This Holiday Weekend watch booktv on cspan2. Gay [inaudible conversations] etna [inaudible conversations] good evening. And welcome to the mid Manhattan Branch of the public library, thank you for joining us this evening. Tonights program is jayhawk based on the authors recent book 1932 the rise of hitler and fdr2 tales of politics, betrayal, and unlikely destiny. In 1932, two digression battered nations confronted their destiny, going to the polls to choose new leaders. Americas president ial choices were gregarious aristocrat Franklin Roosevelt or tarnished wonder boy Herbert Hoover. Germany suffered two rounds of bloody elections, and two president ial contests, not a reactionary hindenburg against rising radical hatemonger adolf hitler. As unstoppable politics and economic forces advanced on disoriented societies, merciless worldwide Great Depression bought opportunity for a transformation, perhaps hopeful, perhaps did the. Through fd ares new deal and hit theirs third reich, destiny and and revolted as it did. But revealing history may reveal within the outcomes were inevitable. Before we begin the program, i have the usual requests. Please sidons your cellphones, pagers and any other noisy devices that might in corrupt the program. Secondly, please do not take any pictures or make any recordings this evening unless you have received prior permission from the New York Public Library administration and we thank you for your courtesy and consideration. Tonights program is being filmed by cspan so please hold your questions until the end of the presentation. Our speaker tonight is david david pietrusza, author of several board winning books including 1920, the year of six president s, the lifetimes and murder of the criminal genius who fixed the 1919 worlds seas. 1948 Harry Trumans improbable victory and 1960 lbj versus jfk versus nixon, the Epic Campaign that forced three president s. He has appeared on good morning america, morning show, a voice of america, the history channel, espn, and cspan. Welcome tonights speaker, david pietrusza. [applause] thank you and thank you all for coming, glad to see such a nice crowd here. Two excuses why a crowd doesnt show a. Either the weather is too nice too bad so is right in the middle for all of you to find your way here tonight. Last month i was up in hyde park at the fdr president ial library, i discovered i had forgotten all my notes at home. After i spoke, they said never bring your notes again. Or maybe they said dont ever come again. I am not sure. I am still sorting that out but in any case since then i have gone completely weaned it and it is far more exciting for myself, and jackie mason, i dont know about you or you or me, it is so invigorating. This is why i was asked downstairs where the program started, how did you come to write this book . As was indicated, three previous books on president ial history, in 1948, 1960, have been on this path before and you keep on it but you have to come up with a twist at some point and we have these juxtapositions of jfk versus lbj, the six president s involved in the 1920s, and we have this immense juxtaposition of historic figures on worldscale in 1932 where Franklin Delano roosevelt and adolf hitler run president ial Election Campaign. They take power in 1933. They died in weeks of each other, a few things unite them called world war 2. And look at the parallels, at the subtitle of the book has some meaning. A lot of subtitles, what changed everything forever. We deal with three things, politics, betrayal, and unlikely destiny and we deal with unlikely destiny first tonight, hitler is unlikely by any standard at all aside from Public Policy which we would not want to be implemented as initiating reform, he is essentially a high school dropout, denied entrance to art school, then he goes and essentially living in a homeless shelter, he is homeless on the street of indiana, bohemian of sorts, itinerant artist, ends world war 1, and and he shoots iron to the top rank of corporal, and the personal power, and it should be at been executed, hong, and and those elections, he is not able to propose whoever is running running at. He has all the avengers, that it does not have, and farmland and workers, vacations in europe, and the cousin of the president , the roosevelt, not sure whether he has the right stuff and not just republicans batting Franklin Roosevelt, whether he is white rate, whether he has intellectual capacity or billed to the president , lead america in this time of great crisis. Walter lipman regarded him as a fellow with no particular qualification to be president , an amiable fellow at no great reason to be president. And bernard borough, finance year and philosopher, costing an amiable boy scout. Someone who is assistant howell iii rising to the top in 1932 he is also you are not sure where he stands on the issue. The question of his political honesty, with the administration, remarkably free of that, but where does he stand . Where does he stand on that issue is . One of the big issues of 1932 is prohibition. It is startling to read the accounts of the 1932 republican and Democratic Convention and see in the midst of this financial and world crisis, Great Depression, how much time is devoted to prohibition and halt the tool is devoted to the depression. Franklin roosevelt is decidedly on the issue, you are not quite sure where he stands. Of the major democratic candidates, he may be the driest, he is late in the game in enunciating a position on the issue. He does not come out for full repeal of prohibition until early that year in a speech in buffalo, and here we are in new york city and wheat see in our current time and, mayor and governor of the same party, bill deblasio and andrew cuomo not necessarily getting along, john lindsay and Nelson Rockefeller comes to a clash and they come to a clash with Franklin Roosevelt dealing with the great democratic machine of will in new york city, and certainly crooked, Franklin Roosevelt starts his career as a reformer in the new York State Senate but in 1914 he runs for the United States senate, put the bent opponent and Franklin Roosevelt gets his handed to him. After that he realizes dont fight tammany hall, loans city hall, from any direct confrontation with them but in the late 20s and early 30s there are three big investigations one after another. Mayor james walker, what has Franklin Roosevelt done about it, common socialist leader, rabbi weiss, do something, crackdown, roosevelt knows tammany will control the 96 votes in the Democratic National convention, does as little as pecan and only does it when he absolutely has to, cant be too favorable because outside of new york, the rest of the country, you act like him so he has the dam. Theres a third issue in which he is shifty about it. He was a member of the wilson administration, was undersecretary of the navy during world war i end meant to favor the league of nationss. Franklin roosevelt in january 1932 William Randolph hearst gets on the radio on his Radio Station in los angeles and blasts everybody, just about everybody, roosevelt, one guy after another in national power, politics, and Franklin Roosevelts chief political adviser says franklin, what do we do about this . Franklin roosevelt gives the major policy address at a prestigious venue, Albany County range of state in which he basically says 1920 we saw the lead of nations, time , it will not be a major issue, see you, woodrow. If you wonder what they can count on , as to what he can do to a bring forward a plan for dealing with the depression, back to germany, america has a president ial election every four years, germany is going to have a president ial election every seven years. It is in their constitution. In 1932 coming do again, the president of germany, paul von hindenburg, who had been a hero of german army in world war i and won election in 1925 with the support of the ultranationalists, not the nazis but the old kaiser 45. He is antidemocratic, autocratic, the president in 1929, a new command for reparationss and hindenburgs supports it, his old allies turn on him. By this time adolf hitler is gaining steam. A further parallel to determine the years between Franklin Roosevelt and adolf hitler host 28 Franklin Roosevelt had been reelected governor of the state of new york in support of governor al smith, the president that year and it is so close that smith needs to get on the corner, you better count those votes correctly or they come after you. Franklin roosevelt is either to a 1928, adolf hitler and the nazis when 12 of them out of 400 delegates. They are going nowhere fast at the ballot box but in 1930 there is a big change. Follow 1929, in new york state Franklin Roosevelt wins reelection, the biggest votes of any state governor at that point, more than al smith. The next day people like will rogers right the democrats have chosen their nominee. That is Franklin Delano roosevelt. In germany in 1930 they have elections, hit theirs not these, arise from the 12, delegates on the right job to 107. They are the secondBiggest Party in merger many. The capacity they have for creating mischief now is intense so everything has changed. Jennifer lawle back in 19 32 germany, nationalists he doesnt like democracies and people who posted in in 1925, the social democrats and the catholic parties were sort of a centerleft party, they support him. Everyone he is going to be the guy to stop hitler and the nazis. What happens is the germans vote in march of that year, it is a four man race essentially. There is hindenburg, adolf hitler who has become a german citizen by the fact the he has received a minor government appointment from a minor german state, by the republic ship. And he cant run, there is a in hindenburg 84 years old. There are communists and nationalists. The nazis think they are going to do pretty well. Heinrich himmler gives instructions to his best s. Men, dont get too in fact it is not close at all. In that four man race, by an eyelash and whether or not he will concede are other parties, and i am running again and taking this election to the german people. And people think fine, it all fit their is going to get crushed even worse in this runoff and that will show him. He is determined to run a new sort of campaign. It has been said that the nazis were a combination of the evil and supermodern and in this case determined to be supermodern. He has two weeks to run this Election Campaign and they cant run it, he can drop mass rallies, you have seen these reels but how many could he do in a short time . Not too many. Can he go on the radio . Franklin roosevelt, the fireside chats, german radio is statesponsored at that time, they keep not seas off the air and when they put not these on the air, the first guys that go on, he has got to do it in a different way and does it in a different way called hitler over to germany. He is going to fly to all the campaign stops. Nowadays we say so . That is seven years after lindbergh and excites the german people. Hitler over germany and sweden meanings, flying over germany and going to have power over germany. When the votes counted hindenburgs still wince but hitler has come a lot closer than anyone thought he was going to come and he has done it by taking votes from the extreme nationalists and communists as people go are we going to ever be able to stop him at the ballot box. This is getting worse by the month. In america Franklin Delano roosevelt is blessed by some pretty weak opposition. In the Democratic Party against Herbert Hoover. You cant beat somebody with nobody, and in 1932 these guys, one of the rivals to Franklin Roosevelt isil somebody, where nobody is today. They are pretty much safer it some guys, guys who really want power and position, and the fellows who are taking a chance on the run. They wont do that well. Franklin roosevelt, we know hitler really wants power, Franklin Roosevelt really wants power too and has an organization with jim farley and eleanor roosevelt, he has a working semblance of a modern campaign. The rest of these guys like governor albert ricci of maryland, jeffersonian, and traditional he talks to a supporter and says i could be better known, i dont know any more ideas so he is limited. In oklahoma, the governor pretty much a whack job. He is ready to get into border wars with state of texas, who could take a guy named alfalfa bill seriously for president . Just like Franklin Delano, governor of ohio and people like that. William Randolph Hearst is giving that speech in california when he is trashing every one, there is one guy who is the real american and his name is john mccarty, speaker of the house, garner who had never given any thought to anything in his life. He enters the race. Another got in during the race is offered emanuel smith. Got clobbered by Herbert Hoover in 1928, said, and thought that roosevelt would be a lightweight. And the power behind the wheel chair and the state of new york. Frank, you, the governor, go to war springs, lehman will run the state. I help out, take a room at the clinton hotel, and the executive mansion. Franklin roosevelt doesnt want it. He wants to be an old fan and that room given up by al smith, new york state city to fill the empire state building, and before that happens, two people he really wants roosevelt to keep on, bell moskowitz, very pioneering figure having a woman at the lever of power and politics, she was secretary chief of staff smith, smith really wants roosevelt to keep her on and Franklin Roosevelt does not want a smith person as his number 2 person. Smith also wants his secretary of state to stay on under Franklin Roosevelt. Franklin roosevelt wants no part went this persons name is robert moses. Okay . Eventually smiths danger, he feels the trade by Franklin Roosevelt, it bubbles up to where the 1932 where he is running for roosevelt and roosevelt get off to a real good start, winning the primaries, conventions early on in the year, a couple primaries in northern new england, people warn him dont run in massachusetts because massachusetts is full of Irish Catholic democrats. They dont love you yet. Roosevelt has tremendous problems with the democrats at this point. But he ignores that. He has gotten a big head and gets that far handed to him, crushed in the massachusetts primary and loses in state conventions in connecticut and jersey and performs in pennsylvania, john gardner takes the vote in texas in the convention and in the last big primary comes up as it always does in california. And people put out a flier and says if you are dry for prohibition for garner, if you are wet, both for smith. If you do not know where you stand. Evidently people knew where they stood, and john gardner gets all the votes from california. Roosevelt however still has a majority of delegates, delegates at the convention in los angeles so why is he in trouble . Democrats have a couple rules one of which is two thirds rule to keep the south happy for most of history, pretty well short of that, one ballot, two balladur three ballads, theres a thing called the unit will, and Franklin Roosevelt has five of them, gets all of them and roosevelt people switch and the same thing would happen in arkansas, and start falling off and baking california people, changed, you will end up with somebody really like. Somebody else is begging him, his name is joe kennedy, he is on the phone to William Randolph hearst, a fellow millionaire, film mogul, a mistress in the Film Industry like William Randolph hearst and they had a lot in common and you give it to roosevelt. And goes to a real dark horse and a signing newton baker with secretary of war, and hurst likes a lot of people. Is it albert ricci . You got to give it to roosevelt, give it roosevelt, the top of the ticket, for Vice President you can name both halves of the ticket. Roosevelt gets the nomination and theres another custom back then which people do not have, you are not tend to notice immediately. And from the party in the home tell. If you are cow from college, massachusetts, ohio, warren harding, and says surprise, the nomination every few weeks ago, and the nominee gives a speech. Franklin roosevelt is not going to wait for that. Like a officer of fate of hitler he gets an airplane, flies from albany to chicago, Democratic National convention was. It takes seven hours to get from albany to chicago, three stops in buffalo, this excites people. A new deal in america. In america. Germany, a lot of elections. It already had two president ial elections and they are just getting started. They got to have right stock elections and what happens is the nazis in july of that year move from 107 seats to 230. They are now the Biggest Party and herman during is president , speaker of the house, theres a phrase i love, an observer who is sitting in, calls him half clown,