I’d like to invite everyone who’s around Halifax on Sept. 1 to come out to my talk at the Central Library on my latest book.

The Jew Who Defeated Hitler: Henry Morgenthau Jr., FDR, and How We Won the War was published in the U.S. late last year, and this is my first public discussion of the book in Halifax.

There’s a large body of historians who believe the Second World War was the greatest event in human history, and this book examines a rarely discussed but all-important aspect of the conflict: how was it financed?

My answer is that it was largely paid for by the dogged persistence of Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. This is the first book to focus on the wartime achievements of this unlikely hero—a dyslexic college dropout who turned himself into a forceful and efficient administrator.

Based on extensive research at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, N.Y., The Jew Who Defeated Hitler describes Morgenthau’s breathtaking accomplishments: he led the greatest financial program the world has ever seen, raising $310 billion (over $4.8 trillion in today’s dollars) to finance the war effort. This was largely done without the help of Wall Street by appealing to the patriotism of the average citizen through the sale of war bonds.

In addition, he championed aid to Britain before America entered the war; initiated and oversaw the War Refugee Board, spearheading the rescue of 200,000 Jews from the Nazis; and became the architect of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which produced the modern economic paradigm. 

The book also chronicles Morgenthau’s many challenges, ranging from anti-Semitism to the postwar “Morgenthau Plan” that was his undoing.

My talk will discuss the story behind the book, starting with my research into Ernest Hemingway’s trip to China in 1941. (Yes, there is a connection.)

It all starts at 7 pm on Sept. 1 in room 310 of the new library, at the corner of Spring Garden Road and Queen Street. Hope to see you there.