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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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-18-D
AR28, ST15, KN24
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-097-009
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding the United States, Soviet Union, and Berlin. Topics include TTD (temporary travel document) policy discussions, the use of armored vehicles (APCs) in the transport of Soviet guards to the war memorial in West Berlin, and the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and Berlin contingency planning.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-097-008
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding the United States, Soviet Union, and Berlin. Topics include air corridor violations; guidelines for assisting East German refugees injured at the Berlin Wall; meetings between the Berlin Commandants for the United States, Great Britain, and France; and the use of armored vehicles (APCs) in the transport of Soviet guards to the war memorial in West Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-097-007
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding the United States, Soviet Union, and Berlin. Topics include assistance by the Red Cross for East German refugees injured at the Berlin Wall, air corridor violations, and entry points and the use of armored vehicles (APCs) in the transport of Soviet guards to the war memorial in West Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-097-006
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding the United States, Soviet Union, and Berlin. Topics include protocol for East German refugees injured at the Berlin Wall, channels of communication between Allies and the Soviets, and the use of armored vehicles (APCs) to transport Soviet guards to the war memorial in West Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-097-005
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding the United States, Soviet Union, and Berlin. Topics include the closure of the Soviet Commandant’s office in East Berlin and the effect on Allied communication with the Soviets, travel regulations for West Germans, violence against East German refugees by East German guards at the Berlin Wall, and the use of Soviet armored vehicles (APCs) in West Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-097-004
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding the United States, Soviet Union, and Berlin. Topics include closure of the Soviet Commandant’s office in East Berlin, procedures for handling armed Soviet Union personnel traveling to a Soviet war memorial in West Berlin, guidance for protocol at checkpoints, air corridor violations, and the use of escorts for Allied vehicles in East Berlin and on the Autobahn.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-081a-008
This file contains a report to President John F. Kennedy from Henry Kissinger, consultant to the National Security Council (NSC), discussing the situation in Berlin including contingency planning, relations between the United States and Soviet Union, and the role of the United Nations.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-183-001
This folder contains correspondence between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Topics include relations between the United States and Soviet Union, Berlin and German unification, disarmament, nuclear testing, Laos, space flights, and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Also included in this folder are letters from Premier Khrushchev to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and John J. McCloy, Advisor to President Kennedy on Disarmament. This folder contains some Russian-language material.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-323-005
This folder contains a proposal by Marcus Raskin, National Security Council Assistant for Disarmament and Nuclear Testing and later Bureau of the Budget staff member, for the a settlement in Germany and the Berlin crisis; and a report by Raskin and Arthur Waskow titled, “The Theory and Practice of Deterrence.” Also included in this folder is a paper by Walter Millis titled, “A Liberal Military-Defense Policy.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-321-008
This folder contains memoranda from David Klein, National Security Council Assistant for Europe and Canada, to McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Topics include French military and nuclear policies; procedures for the harassment of U.S. military convoys by Soviet troops on the autobahn; travel requirements for East German residents; and negotiations between the U.S. and Soviet Union on German reunification, Berlin, and nuclear energy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-321-007
This folder contains memoranda primarily from David Klein, National Security Council Assistant for Europe and Canada, to McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Topics include Algeria, potential uprisings in East Berlin and East Germany, travel restrictions on residents of East Germany, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and nuclear weapons, and chaff drops by the Soviet Union in the Berlin air corridor.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-320-020
This folder contains memoranda from Henry Kissinger, consultant to the National Security Council (NSC), to McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, discussing potential positions by the United States in negotiations with the Soviet Union on the situation in Berlin and the possible unification of Germany.
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.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24663
President John F. Kennedy meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko. Seated (L-R): Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov; Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin; Minister Gromyko; President Kennedy (in rocking chair). Also pictured: US State Department interpreter, Alexander Akalovsky (standing second from right, in shadow); United Press International (UPI) photographer, Frank Cancellare (standing second from left in background); White House Secret Service agent, Frank Yeager (standing in back, hands folded). Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24662
President John F. Kennedy meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko. Seated (L-R): Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov; Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin; Minister Gromyko; President Kennedy (in rocking chair). United Press International (UPI) photographer, Frank Cancellare, stands at far left in background; others are unidentified. Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24661
President John F. Kennedy meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko. Seated (L-R): Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov; Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin; Minister Gromyko; President Kennedy (in rocking chair). Also pictured: US State Department interpreter, Alexander Akalovsky (standing third from right, in shadow); United Press International (UPI) photographer, Frank Cancellare (at far left in background); White House Secret Service agent, Frank Yeager (behind photographers). Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24660
President John F. Kennedy meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko. Seated (L-R): Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov; Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin; Minister Gromyko; President Kennedy (in rocking chair). United Press International (UPI) photographer, Frank Cancellare, stands at far left in background; others are unidentified. Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-456-3-62
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko (right center), arrives at the White House for a meeting with President John F. Kennedy. Walking with Minister Gromyko are Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov, and Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin. National Park Service (NPS) Photographer, Abbie Rowe (wearing glasses), stands in group at left; others are unidentified. West Wing Entrance, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-456-2-62
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko, arrives at the White House for a meeting with President John F. Kennedy. Arriving with Minister Gromyko are Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov, and Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin. West Wing Entrance, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-456-1-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union (USSR), Andrei Gromyko. Seated (L-R): Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Vladimir S. Semenov; Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Fedorovich Dobrynin; Minister Gromyko; President Kennedy (in rocking chair). United Press International (UPI) photographer, Frank Cancellare, stands in background. Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C.