| Original caption: “Rally for Russian War Relief in Garment District – The scene at Fourtieth Street and Seventh Avenue during the noon hour.” Former 1940 Republican Presidential candidate Wendell L. Willkie (February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) speaks from the podium as the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) gave the Russian War Relief organization a 100 hospital tents. On the podium with Wilie are: David Dubinsky (February 22, 1892 – September 17, 1982), President of the ILGWU; A. Newbold Morris (February 2, 1902 – March 30, 1966), President of the New York City Council; Luigi Antonini (September 11, 1883 – December 30, 1968), Vice President of the ILGWU; Marcia Davenport (June 9, 1903 – January 16, 1996), Chairperson of the Russian War Relief Society; Juri Okov (March 10, 1914 – February 1973), representative of the Russian Consulate General, and Adolph Held (May 16, 1885 – May 14, 1969) was the president of the Jewish Labor Committee. As the personal representative of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), Willkie traveled to Cairo on August 31, 1942, and subsequently arrived in Kuybyshev, Soviet Union, on September 17, 1942. After a stop in China, he returned to the United States on October 9. On November 7, 1942, Willkie received a thunderous ovation from thousands of garment workers as he called for the opening of a 2nd front. Calling Americans stuck in Washington and “armchair generals,” Willkie hailed Lieutenant General Bernard L. Montgomery (November 17, 1887 – March 24, 1976), who, by November 7, was winning the 2nd Battle of El Alamein. Willkie suggested that American generals “spend their time on a battlefield instead of a platform.” “I am delighted to talk to Americans on a day when the Hitler hordes are on the run. It was only some eight weeks ago that spent a night and a day with General Montgomery on the battlefields of Egypt. It was the last day of the battle when he had just stopped Rommel’s advance. He explained what he had in mind, saying: ‘Today we have stopped Rommel. The mopping up of him is just starting, and we are going to finish it.’ He is one of those fighting generals. I compare him, for example, to some of the armchair generals in Washington who take the platform before they take to the battlefield.” Willkie praised the garment workers for their contributions for tents going to Russian War Relief. Soviet soldiers and civilians had high morale, Willkie claimed. “The battlefront of Stalingrad,” Willkie declared, “is as much our front as their front. And may I say, even at the risk of bringing up controversial matters, I think we ought to bring them relief on some other front.” Unaware that Roosevelt and United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) had decided against a European invasion in 1942, preferring to focus on North Africa, Willkie’s calls for a 2nd front were not well received. The Americans and the British were not prepared to execute a European invasion in 1942, especially afte the failure of the Dieppe operation in August 1942. Willkie’s remarks elicited bemused reactions from President Roosevelt; he simply deferred comment, preferring to offer the idea of a future invasion. Regardless, Willkie pressed Roosevelt for a 2nd front when they met in Fall 1942 following his world tour. Yet Roosevelt was unmoved. The invasion of Europe was 2 years away; he would not be rushed into a premature attack that would be doomed to failure with undersupported forces. 1st, the Western Allies would clear North Africa. Then, they would secure the Mediterranean. Only then would they consider invading France. Photo by Sergeant Alexander Drennan (???? – ????) Number 2 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU). Drennan was 1 of several AFPU photographers in the square that day. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0985.jpg |
| Image Size | 943.60 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2718 x 2898 |
| Photographer | Alexander Drennan |
| Photographer Title | Number Two Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 23, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Tripoli |
| State or Province | Tripolitania |
| Country | Libya |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-65705(37) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database