RADIOApril 10, 2025

Dire warning from economist: Trump’s next move could save—or sink—the economy

President Trump suspended his global tariffs for 90 days, except for China. But is this strategy enough to win the trade war and fix the economy? Glenn speaks with renowned economist Richard Werner, who makes the case that Trump’s next move should take place here at home. It’s not enough, he argues, to pressure the big banks. He must also cut the government red tape and help local banks flourish. Plus, Werner also argues that Trump is fighting a hidden enemy in Europe: the CIA.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Richard Werner. He is an economist. You can find him at ProfessorWerner.org.

ProfessorWerner.org. Richard Werner. Professor, how are you, sir?

RICHARD: Very well, thank you. Good to be on your program.

GLENN: Yeah. Good to have you on again. You are looking at the situation, and it is changing by the hour. What are you feeling, especially you're -- you're from Germany. Are you still in Germany today? Or are you here in the United States?

RICHARD: I'm actually in the US, in Florida as well.

GLENN: All right. What is happening in Germany and in Europe, and how is -- how this whole trade thing affecting everybody?

RICHARD: Well, it is affecting everyone.

Because actually, if you have the sort of lists of terrorists.

And where it was last week. Presently suspended.

If you look at the numbers. For some countries.

There were significant changes. And potentially, even now, that they're being suspended.

They're still in place with China. Very, very high numbers.

You mentioned, you know, in triple digit percentage. Tariff.

To China. And China retaliating. And as it's escalating. That's very dangerous.

Because China is part of the supply chains, across the globe. Even in other countries.

And, of course, the US.

Trump has a point. The US is the most attractive market. And exports being -- so it's true. That the US had some leverage there.

The question is, what do we want to achieve? And how do we go about it, in order to make sure we actually achieve it?

There is a risk, a situation which it will escalate, particularly if there's confrontation now.

Later coming from China, it's a bad guy. And, you know, it's -- it's in Asia. It's very important, not to lose faith.

And not to be publicly humiliated.

GLENN: Yes. Right.

RICHARD: And at the moment, you know, of course that's why they can easily give in. Want to shut the opportunity, the opening for compromise.

GLENN: So what would --

RICHARD: At the moment, the way it's done, it is very hard.

GLENN: President Trump said this yesterday. He said: Look, it's important in China, that they don't lose faith. That they're not humiliated. And he said, I feel like they're being humiliated right now.

So what should he be doing, while still staying tough?

What kind of opportunity, should be presented, to de-escalate this?

RICHARD: I think it's important to take it off the -- I mean, President Trump is very -- publicly. But maybe in this case, where we are at this point.

It's an important thing.

You know, the public focus.

And have some private conversations with China's leadership.

And maybe they even suggest a way in which they may be done. Essentially, someone needs to face a solution that makes both sides look good.

This can be done because the Chinese are as much interested in, you know -- as President Trump is, they are commoners, trading, sort of doing deals.

So it just has to be done, in such a way, that they're not forced into a corner.

And then they feel obliged to also, you know, stand up to all of these people. And to then -- they actually should be at this stage.

So I think it can be done.

I mean, I would be glad to help. You know.

Get me into the Trump team.

I had good relations. I was invited to be the professor of finance as well, the top university, Fudan in Shanghai met very senior people in China. And I've been in Japan for 12 years. And I know how to talk to Asia.

At the moment, it was perhaps -- yeah. This -- this lack of the right approach.

But it's about, as you mentioned, that President Trump is now acknowledging this.

And I think this -- this creates an opening.

And with the right advice. The other point I would like to make actually. Is that I think it is very smart of President Trump to raise fundamentally, you know, the tariff issue.

And how the US has not always been treated equally by other countries. Right?

When it comes to trade and tariffs. That is very valid.

And Paris in history, have been, well, actually mixed. They have been very successful and good for America and other countries. They use in combination with the right policies.

GLENN: Yes, uh-huh.

RICHARD: Domestic policies. That's where I think the Trump team needs some good advice. The Trump team knows the official mainstream neoclassical economics is not to be trusted.

And that's very true. But they're still acting with the right advice. I'm an expert of high brow economics, and I think the US can have 15 percent growth in 14 years like China had.

Which can be done. There is no real --

GLENN: What needs to happen? What needs to happen? What is he missing?

I think what is missing is the Congress doing their jobs. And putting other things in place. What are you saying, that is missing?

RICHARD: Yes. Well, a key thing is -- is to do with money.

And those who create money.

Now, the fed has created a lot of money.

Too much. And has caused inflation and everything.

But actually, normally central banks, only create 3 percent of the money.

97 percent of the money supply normally is created by the banks!

The banking system.

And the banks normally. And this is capitalism.

Where central planners are making decisions.

Private, commercially. Enterprises making decisions.

And so the more diverse banking system.

Particularly, the more small local banks you have, the stronger the economy. The stronger job creation.

GLENN: Yes.

RICHARD: And that's where in the past, the US has been extremely strong. But in recent years, you know, the -- have really reduced the number of small local banks.

And it's collapsed in the number of community banks. And local banks. Almost across the United States.

And that's very bad for job creation, and then competitiveness. And China is the best case in point.

You know, they used to have this centralized Soviet-style system, you know, in only one bank.

And then when they deleted -- you know, in 1978. He felt -- let's forget about all this ideology, under Mao. Chairman Mao. Let's deliver -- let's deliver performance and growth.

And how do we do it? Well, let's learn from those who did it.

And it went to Japan and ask China, what's your secret of success?

And they told them. You need -- you need banks. How many banks do you have?

One bank. Are you serious? For 600 million people at the time. Something like that.
You need more banks than that, how about 5,000. And that's what he did.

He went back to China to create this 5,000 small banks, local banks, billionaire banks. Credit unions. Regional banks. Rural savings banks. Conventional banks.

GLENN: So what does Trump need to do to do that here? What does he need to do to create that here? What should he be encouraging?

RICHARD: Well, first of all, one needs to take the pressure off the small banks to merge. Because the Federal Reserve and the FDIC have been closing banks. That's why thousands of banks have disappeared in the US. Job. Job creation. Job creation. But who is the main employer? It is small firms.

They've been employed between 65 and 75 percent of total employment. And there's a special thing about small firms, and they can't get money from Capitol markets.

GLENN: Correct.

RICHARD: Wall Street is not open to them. The only external source of funding is banks. Local banks that -- big banks don't lend to small firms. It doesn't make sense. So who lends to small firms?

It's only small banks. That's why American policy is very strong. They were going a few decades back. More than 20,000 banks.

And they need these thousands and thousands of small local banks. Community banks.

But the regulators. And the centralization. Have led to mergers. And the number of banks have been going down rapidly.

For some reason, they think it's a good idea. Same in Europe. You know, the European Central Bank says, we have too many banks. We have to close the small local bank. Well, that's how you kill the middle class.

That's really what happens to the middle class. That the small firms are not supported anymore. There's new technology coming out. The small firms. They're not necessarily, the innovators.

But they're ones that have to quickly adapt, adopt a new technology, but for that, you need money!

If you have a small local bank that knows you, you will get your funding. You can upgrade. You can maintain the market share and stay competitive. And expand jobs, basically.

But in countries, where the banking system gets too concentrated.

The US now is at risk of becoming one of those countries.

Looking at the UK.

Five big banks. The small firm gets nothing from these big banks.

They have to do big business.

They lend to the hedge funds. In billions.

And that works for the big banks.

Is it really good that the US is headed that way? No. We have to change that. So we have to change policies, at the FDIC. They have to be bank friendly.

And therefore small firm friendly. And therefore employment friendly.

If we combine tariffs with the right monitoring and banking policy, the US can be hugely successful.

You know, Glenn, just help me to get to the Trump team.

GLENN: I'll put a word in for you. But I'm lucky to talk to the janitor.

So, Richard, let me -- let me go to Europe here for a second.

Because I think what Trump is trying to do, on many of his things is to break this elite, almost world economic forum grip on dismantling the West. He doesn't believe in the -- you know, slow decline of the West.

He is looking to change directions, 180 degrees.

And I think that's part of what these tariffs on Europe and everything else. Is to say, look, we're going in a different direction. We have to go in a different direction.

Who is with me?

Die read it that way, or not?

RICHARD: Well, I think that is a similarly -- is one possibility. And it would be -- you know, that would be a good goal. Because Europe is really still under the World Economic Forum and Deep State.

GLENN: Yeah.

RICHARD: And including the US Deep State. You know, there's variations in Europe where you get that. Sometimes when President Trump ends up arguing with European leaders, he's still arguing with his old enemy, which is the CIA.

They're in Europe. They have all their assets in place.

In the CIA app. You know, the CIA funded his program, which brought Klaus Schwab to the floor.

GLENN: Jeez.

RICHARD: So it's something to realize.

He's still planting the old enemy. He won domestically. But the old enemy is strong in Europe and other places still.

Where they've had to have a foothold to -- to the traditional military foreign basis, where the US army is, and so on.

To kind of -- and that's -- that explains a lot of his friction. So, yes. In many ways. It's good that Europe sees, okay. There will be a change in policy.

But they're just going to now run this bill under instruction, from their minders at the CIA.
Just really engaged the United States, against Trump.

They're talking about, well, we have to decouple. We can't trust America anymore at all.

GLENN: I know.

STEPHEN: And when the reality is, they're now just totally still following their minders. The Deep State minders.

The ONE “forever war” Glenn Beck supports

This Fourth of July, Glenn Beck reveals the only “forever war” he supports. It’s the war Americans have been fighting since our nation’s founding, and we must continue the fight…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Two hundred forty-nine years ago, I think it is tomorrow. Right? Is tomorrow the second, or is it the first?

What day is it today?

So it was 200 -- 249 years ago, tomorrow, that somebody sat alone, in a -- in a one-room hotel room.

And scratched out the words, when in the course of human events. Those are the first six words of a document that is so dangerous!

Still today, so revolutionary.

It was whispered in those candle lit rooms by men who knew. Knew. That if I signed this document, that's a death warrant.

I'm dead!

I'm dead.

But in the course of human events, shh.

Jefferson wrote them!

33 years old. Adams would later say, you do well to revere Jefferson. But he didn't write alone. Basically, I was there too.

And so was Ben Franklin. The ideas were forged in the minds of men like Franklin, who is old enough to know better. And Adams, who was stubborn enough, not to care. And they weren't perfect men. But I love this about the left. They try to make you think.

That you think are perfect. I don't think they were perfect! I mean, Ben Franklin used to walk around naked in his house a lot. That shows, I mean, for as smart as that guy was. It shows, maybe he had a lack of mirrors. But they weren't perfect!

They owned slaves. They argued. They compromised.

How does that make them different than us?
I mean, we should be able to relate to them!

What is it that we tolerate right now?
What is it that we compromise on?

What is it -- what are our failures that future generations are going to go, these people just didn't get it? Perhaps what we should notice is that they, unlike most of us. They were willing to gamble their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

For something that had never, ever been done before. Something entirely new!

The idea that rights don't come from a government, or from a king, or from a parliament.

They don't come from the majority voting. Everyone has certain rights.

You know, for all these people who are, you know -- going in Macy's, and burning down towns. And then stealing clothing. And they're like, because I've been oppressed!

And you can't -- I've got rights, you know.
Yeah. Yeah.

You know who the first people were, to articulate those rights?

You know the only country that actually has stood for those rights?

And we're imperfect!

That idea came from the Founders, that you say you hate.

But the actual rights come from God, which you dismiss!

Think of this. Just ponder this for a second.

That all men are created equal! That their rights are given to them, by a creator.

It's not a political assertion. It's a genius. That's eternal truth!

That's theological dynamite, lobbed straight in to the thrones of Europe.

All over the world, it's still dynamite.

They knew what they were doing.

And I don't mean like, they knew what they were doing.

They had it. No. They knew that the British crown had the largest military force in the world. And these guys, they were farmers. They were printers. They were lawyers. They were a ragtag collection of intellectual and idealists, facing down an empire, where they said, the sun never set on the British empire. Meaning, the colonialism was everywhere!

You could not escape England. And yet, they declared it. We're leaving, without apology!

And they said that when a government becomes destructive of the ends of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness, it's not only the right of the people, it's their duty to throw it off!

Wow. And you know what is amazing? That's not rebellion.

That's -- that's not revolution. That's -- that's responsibility.

That -- that kind of language today, that would have you flagged, shadow banned. Labeled an extremist. In most countries, disappeared!

But that is the foundation of what we call America. The American experiment. And it's that. The American experiment.

And it's just that, an experiment. We didn't know if we could get it right. And we haven't gotten it right. But isn't it worth experimenting?

Isn't it worth trying to get that concept right?

When you fail on that concept, you're like, eh. That's a stupid idea.

That's not a stupid idea. That's the greatest idea of all time.

Why are so many people willing to just quit?

The experiment is self-rule. It's not perfect.

Never has been. Slavery. Jim Crow. Internment camps. Assassinations.

My God! Forgive us, for what we have done.

But at the same time, what nation has done more to correct its own errors?

What people have shed more blood, not for conquest, but for freedom.

Twice in the last century, we crossed oceans. Not to claim territory. But to liberate that territory!

Our sons and daughters fought and bled on foreign soil to push the darkness back, to fight against Naziism and fascism and Communism. And here we are. Here we are today.

After 249 years tomorrow of that experiment, standing at the lip of the very abyss, those men feared.

A godless chaos, rising in the east and a cold atheistic utopia, clawing at the foundations of the Western world. Islamism and Communism, two ideologies that have killed tens of millions of people. Now dressed all in new robes, selling old lies.

And we can't even teach a child where their rights come from. We have replaced Jefferson and Adams with TikTok influencers and bureaucratic groupthink.

We're raising generations to not even know the truth about their own identity.

But to question their identity. And they could be, oh, you're a funny, funny colored unicorn today. What do you want to be tomorrow?

We don't teach them anything about truth, or their inheritance, most importantly. Their inheritance. What good are hot dogs and fireworks, if the soul of the nation is up for auction? What is the meaning in Fourth of July, if we have forgotten the why? If we don't even call it Independence Day anymore. Most people don't even know who we fought against for independence.

They think we fought for its independence! Most people think we fought the South!

And yet, we'll light the sparklers, or blow our fingers off, because we're just that stupid.

This Independence Day weekend, would you do me and yourself and your country a favor, and read the words out loud. Speak the words out loud.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them with one another.

And to assume among the powers of earth, the separate, but equal station, to which the laws of nature.

And nature's God entitle them.

A decent respect to the opinions of mankind, requires that they should declare the causes, which impair them to the separation.

What are they saying?

Look, we want to be decent people.

We want to be decent people.

And we have to separate them.

But we believe it's only right that we tell you why we have to separate. And it's not because of all the bad things you've done. We'll get to those later. It's because we're different. And you don't understand. You have been telling us all of these things, we no longer believe in. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal, and they're endowed by their creator with certain inalienable. Unchangeable rights.

And just among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That to secure these rights, government are his instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

My gosh. Read those words. And let your children hear what thinking and courage sounds like.

That to secure these rights, I'm telling you, the king, who thinks that your government was given to you, by God.

And you are the ruler.

And you will tell everybody what to think, what to do. What to buy. What to sell. What to tax. What not to tax. Who gets land. Who doesn't get land.

No, no, no. Government are his instituted among men, deriving their powers, their just powers, from the people. And that government is only there, established by those men to protect the rights that God has given each of those men.

Let them feel the chill, that runs down the spine, when Jefferson writes, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the government, or from the governed. Let them hear the words, of -- of responsibility. What responsibility sounds like, with courage and freedom. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.

And to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their a lot of and happiness.

In other words, you have the right, you have the responsibility to stop tyrants. And if the government has gone bad, to throw that government off.

But reconstitute a government, that will do a better job at protecting those rights. Not to form a communist government.

Not to do anything else. But you want a new government?

Fine! Let's find the way to make men more free. This is not a metaphor. This is a declaration of war on tyranny in all of its forms.

I mean, I said, yesterday, freedom isn't free.

It was paid for by somebody's blood. But you have to remember, they paid for their freedom, not for our freedom, necessarily.

We -- there comes a time, we have to pay for our freedom. And God forbid, that it comes down to blood.

But at least shake off the apathy. We -- we must renew this promise of this experiment of America.

We need to fight for it as well. An out-of-control government that seeks to rope us into forever wars, over and over again. We're all against forever wars. I'm against it.

I hate them.

But there is one forever war, that is required in a free society. A different kind of forever war.

A war against ourselves, a war against human nature in each of us. Because of human nature, we get fat. We get lazy.

We get tolerant of abuses. Let your children hear you speak these words. And when you speak them, ponder them yourself.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes.

And accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind is more disposed to suffer while the evils are sufferable than to right themselves, by abolishing the forms in which they're accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a sign to reduce them under absolute despotism.

It's their right. It's their duty. To throw off such government. And provide new guards for such future security.

In one paragraph, we make the point twice. And they tell us, look, we've studied people.

We know you're going to get fat and lazy and apathetic. And you won't want to do stuff for transient causes. Because this is really not good.

But when push comes to shove. And everything is moving towards absolute despotism. Absolute tyranny. Then you must stand up.

I ask you to ponder this. This particular part, when a long train of abuses and usurpations. Prudence will indeed dictate that governments long established should not be exchanged for light and transient causes.

And accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind is more disposed to suffer while the evils suffer, than to right themselves.

Aren't we exactly the same people, that their experience was talking about?

Aren't we the people that are more disposed to suffer, than to right ourselves? Because we're too comfortable. Or we're too afraid, just to stand up and simply say no to lies.

No!

There is a difference between men and women.

No! Communism is to be feared. It's killed over 100 million people, in the last 100 years.

No!

Muslims aren't bad. Islamism is!

It's evil. No!

You can peacefully protest, any time, any place. And I will fight to the death for your right to do that.

But when you start burn cities down to the ground, no!

We're just a few days away. And we have marked our 249th birthday. Maybe. Just maybe, this year, can we stop asking what America was, and start deciding what America will be?

Where it just slips quietly into history. In the dark of apathy and ignorance.

Because the only thing more dangerous than tyranny is the people who have forgotten what it took to break its chains.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

We need REAL jobs in America — Trump should do THIS now!

It is clear we need to create more productive, high-paying jobs for American citizens. But that doesn't mean bringing back the same exact jobs of the past in massive numbers. It means creating and supporting jobs of the present and future that will better the lives of Americans. Glenn Beck and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts break down exactly what this entails and how President Trump can make it a reality.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts HERE

The most INCREDIBLE World War II story you’ve NEVER HEARD

One of the biggest American World War II cemeteries in Europe is in a small town in the Netherlands, where thousands of Dutch people continue the tradition to this day of “adopting” a fallen US soldier and checking in on his family. “The Monuments Man” author Robert Edsel joins Glenn Beck to tell this incredible story, which he documents in his new book, “Remember Us.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Robert, welcome back to the program. How are you, sir?

ROBERT: Great to talk to you!

GLENN: It's great to talk to you.

Can you remind me? You were on with us, after Monuments Men. And you talked about this great service that is still going on, where people that -- they were still looking for paintings and pieces of art, that had been taken by the Nazis.

And if I remember right, didn't somebody in our -- our own audience reach out to you, and say, I think we found one of those paintings?

ROBERT: Yes, sir. Absolutely.

The Glenn Beck audience. And Glenn Beck, you yourself deserve a lot of credit.

Because I hadn't walked out of your studio last time. You know, in Dallas at Las Colinas.

Headed back to our office at Monuments Men and Women Foundation office, before someone in my office contacted me and said, we've already had a lead, as a result of your interview with Glenn. And it turned out someone whose aunt had been given two paintings during World War II.

She had worked for the government overseeing Germany, and these two paintings were missing.

We were able to identify who the rightful owner was, and get them back.

So it's a great thing that you performed. And, you know, it's a magnificent conclusion, though obviously a very difficult part of history.

GLENN: What was it like to give that back to the family?

ROBERT: It was a deeply moving experience. We -- the foundation found and returned more than 30 works of art, from paintings to documents, ancient books. Tapestries, to museums. Individual collectors, and so on.

And, you know, when we see, oftentimes, the people just stand there, and they cry.

They don't even know what to say. Because they may have worked 50 or 60 years, trying to find some work of art that's been missing. And they haven't had leads. And to -- to see us standing there, with something that belongs to them.

Not asking for anything in return. Don't charge anybody for doing it. Because we feel like everybody who went through World War II already paid enough.

Words -- words just fail. It's just pure gratitude.

GLENN: I can't wait for you to tell this new story.

Tell me the story of the care takers. The care takers of --

ROBERT: Well, it's a story that found me, just as Monuments did.

I have written about -- in the Monuments Men, I told the story of two Monuments Officers who were killed in combat, one British soldier and one American, Walter Huchthausen. And Huchthausen was killed. He once did a last casualty at war. He was killed in the last month of World War II, and is buried in the American benevolence, American cemetery, in Margraten in the Netherlands. I knew that story, and I had made mention of a young girl who was harbored in September '45, asking for the address of his mother, wanting to write her and tell her, that she walked 5 miles, several times a week, from her house to the American military cemetery. It was called then. To put flowers on his grave. Because her family knew them. And they were grief-stricken to know that they were killed.

And I knew that story too. I mentioned that. And then in 2015, the nephew of Huchthausen wrote me and included a photograph of this elderly lady with this crown of white hair. And he said, here's a photo with Frida, and I couldn't place who this was.

I had no idea who it was. And I realized, my God, this is that 19-year-old girl that is still alive. So I flew to England. She married a British soldier after the war. And I went to meet with her. She started showing me photographs of when the American -- Americans liberated her area of the Netherlands.

And all these American soldiers that they knew.

And she said, you know about the American military cemetery.

She said, have you been there?

And I said yes. And she said, so you know about the great adoption program?

And I said, what? She said, the great adoption program.

I said, I have no idea what you're talking about. So I started doing some research on this. And learned, at the end of World War II, our largest World War II cemetery in Europe, was not Normandy. It was the Netherlands American cemetery, where 17,800 boys and a few women buried at this cemetery by May 1946.

And by that time, every single grave had a Dutch person, a local person, who volunteered to be an adaptor of that brave.

Go out there on the first death date of the soldier, Veterans Day, Memorial Day.

And if they had the contact information for the next of kin, send them a photograph of the grave.
And a letter.

Because they realized, it was okay to adopt the bodies of dead boys.

But where the real need was, was to reach across the ocean, into the American homes and try to assuage the grief of the families.

And they knew some of these boys. And I found it the most heartwarming, uplifting, and certainly unique conclusion to a World War II story that I think has been written.

GLENN: So are they still some of them still doing this?

ROBERT: Not some. In fact, there were about -- in 1940, 748.

American families were given the choice to have their loved ones sent home, or to be left overseas in a military cemetery.

The Army had no idea, how many -- how many families would want their boys sent home, and as a consequence, they couldn't tell how many cemeteries they would need.

We thought almost everybody would want to have the families sent home. But it turned out not to be the case. So about 61 percent came home. About 39 percent stayed in Europe, which was about the numbers from World War I.

Although, the numbers in this area, in the Netherlands were higher.

The -- the graves that are there now.

There are 10,000 boys there. And four women.

8300 graves. 1700 names on the walls of the missing.

Every one of them has an adaptor for 80 years.

All those graves have been adopted, without interruption.

There's a waiting list of almost a thousand people in the Netherlands, to become a doctor. This is a -- not just a --

GLENN: This is --

JASON: A privilege. Because they take their kids out to the cemetery. They turn the cemetery into a classroom. And you go out there. And, yes, there's a somber element. They're instilling in their kids, you're able to think, and say what you want to. Because of the freedom that was given to you, by this American girl or boy. And we don't do that in our country anymore.

GLENN: So this is one of the most incredible stories that I've -- I've ever heard.

And I'm shocked that the world doesn't know this!

Is -- have you -- is there anything like this, anywhere else in the world?

JASON: No. We couldn't even find a comp of any nature.

There are -- that is not to say, the people in Normandy area, don't care about Normandy and other cemeteries. They do, of course. As do the Belgians in other cemeteries.

But there's no place that created an organic great adoption program, during the war, in January 1945!

These people in this area of the Netherlands were so grateful, having been neutral in World War I.

And having not lost their freedom for 100 years!

And they didn't like it!

And when the Americans liberated them in September 44. I'll never forget this woman Freda. This elderly woman I met, looked at me, the first time I interviewed her. I knew her for eight years. The last eight years of her life.

I delivered a eulogy two summers ago. She looked at me, there were the eyes of the 19-year-old. And she said, when I saw that first tank over the hill and I realized, we were saved.

I looked at my dad, and I said, Papi, these American boys come all the way across the ocean to say this. And there were tears in her eyes.

Because they didn't -- they couldn't imagine how we could have moved that equipment across -- across the ocean.

And why we would have cared so much.

So there isn't anything like it.

But January 45, these people in this little town of Margraten.

A mile from the cemetery, organized a meeting of the town leaders. The town who got 1200 people.

And they were trying to find an answer to the question: How do you thank your liberators, when they're no longer alive to thank? And they came up with this idea of this great adoption program, and it's a story that I tell, following the lives of about 12 different American combat soldiers.

Bomber recipients.

Tankers.

Because we don't know that story.

We don't what knows to an American story, when they're killed on the field of battle.

Because it's depressing.

We move on to the next scene in a movie.

Well, I want people to know, you started your program with freedom is not free.

It's ugly.

Let's talk about that. Let's talk about what the cost is.

Let's talk about the stripping line that the body goes through, and the removal of dog tags, one being put in the mouth, if there's still a head. And the other being nailed to the cross, because they don't have time to stencil the names on yet.

Let's talk about that, and let people know, it's not just a Marvel movie. Or a gang war.

This is real. This is painful. And, of course, at the end of the war, when we Americans declare victory, and move on with our lives, there's millions of family members in the United States, whose lives will never be the same.

So it is -- it's still happening today. It's still happening today.

GLENN: The name -- the name of the book is Remember Us.

And take us -- I mean, because that's really kind of the -- the -- the beauty of it.

Take us through the rest of the book, just briefly.

It starts with what?

ROBERT: Well, I follow -- I began what a nice life was in the Netherlands. Until May 10, 1940.

And the Netherlands does not get much attention from World War II, and yet everybody has heard of Battle of the Bulge. And Battle -- those are all within 50 miles of what we're talking about.

They happened around there. Of course, World War II, in western Europe, begins right here in this area. Because the German tanks roll across the border.

So I cover the life of these 12 different Americans. I interviewed all their family members. Some make it through the war. Some don't.

You read the book, you realize who makes it, who doesn't. But their lives converge around this area of the Netherlands. And when post-world War II stories end, with the war being over, remember us kicks into a transcendent moment when the Dutch come up with this idea of this great adoption program. The Americans refuse to provide the names and addresses of the next of kin.

So they're foiled with trying to achieve their ultimate objective. Which is to try to contact all the American families.

And frustrated, there was -- one of the key figures of the book.

A woman who is the mother of 12 children.

Who takes it upon herself. She's a woman of action.

She writes president Truman. And pleads for him to get involved.

When that doesn't work. She gets on the first airplane, she's ever flown on. She leaves her kids behind.

She flies to New York. Lands in LaGuardia Field.

She goes to Washington, and meets the members of Congress. Including a young guy from Texas, named Lyndon Johnson.

Who says, young lady, you need to go to Texas. Because there are so many military bases there.

She flies to our hometown. And lands in Lovefield.

In June of 1946. And is met by two family members. And for five weeks, she lives with American families, that lost somebody during a war.

And to each of them she says, leave your boys with us. When the election comes.

We will watch over them, like our own forever.

And they have done that. Now, today, these 10,000 Dutch doctors only have contact information for 20 percent of the American families.

They couldn't ever get the others.

GLENN: You're kidding me. Where is the list? Do you have a list?

ROBERT: Yeah. The Monuments Men and Women Foundation entered into a joint venture with the Dutch Foundation for Adopting Graves.

Not charging anybody for this. And we have created a website called foreverpromise.org.

And on that website is a list of all 10,000 men and women, more women that are buried at the cemetery, or whose names are on the walls missing.

And it's a searchable database. We're asking people to go and see. Do you have someone you know, or a relative, who is buried there.

And if so, we have a short questionnaire. What's your relationship? Are you aware of this great adoption program? Are you in contact with your adopter? Would you like to be? Would you allow us to share your contact information?

I connected a lady from Richmond, Texas. Saturday night. To her -- to this young Tammy, that's the adopter of her brother.

She's 93 years old.

She was in tears. At the thought when she leaves this world, there will be someone there to watch over her brother.

And that's what we're all about is this connecting.

GLENN: Rob, I have to tell you.

You've really done something with your life. I mean, I know you don't need me to say it.
But what a great job you have. And what a great service you have done for so many years.

Thank you so much.

Please, look this up.

The forever promise project.

You can find it at foreverpromise.org. Foreverpromise.org. Robert Edsel is the author's name. The book is Remember Us. It's a perfect read for this week.