What did Eleanor Roosevelt do during World War II?
ER told a friend that World War II filled her with a sense of responsibility she could never fulfill. Consequently, ER increased her already daunting pace to one that amazed reporters, admirals, defense workers, and soldiers. Her wartime work can be divided into three categories: refugee issues, homefront issues, and soldiers’ concerns. Refugees: Well before the United States entered the war, ER worked to make it easier for refugees from Hitler’s Germany to enter the country, but there was stiff resistance to changing America’s strict immigration laws. She served as both an official and unofficial advisor to groups trying to aid refugees from the Spanish Civil War. After Kristallnacht, she worked with the Emergency Rescue Committee, the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children, and the Children’s Crusade for Children. She also offered key support to Varian Fry’s rescue operations. Her support for refugee work was so public that she received hundreds of petitions from people try
