a jet of water. [laughter] fancy you are a jet of water. [laughter] churchill said, dear hopkins,

how old are you anyway? that's the kind of guy he was. [laughter] there was another dinner that was hosted in london by the leaders of the british press. the publishers and editors of the british press. the distinguished writers. churchill was not there. hawkins was the guest of honor. the journalists observed what he looked like and he was asked to attend. he was looking shy and untidy. he gave them the sense that while america was not yet in the

war, she was marching beside them and the british people. then the courage and the confidence had been stimulated by contact that henry the fifth had a phrase, a little touch of harry in the night. [laughter] the hopkins touch was not lie. within a few months, in july 1941, in scotland around the cape of norway, down into besieged moscow, at that time the german divisions are marching along the same route to

the gates of moscow. they were captured not just by the thousands, but by the hundreds of thousands. so hopkins spent two very long evening. whatever they needed, whatever they could get to hold off the germans. no strings attached. no questions asked.

from that point forward, stall and respected him. he had a measure of respect. when he saw hopkins, he walked across the room to him. he greeted hopkins. he told people that hopkins spoke -- i won't be able to say this in russian -- it was translated to mean according to the soul of the body. in russian, that was very much an important accolade that

denoted strength of character and compassion the key to victory was holding together the coalition. churchill used to be an off of hopkins ability to focus. so the notable story, the story that's never been told in this book of significance is how harry brought to a conclusion

the hardest thoughts and words of john keegan. and that was a decision to invade north africa in 1942 instead of doing what marshall and eisenhower and everyone was doing, which is to go into western france. there were geopolitical ramifications, of course. let me just close by paraphrasing a few words. in the end, there was a little touch of harry. the two of them -- shakespeare's

king harry and harry hopkins who bonded with the united states and great britain and the soviet union. the two of them -- according to stone, two of them spoke from the sole of the body. hopkins gave his life according to roosevelt. asking for nothing except to serve. and he was part of that group and they were all happy. thank you. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] >> we will take questions now. please use the microphone. >> hello, i was wondering if there was any evidence -- i think this microphone is on. [inaudible conversations] >> is there any evidence that harry hopkins have any concerns or fears about the soviet union and the postwar period? >> that is a good question. after roosevelt died, he knew everything that went on. the day of roosevelt's funeral,

saturday, april 14, 1945, harry was in the mayo clinic where he again was recuperating. we saw him at noon the day of roosevelt's funeral. so hawkins was among the first people that truman had to spend a lot of time with. he had to fill him in about the deliberations leading up to the agreements and then things became in a place where they fell apart. there was all kinds of trouble

at the u.n. organizing conference in san francisco. so her job was to administer the medication medications and keep him off the brandy. louise macey was a character. so they arrived in moscow. harry spent seven or eight days meeting with stalin to try to figure out why everything was falling apart. stalin had an opportunity to really lay out all of his grievances about the united states. among them being the united

states abruptly cut off relief aid and surrender to russia. stalin was not at all happy about that. so the primary issue had to do with the organization and the polish government and who would be in the government. in the agreements were as loose as could possibly be. stalin was supposed to reorganize the government. and of of course, he of here this early, the only thing he cared about was protecting its borders. he didn't care about the u.n. he didn't care about reparations, and that was not his primary concern. his primary concern was territorial protections security forces country.

so they went back and forth on that. the hopkins got nowhere on the issue of the polish government issue of the polish government and they had arrested 16 polish underground people. everybody said that hopkins have done miracles. but they never saw a result of the polish problem.

unlike truman, roosevelt was not backed into a corner and the getting into shouting matches. roosevelt never would've done that. not a lot they suspect it still would've gone away, but it just would've taken longer. george cain said to hopkins

before he went in to talk to stone, he said, essentially, don't try to negotiate. it's not going to work. just back off. you know, you're going to make more trouble for yourself. he said, stalin is not going to do it. of course, he was right. and that was his story. >> in the pre-television era, the public saw very little of roosevelt in a wheelchair. can you comment comment on what impact the do you think that might have had on the hopkins and roosevelt project of the american public at that time? >> the fact that he was not shown the public knew that he

was not all there, but i don't know what effect that would've had. had they seen hopkins at his worst, they had ever seen him they probably would've sent it back out of your. when he arrived, everyone everyone commented that he had a slender contact with life. everyone commented that he does look like he was, you know, in his last days. he said that his mind was fine

and that he negotiated. -- he negotiated well. doris goodman said he knew better than anyone what was going on. but he just appeared on the preliminary conferences. one of the interesting things is the state department. the state department was basically out of the picture during these times.

not a lot so he did get invited and sat at the table every alto. you know, it's a great book, a magnificent book. it was written in 1948 it was a terrific piece of work that was written in 1948. in terms of documents and diaries, it is a wonderful

source and creates roosevelt and hopkins as intimate companions. >> [inaudible question] hopkins position on the atom bomb okay, he was deliberating over the relationship between great britain in terms of who would have a secret and how they would be shared. but that decision to drop the bomb was made by truman and disclosed to stalin after hopkins had come back from his mission to moscow.

he was getting ready to resign from the government. it is interesting in terms of the remainder of his life. he and his wife wanted to go back to new york city. and so he got a part-time job. but he really wanted to write a couple of books.

but they ended up renting it six-story mansion and i asked diana, his daughter. i said, well, harry didn't have any money. any money that he had went right out the door. and louise was a working woman. so have they for this? diana said he lived in his mansion on fifth avenue. he slowly faded in 1945. then he went into the hospital

and he died in january -- the end of january of 1945. >> [inaudible question] >> what was his relationship with remotely and the others the new dealers? well, he wasn't part of the trust. he came in to have a jobs program. he was at the department department of agriculture and obviously knew them all.

>> you talked about hopkins being this unique individual in this unique position. that must've been -- today that would be very cothat must've bet would be very controversial. was a controversial? >> hopkins himself was a lightning rod for criticism. and he was considered to be a rasputin, putting evil thoughts into heads. so the controversy that he had

all those powers. he was the only civilian admitted into the map room in the white house with all the cables. all the cables came in from all over the world on national security issues. he was the only guy admitted in there to go in there anytime he wanted to. so he was hated by the conservatives of the country at the time. they printed all kinds of scurrilous things about him in "the washington post." despite his thick skin, he was very sincere, particularly about allegations against his wife supposedly taking tools from

[inaudible name]. not the jewels that she said she took, but some other ones. [laughter] but yeah, i mean, when they reorganize the state department, he was very severely criticized for packing it with his people, which he did. basically choosing secretary of state. and could there be somebody like that today? well, we need someone like that. pardon me? >> rec. >> because i saw how he cut the legs out from under.

louis johnson was a representative of the president sent to india to try to negotiate a deal with the indians said they would defend their country against the japanese in exchange for independence. and hopkins cut him off at the knee one night in conversation with churchill. so i saw the kind of razor sharp elbows that he had. >> let's take one last question. >> [inaudible question] in question is how do you think the relationship between roosevelt and hopkins and churchill and britain would have developed? was there any memoranda or

diaries that would indicate things? >> roosevelt was frustratingly -- he drove everybody crazy. without the pearl harbor attack, he was stepping towards belligerency with the germans and then he would move back. he would never get ahead of american opinion very. you would make a speech about a national emergency and then the next day he would say, well, let's pull back. you know that it drove him nuts.

what happened is that would've provoked an incident [inaudible] so he kept thinking that the germans were going to declare war over there. i think a big incident would've had to happen. we were attacked by the japanese and most people don't know that he asked for a declaration of war against japan. and then the question was

and then the question was what about germany. and will be declared war on germany. and it was three or four days of a suspense. because roosevelt was waiting for hitler to make the move and hitler had come back from the front and talk to his people. but hitler was not obligated to declare war when the japanese attacked us. he had no obligation to do that, but you do that. and it said that that was his biggest mistake because if he hadn't declared war, roosevelt would have to figure out how to get congress to declare war war against germany. and everybody, of course, wanted to go to the