Discussion inhe auditorium whe he would have done this the images on the walls feature photographs at the heart of tonights conversation the most important was consequential meeting in histy. Of course i am so pleas as we all are we can continue with programs that spanned the past and present to those of the history help to shape t circumstances. And thank you to tse that you respoed to the recent appeal its more crucial than ever with this mr. Programming onlinee are very grateful to the continued jenny was one generous support and look at the msaging these days and returning to tonights program it reaches back to the direction of the country and the globe was being decided not even bthe war which is merely over but the World Leaders from the conference 75 years ago februy 1945 to make a plan for post wor war ii piece there tensions among Franklin D Roosevelt and churchill install and strain the foundatn of the alliance upon which peace depended a perhaps a dying fdr spoke for American Interest without the imaging amating the leership during the war itself so who helped fdr and the other leaders at malta . I cannot be more pleased to welcome someone with an entirely new and originally original take on the topic. Discussing her new book the daughters of yal. And it she tells for the first time a story of the women who company their famous fathers to malta. Daughter of ambassador to the soviet union through the prep new york Sarah Churchill daughter of thprime minister franklin and eleanors only daughter and i have. To the eyes of my own politically savvy women they are given fresh perspective on the drama of the guilt the conference as well as the preparations. Therineunnally degrees from cambridge but also pursuing her jd from Harvard Law School and im ao delighted to introduce my friend amanda foreman. Who will conduct the conversation. And acclaimed biographer and historian tha includes georgiana and the world on fire and epic historof two nations dived which i consider the best book ever writte about the abraham lincolndministration during the civil war also a columst of the wall street journal and host of a grounreaking new documentary series and her next book the world made by women is scheduled to be puished next year by a single in random house now we will welcome her to discuss her book about a powerful fema leader the reprint of Women Joining that night and needs no introduction and along with her father is with us tonight so katrina is special welcome to you also to extend a scial greeting to the roosevelt and kathleen herrimanon we are very happy to have you all with us. It is an honor because it is a direct connection en in these tim of tonights conversation. Before we began lets mention housekeeping details t recreate a robust audience line we do the same use the q a function to input your question at any me during the program. At the end they will be directed to the guests so get your questions in an to tain a copy of the book the daughters of yalta you will have an autographed bookplate from the ahor please keep an eye on the chat function for a link to purchase a copy with the bookplate exclusivelyrom ou bookstore it is the next best thing to dog a reception and a book s signing in the roosevelt room at the roseville house. A couple of other knowledgments before we begin our author writing extensively about his final year he also contributed many nderful artworks to the rose warehouse collection sthank you for being here the great biographer of course eleanor is a woman who wanted to go to yalta but didntortunately she had many other things to do on her own right so welcome. Dorothy a member board of advisors is here and we welcome her and i am tilled myriend kate whitney is here. She has been important to me and my family for half a century and the granddaughter of franklin anEleanor Roosevelt and its a pleasure to welcome kate as well so please join me to welcome our gas. Hello. Thank you harold for that lovely introduction. It is my great pleasure to introduce kathleen. Welcome catherine and i just want to say i cannot remember time i had so much pleasure to read a book such as yours. It is a triumph thrilled to lk to about it today. Thank you so much it means a great deal coming from you thank you for joining me and also to the roosevelt use for having me evenhough we cant mt in pern it is the next best thing so thank you very much. You are a harvard then he went to cambridge so what led you to have this education . Going abo the sound of music and as for mom read to us with the classics and to spark the love at a very young age then maybe going to oxford or cambridge so five yearold me in training. [laughter] so the origins of counterintelligence. Y i will my dissertation looking at the origins of mode counterintelligence during the First World War smacks of this aspt of history has been a great love for you for ny years. It has. Ive always loved modern european history academically also bring it to a wid audience in the form of a book. What makes you think about turning the lens of history the her way . And the papers. It all collided into one project so gratuitously and also as an undergraduate churchl was a word about on of his own and with his political career after i graduated from cambridge but by a sure coincidence and when i just needed a bak and the to the intnational all chose loan churcll society and they werehose researchers for the first time. And of coue i said yes i just did not 24 or 25 years old how i wod do that and through the course of researching i became so fascinated renew a little bit about sarah as an actress and coincidentally ever since i was a little girl there is a photograph on r weddingay she eloped with her second husband and now a chance to learn about her experience dung world war ii i found this completely fascinatin but to see that they were at these conferences and kathleen was also at yalta. So fascinating see y tie is into all three women but it is a snapshot because by the time you get there everytng has changed they are about to be pushed out and then to become prime minister. You are capturing a photograph and a moment in time. With the yalta conference a picture of them together taken february 8, 1945. You can see the grim look on their faces and to see what was playing on them. And it is far from over so they gathered to discuss the four main topics in the hope that does not rise up again and churchill then does not want to walk away from the conference in the polish government has been in exile in london to set out to accomplish at the very beginning and right now how to bring the soviet union and they dont know some potentially there is the chance leading to the death of those soldiers in exchange for that territorial concessions to save lives in the founding of the United Nations and then they feel that the league of nations to think that eternal peace is possible and also thought this was the way to bring it to the International Community so these are the issues butlso another photograph taken from a slightly different perspective and you can see thewo women off to the side you can see Sarah Churchill and kathleen herriman and its remarkable to think these women were there the relationship with their father was important but ey chose to bring thr daughters so was an incredibly important ment so you have these three women sarah and her uniform and are in the middle it was incredible to think of those diplomats and then to think of is history to be the same age of these women and with the remarkable opportunity. I love it. It reminds me of another phrase. But throughout World History learns question for both of them and becomes the assistant ambassador and that has more access to anyone else in histor history. So moving on. She is. People may know about the end of her life a moderately successful actress. Part of her life is incredible with that perspective on her life they were extremely close as a little girl and she has a special bond with her father and thought even if she is very shy she understood the way his brain worked and could silence that as she said and then to be engaged in the favorite activities and spending his hours and quiet harmony together and to make her own way in the world and for class and generation she decides to become an actress and ends up running away with the star of the show who was older than she was and an austrian citizen and ultimately the marriage did not survive but when the war broke out she became an officer in the raf as part of the intelligence analysis also an incredibly beautiful writer in the churchill family decided early they wanted someone to go with him to collect information and record the stories behind the scenes for his memoirs he knew he would later write. So between her experience and her writing ability she was the perfect person to accompany him. She separated from her husband to avoid scandal the last thing he needs as he tries to get the war so she struck up an attachment with somebody who is at your car in spirit although not physically president the american ambassador. So she is single and now anna roosevelt. The only mother of the three daughters shes 38 and is the oldest. Have a shared passion for nature. Wedding and horseback and then to become with their hyde park from new york and on the outside looking in and those political colleagues who have to come to him and the debutante much to her chagrin and then she become a debutante and then a hasty marriage but it breaks down quickly she has two marriage men to overcome any political differences and then to become the elders of seattle intelligence and her husband joins the army in 1943 essentially decides to stay at the white house after that point because i know theres something wrong with her father as he stares off into space, not sharp with the details and mouth is hanging open she thinks its odd and her mother didnt notice the change so she insists he has a comprehensive medical appointment and he is congestive heart failure. Roosevelt didnt know and didnt want to know so she tried to make his life is free of burden so she becomes the gatekeeper in the white house who decided who needed an audience or meet with someone else so when it comes time for yalta even though he doesnt know what is wrong with them for he senses like anna is protecting him in some way so then to be at her father side to be indispensable but for what she knows is the most consequential moment of the 20 century. What is going on with her marriage and her husband are struggling with Mental Health and it is undiagnosed what we know much better today to be much more experienced by the war i want to give too much away shes keeping secrets for her father and from her mother and also lucy and her own secrets and of course cant tell anyone what is happening. So all those tricky instinct they arrive at yalta. And as described on the outside and its all for show. What is your also like . Is like the protection of relationship to reality. And the richness serve the setting. So this is important to understand what it even took to get to yalta. It shows how hard it was so churchill first asked to fly to london and that is the possible felon and of the occupied territory flying at low altitude one of those get shot at on the way and then lands in crimea and then have to drive over the roads 20 miles out all the way down to the black sea coast which is beautiful those are his friends but then until recently had been the headquarters of the nazis in the Crimea Campaign so on their way thetook with them everythinghey could car art, dishes, down the doorknobs. There is nothing there. And then they restock everything ty need and then the themn trains and went south to basically restock and then had to ruisition every day from the local villages which were completely destroyed. And one of the things he would peek behind the curtain and other types given that it is the russians and there is a lot of theory behind the conference itself. So you laid out those political aspects and the relationships that you describe any of those lower fares at the same time. And the only one there is winston churchill. In that relationship and then to increase her own power so she began the relationship shortly before kathleen arrived in london in 1941. And then to guarantee her place and then leave it to kathleen and then she enabled them and the Business Partners and then still writing at their friends with other people are also writing including the head of the raf class with one of the american and representatives and then those views let this time. And that relationship with lucy mercer began not in the traditional sense and and emotional affair and then with eleanor was very torn about this. And at some measure of peace and relaxation. And then to keep a secret which is a horrible position for anyone to be in. And with fdr junior. And with those transatlantic trips between washington and london. This is an amazing where world and that social knowledge and to progress because people thought they had seen too much . And then her son is the official american and photographer and a sophia child there as well who spoke english but he did not allow her to interact with foreigners but the head of the nk bb by his son as the eavesdropping team so his son is listening service other multi generational aspects of the story and then to see 15 balance of power in that the soviet union is significantly stronger and as a rendezvous and to notice that something changed and was wasnt as close to her father she wonders if it is his health but also he has moved away from us a little so was difficult for churchill to accept. She was to have a private meeting with fdr before they meet was stolen and fdr does not so he allows anna to run interference we will make them think we are gaining up on him for churchill is exhausted because he wants to build a bond and then to do this through touchyfeely politics and how that personal connection and the postwar international order. With the intelligence operations. And its quite chilly my favorite scene in the book trying to blackmail and the compromising material. And in moscow and having tea. And the end and tries to imply with some russian men and that is not true also that he dismisses that much to stalins chagrin. Here man is a cool customer and then it requires 2 inches of a with the survey russians might do. Those interactions between countries. But then to go to the links but then also the garden and then deliberately cleared a certain path and to make him around in his wheelchair. And then the doctors to the airfield. And then to observe from afar and to hear rumors that he is well in the links ago incredible and at the same time they go to great links to showcase soviet and russian cuisine and the meals procuring luxuries nobody would expect in a war zone she of these beautiful exotic flowers meanwhile they cant even get glass in the windows for the embassy because they have been blown out at one point churchill said caviar would be wonderful than the next day it appeared. Is a weird combination of subtle intrigue and espionage brother times to be a more gracious host. But one of those in the crowd that you describe lots serve drinking they are off color. With that incredible cocktail and its all going on at the same time. And those at the conference and so then they arrive and at the home of the mastermind and with that conference and then they had a grand banquet also the head was there and he was kept in the shadows throughout the conference and nobody had met him but he appears at the dinner is somewhat alarming that the president wouldnt know absolutely he was everybody at his conference for security reasons. Which is very uncomfortable to say the least in this which was very useful for diplomacy and swapping out her vodka for water there is something very odd. And just to be that age when i was writing it that she was at yalta to be that age and to talk in front of stalin and also churchill and fdr. And then they say unite theres nothing to lose. It is so clever and so apt know those three women so is at a high point for her do you think . Absolutely for each of them the chance to go to delta to see that was invaluable at their father side something they each carried as a lifelong dream. They wanted to be that indispensable person in their fathers life. They knew if given the opportunity but also it is a limited opportunity in the window was closing they had to make the most of it while they have the opportunity were recognized it as one chapter in their lives so it is a high point. Not to say the old and how those fulfilling moments before kathleen that culmination of the partnership when she went to work as a war correspondent and as the ambassador those views had diverged and to hold at arms length is the only daughter who cant speak russian and to establish his own voice at the conference but not lost to the people around them. Do you have a favorite incident . There are so many. Those letters and diaries that they wrote and the military leaders where they see purposes going after fish then it becomes democracy versus soviet collectivization. But looking at the conference and just has a knack for political understanding and that there were some humor in those tense days just like finding the toilet and then they thought it was a kidnapping stunt but it was resolved quickly. It was very entertaining in the conference room. So you writing about a time when these unelected members play an Important Role and the nature that they have Privileged Access over authority to act. That leads to the two different questions as the aspect of women and history that it is unique. And then to have these elected family members or should that be for them hanging around . And then to be very familiar with women and the political situation. And then to make the decisions at the table. And they have unique roles in the political process in ways that are not conventional. And thats what illustrates so beautifully. And then to have a seat at the table but perhaps to think about throughout history and politics and the checkpoints and Eleanor Roosevelt of course and now have a seat with Foreign Policy so they were more creative with those vitally Important Roles but then when families become part of the political conversation , think of it this way and then to accept to some degree the first spouse will have an official role in the administration but we havent defined what the appropriate world is for first children. Because the Previous Administration had Young Children so them to be involved in policy like the last four years. So going back to john quincy adams. Im sure there are first children who had great political expertise and there will be in the future and you want them to be involved but that is not necessarily true just being related is not a credential to be at the table. They were not in the conference room. They did have experience to be there. And also did not have security clearance but not actively taking part in negotiations and where she was taking meetings and then talk about ivanka trump or her husband Jared Kushner involved in the policymaking process. We have a few mines to open up the floor im interested to know. This has been fantastic there are some questions i will post to you now. Considering how difficult it was to go to yalta w did roosevelt agree to that location . At is point they recognize the balance of power has shifted now they need him more than heeeds them he had boots on the ground and ao a polish wakeboard cards. On that she holds more cards. Al he had a fear of flying and then his doctors advised against traveling meanwhile he is dying. So there is some irony there but charge on but churchill is so important to have this meeting and to have this relatnship and to forge such a great advocate for a meeting in personn this dollars and churchill is the only one because he messes around so much that is how important it was and in that inhospitable location. Didhey have any important impact of changing their fathers mind on an iue . It w less advating for policy decisions and more a counselor durg that you emotionally charged time