Eleanor Roosevelt to Walter Kotschnig
Eleanor Roosevelt to Walter Kotschnig
2 July 1948 [Hyde Park]
My dear Dr. Kotschnig:
I have just heard of Jim Hendrick's resignation and the reasons for it. I am rather upset about it because I can think of no one with as good a background on Human Rights and whose established relationships and accumulation of knowledge can be as helpful to whomever the United States member may be.
Jim has always organized the complete working force and it has functioned harmoniously, and well, at least as far as I am concerned and I would not want to work with any one else.
I realize perfectly that the State Department takes no interest in Human Rights and does not think it very important whether the Commission functions or not, but without some one as good as Jim, I think whoever you had as a member would be ineffectual, and I suppose even when the Department is not deeply interested in the subject, it would still want the United States to be properly represented.
This situation disturbs me greatly and I wonder if there is a chance that the Department will reconsider it?
Very sincerely yours,
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt
TLd AERP, FDRL
Although ER did not send a copy of her letter to Kotschnig to Rusk, Rusk addressed his response to her letter in the correspondence below.