Early ALS, two pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.5 x 6.75, [August 12, 1940]. Handwritten letter of thanks to a journalist, “Mr. Williamson,” for a positive review of his book While England Slept, in full: “I thought I would write and thank you for your very kind review of my book last Sunday. I was very interested to read it and I appreciate your friendly comment.” In fine condition. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA.
On September 3, 1939, the same day that Britain and France declared war on Germany following its invasion of Poland, the passenger liner SS Athenia became the first UK ship to be sunk by German forces in World War II. Among the Athenia’s 1,103 passengers, 311 were U.S. citizens, and those that were rescued were safely transported to Glasgow. Unable to leave London, Ambassador Joseph Kennedy sent his 22-year-old son and personal secretary John F. Kennedy to visit the American survivors on his behalf.
The event was a pivotal one for Kennedy, who by October had returned to Harvard after his six-month European sabbatical with a reshaped political mindset. He had, initially, like his father, considered the prospect of war remote, but the sinking of the Athenia and the concurrent war declaration pressed upon Kennedy greatly. After the fall of Poland, JFK wrote an editorial for the Harvard University newspaper entitled Peace in Our Time, and then began work on his honors thesis, which discussed the British appeasement that led to war; the final product would be published as a book in 1940, under the title Why England Slept.
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