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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MJH-01
In this interview Hillenbrand discusses President John F. Kennedy [JFK] entering office amid the Berlin crisis; working as the Director of the Office of German Affairs with JFK; the Berlin Task Force and the Ambassadorial Group; JFK's attitude towards the German problem and German reactions to the Kennedy Administration; the State Department and Germany; the 1961 Vienna talks with Nikita S. Khrushchev; the erection of the Berlin Wall and the crisis it generated; the Kennedy Administration's reaction and response to the Berlin Wall; talks with Russia over Berlin and the Wall; the press "leaks crisis" on the Germany problem; JFK's working style and approach to problems, according to Hillenbrand; the impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the Berlin talks; JFK's German policy and relationship with German leaders; and what JFK accomplished related to Germany, among other issues.
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-ABJC-04
Chayes discusses John F. Kennedy’s 1961 meeting with Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, the 1961 Berlin Crisis, and the building of the Berlin Wall, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ABJC-03
Chayes discusses maritime labor laws and flags of convenience, the Satellite Communications Act of 1962, and other domestic and international issues surrounding U.S. satellites, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-04
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses American aid to Argentina; American, British, and French involvement in Africa; the 1962 executive order about segregation in federally-funded housing; appointing African-American judges; changes John F. Kennedy [JFK] was contemplating in the Alliance for Progress; the Dominican crisis; the wheat sale to the Soviet Union; the Bobby Baker case; preparing for JFK’s 1964 campaign; RFK’s return to work after JFK’s assassination and disagreements among the Cabinet members and under President Lyndon B. Johnson; changes in White House staff and the Democratic Party; RFK’s political plans for after 1964; and JFK’s opinions of his staff and appointees, 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. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-002
This folder contains memoranda to and from Arthur Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President, on various foreign affairs issues. Also included in this folder are articles regarding former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Morgenthau Plan to control Germany after World War II; and a letter to Schlesinger from journalist and author Theodore H. White discussing White’s trip to Asia with comments on Communist China, Vietnam, and the U.S. Department of State.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-024
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 128 (NSAM 128) titled, “Responses to Soviet Action Regarding Air Corridors,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included is a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memorandum titled, “Comment on Soviet Action in the Berlin Air Corridors.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-019
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 117 (NSAM 117) titled, “Contingency Planning on Berlin,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-336-014
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 158 (NSAM 158) titled, "Contingency Plans for Berlin," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk 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-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-331-022
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-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-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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-009
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 107 (NSAM 107) titled, “Friedrichstrasse Crossing Point,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-088-004
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of State. Topics include the foreign student program, Berlin, the foreign trade program, and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Of note are materials relating to a proposed study by Representative Porter Hardy of the Department of State's personnel policies, practices, and procedures. Also included in this folder is a memorandum from the President to Secretary of State Dean Rusk regarding upcoming negotiations on Berlin.