Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JCPW-01
In this interview they discuss their article in Look magazine; personal recollections of President John F. Kennedy's [JFK] assassination; working on JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign; JFK’s campaigning style; JFK’s relationship with the press, White House staff, and his family; and JFK’s trips to Nassau, Europe, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ranch, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-006
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Topics include the establishment of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), amendments to the 1962 budget for additional appropriations to foreign assistance programs and defense, the crisis in Berlin, and the Act for International Development (AID). Also included in this folder are numerous newspaper clippings.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-331-024
This folder contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 94 (NSAM 94) titled, “Steinstuecken and Friedrichstrasse Crossing Point,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-331-023
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 93 (NSAM 93) titled, “Berlin Build-Up,” to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included in this folder is a memorandum to President Kennedy from Secretary McNamara titled, “Status of Berlin Build-up and Planning.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-331-022
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 92 (NSAM 92) to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from President John F. Kennedy regarding a potential increase in military forces in Europe and the effect on Berlin and a long-term defense plan for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Also included in this folder are memoranda to President Kennedy from Secretaries Rusk and McNamara, and Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon in response to NSAM 92.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-331-008
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 78 (NSAM 78) titled, “Berlin,” to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-020
This folder contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 70 (NSAM 70) to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from President John F. Kennedy requesting a report on Berlin and progress in obtaining a commitment from NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies for an increase in military forces.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-012
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 62 (NSAM 62) titled, “Berlin,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Director of the Bureau of the Budget David Bell, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles, and Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Edward R. Murrow from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-009
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 59 (NSAM 59) titled, “Berlin,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Allen Dulles from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included in this folder is a study on Germany and Berlin in response to NSAM 59.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-008
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 58 (NSAM 58) regarding United States approaches to Berlin to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included in this folder is a study on Germany and Berlin in response to NSAM 58.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-329-016
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 41 (NSAM 41) titled, “Military Planning for a Possible Berlin Crisis,” to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-011
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 109 (NSAM 109) titled, “U.S. Policy on Military Actions in a Berlin Conflict,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.