Axis propaganda had made a fetish out of physical virility and strength, and had tried to make the wheelchair-bound Roosevelt a symbol of Western democratic decrepitude. His domestic political adversaries had spread rumors that he was in poor health, and would pounce on any evidence that the rumors were true. For all of these reasons, Dr. Bruenn’s diagnosis was treated as a state secret, and reporters and photographers were rarely permitted into FDR’s presence.
