Dear Miss Perkins, by Rebecca Brenner Graham

A Story of Frances Perkins's Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the WBZ book Club. I'm Jordan Rich a
new book called Dear Miss Perkins, A Story of Francis
Perkins' efforts to aid refugees from Nazi Germany. Francis Perkins
was a fascinating historical character, the first female Cabinet Secretary
Secretary of Labor under FDR, and as such, she was
instrumental in developing the New Deal policies. Earlier, while working

(00:21):
in Chicago, a horrific event occurred Triangle shirtwaist fire that
stimulated her to advocate for immigrants and refugees the rest
of her life without much fanfare. Fighting an anti Semitic tide,
Francis Perkins was responsible for saving the lives of many
Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. She was accused of
being a trader and a communist and passed away in

(00:42):
nineteen sixty five, just before the US passed the Immigration
Act ending the quota system. The book Dear Miss Perkins,
A Story of Francis Perkins' efforts to aid refugees from
Nazi Germany. The author Rebecca Brenner Graham, and that's the
Book Club WBZ, Boston's news radio