The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945

Michael R. Beschloss

Simon & Schuster, Oct 29, 2002 - History - 400 pages

From one of America's most respected historians, The Conquerors reveals one of the most important stories of World War II. As Allied soldiers fought the Nazis, Franklin Roosevelt and, later, Harry Truman fought in private with Churchill and Stalin over how to ensure that Germany could never threaten the world again.

Eleven years in the writing, drawing on newly opened American, Soviet and British documents as well as private diaries, letters and secret audio recordings, Michael Beschloss's gripping narrative lets us eavesdrop on private conversations and telephone calls among a cast of historical giants. The book casts new light upon Roosevelt's concealment of what America knew about Hitler's war against the Jews and his foot-dragging on saving refugees; FDR's actions so shocked his closest friend in the Cabinet, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., that Morgenthau risked their friendship by accusing the President of "acquiescence" in the "murder of the Jews."

After the Normandy invasion, "obsessed" by what he had learned about the Nazis and the Holocaust, Morgenthau drew up a secret blueprint for the Allies to crush Germany by destroying German mines and factories after the European victory. As The Conquerors shows, FDR endorsed most of Morgenthau's plan, and privately pressured a reluctant Churchill to concur. Horrified, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Secretary of War Henry Stimson leaked the plan to the press at the zenith of the 1944 campaign. Hitler's propagandist Joseph Goebbels denounced the Roosevelt-Churchill "Jewish murder plan" and claimed it would kill forty-three million Germans. Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey charged that by stiffening German resistance, publicity about Morgenthau's plan had cost many U.S. soldiers' lives.

The Conquerors explores suspicions that Soviet secret agents manipulated Roosevelt and his officials to do Stalin's bidding on Germany. It reveals new information on FDR's hidden illnesses and how they affected his leadership -- and his private talk about quitting his job during his fourth term and letting Harry Truman become President. It shows us FDR's final dinner, in April 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia, at which the President and Morgenthau were still arguing over postwar Germany. Finally it shows how the unprepared new President Truman managed to pick up the pieces and push Stalin and Churchill to accede to a bargain that would let the Anglo-Americans block Soviet threats against Western Europe and ensure that the world would not have to fear another Adolf Hitler.

What people are saying

Review: The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman & the Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1941-45

User Review  - John Daly - Goodreads

This is more a book about Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. and FDR than about Truman. It focuses rather heavily on Morgenthau's efforts to influence US policy on the Holocaust ...

Review: The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman & the Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1941-45

User Review  - Margie - Goodreads

A slower read than some of his other books have been. Enjoyed it, but not really a page turner.

About the author

Michael Beschloss has been called "the nation's leading Presidential historian" by Newsweek. He has written eight books on American Presidents and is NBC News Presidential Historian, as well as contributor to PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two sons.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945
• Author: Michael R. Beschloss
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2002
• ISBN: 0743260856, 9780743260855
• Length: 400 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / General; History / General; History / Military / World War II; History / United States / 20th Century