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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-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
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-JEN-05
In this interview Nolan discusses Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] right after John F. Kennedy’s assassination; RFK’s speeches and appearances in early 1964 and his plans to leave the Department of Justice; the trip to Europe in the summer of 1964; planning RFK’s visit to Poland; RFK in Germany and Poland; and RFK’s decision to run for Senate in New York in 1964 and his campaign, among other issues.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-200-002
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks at the United States Headquarters in West Berlin, Germany. In his speech the President commends the United States military forces for their efforts concerning German-Soviet relations and the division of the city of Berlin.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-042-001
This photograph album, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, documents her travels as a young woman, specifically a 1911 Boston Chamber of Commerce trip to Europe, as well as later social activities and family vacations during the first several years of her marriage to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. Photographs of the Boston Chamber of Commerce trip, on which Rose and her sister, Agnes, accompanied their father, then-Mayor of Boston, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, capture the trans-Atlantic voyage aboard the R.M.S. Franconia, as well as numerous travel destinations, including Ireland, England, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Cities that are pictured include London, England; Paris, France; Hamburg, Dresden, Nuremberg, and Berlin, Germany; and Vienna, Austria. Other locations and landmarks pictured include the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Loreley Rock in Germany, the Rhine River, and the Alps. Later photographs, dated between 1916 and 1923, document Fitzgerald and Kennedy family vacations in Palm Beach, Florida, and Poland Spring, Maine, as well as other events and activities. Of note are photographs of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., as a baby at the Kennedy family home on Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts; of Rose's brother, Thomas A. Fitzgerald, posing in military dress; and of a Cecilian Guild picnic in June 1921. Others who appear in the album include Rose's mother, Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; her brothers, John F. Fitzgerald, Jr., and Frederick H. Fitzgerald; and family friends and associates, including Sir Thomas Lipton; John Hays Hammond, Sr.; Francis Abott Goodhue, Jr.; Lillian M. "Lilla" Morrison; and Hugh Nawn. Original handwritten captions are written in white ink on the leaves beneath many photographs, or in black ink and pencil on the rectos of some photographs. Some photographs, including five full panoramic views, were printed on postcard stock. This photograph album contains 171 photographic prints.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-027
This folder contains telegrams and summaries of meetings regarding Soviet Union troops stopping and holding United States military convoys on the autobahn in Berlin, Germany. Also included in this folder are memoranda by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on possible intentions by the Soviets for the delays.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-012
This folder contains memoranda to President John F. Kennedy from General Maxwell Taylor, Military Representative to the President. Topics include Soviet Union aggression in Berlin and United States response, an increase in military divisions to Europe, and a trip by General Taylor to Saigon to assess the situation in South Vietnam (officially known as the Republic of Vietnam) and its conflict with North Vietnam (officially known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam).
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-003
This folder contains memoranda to and from Arthur Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President, on various issues including Berlin, renegotiation of United States military bases in Spain and Portugal, an announcement of plans for a future presidential library for President John F. Kennedy, and the reassignment of Chester Bowles from Undersecretary of State. Also included in this folder is a copy of a speech given by Schlesinger before the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi, India titled, “Ideology vs. Democracy.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-320-012
This folder contains memoranda primarily from Carl Kaysen, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, to McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Topics include development aid to Tanganyika (later known as Tanzania); a United States military base in Okinawa, Japan; and Berlin negotiations and a visit by Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic) Konrad Adenauer.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-045-029
This folder contains a press copy of President John F. Kennedy's remarks at the United States Headquarters in West Berlin, Germany. In his speech the President commends the United States military forces for their efforts to maintain the independence of West Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-054-017
This folder contains background material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, for the President's News Conference of August 10, 1961 (News Conference 15). Materials primarily consist of memorandums and briefing papers for the President on domestic and foreign affairs and national security. Of note are briefing papers concerning the Berlin situation and a memorandum with attachments regarding Senator J. William Fulbright's concern about the proper conduct for military officers involved in educating the public about the dangers of communism.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-276-011
This folder contains messages from the Staff Communications Office of the United States Department of the Army, primarily for the LIVE OAK group, regarding harassment of U.S. military convoys by Soviet Union troops on the Autobahn, schedules and activity of Soviet flights in the Berlin air corridors, and an incident involving Soviet troops firing on a U.S. military convoy vehicle and the Soviet response. Also included in this folder are memoranda concerning the time required to move United States battle groups or battalions by land to Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-065-009
This folder contains memoranda between the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Special Assistant to the President. Topics include a letter relaying a conversation between Schlesinger and the Counselor of the Soviet Embassy Mr. Kornienko, Berlin, the John Birch Society, Vietnam, and a proposal to organize the democratic parties of the world. Of note are letters and newspaper clippings concerning Army indoctrination abuses and a related seminar in San Antonio, Texas.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-116-001
Sound recording of three meetings. First is a meeting held on October 11, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, President Kennedy’s Berlin Representative General Lucius Clay, Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, Military Aide to the President General Chester Clifton, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze, Special Military Assistant to the President General Maxwell Taylor, National Security Council (NSC) Assistant for Europe and Canada David Klein, and Executive Secretary of the NSC Bromley Smith. President Kennedy and his staff review in detail recent issues that Allied troops have faced regarding convoy holdups by the Soviet Union in Berlin, Germany. They discuss changes to the dismount instructions for Berlin convoys and also discuss having talks with Allies concerning these changes. One segment of this recording totaling 29 seconds has been removed in accordance with Section 3.4 (b) (1), (3) of Executive Order 13526.Second is an October 16, 1963, meeting on the Dominican Republic. This meeting is closed in full under NLK-10-154a and NLK-01-393-6-4-7: one segment of the recording totaling 38 minutes and 48 seconds has been removed.
Third is a meeting on Berlin, Germany, held on October 21, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Ambassador-at-Large Llewellyn Thompson, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs William Tyler, Under Secretary of State George Ball, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Richard Davis; John Ausland from the Department of State; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze, Special Military Assistant to the President General Maxwell Taylor, President Kennedy’s Berlin Representative General Lucius Clay, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, and the following meeting participants listed in the President's schedule: Mr. Janney, Mr. Whitman, Colonel William Smith, and Mr. Diklein. This meeting is similar to a meeting that was held on October 11, 1963. They review recent problems with the Soviets on convoy procedures. They debate further the sorts of discussions that need to be held with officials of the Soviet Union concerning these ongoing problems. One segment of the recording totaling 26 seconds has been removed in accordance with Section 3.4 (b) (1), (3) of Executive Order 13526.
This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 116/A52, which contains additional sound recording(s) following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 116/A52 in its entirety.