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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-BBH-01
In this interview Hickenlooper discusses various meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on foreign relations; Soviet and American nuclear testing; the nuclear test ban treaty; the Bay of Pigs invasion; Laos and Vietnam; the Punta del Este Conference in 1962; the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Hickenlooper's 1962 reelection campaign; traveling with JFK to Costa Rica; the 1961 Berlin crisis; JFK's congressional relations; and social occasions at the Kennedy White House, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LWH-01
In this interview, Lord Harlech discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] early opinions on disarmament; dealings with Nikita S. Khrushchev and the Soviet Union; the Cuban crisis; issues with selling and testing American missiles; how JFK’s relationship with British Prime Minister M. Harold Macmillan developed over time and how they worked together on specific issues; how JFK’s interest in politics and foreign affairs developed; difficulties with France over their nuclear program in 1962; JFK’s skills and character; JFK’s different circles of friends; and JFK and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ approaches to life in the public eye, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-26-C
ST05
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-EDAG-04
In this interview Gullion discusses his impressions of President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] character; JFK’s attitude toward and experience with disarmament; President JFK and the arts; and JFK’s concept of the presidency, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, 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.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-THW-01
Wolfe discusses becoming the International Security Affairs [ISA] Director for Sino-Soviet affairs, his responsibilities with that role, the missile gap issue between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as his opinion on various government agencies and their members, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-02
In this interview Ruina discusses the background of the nuclear test ban treaty, including the research and development to improve nuclear test detection capabilities; congressional hearings on the test ban and the nuclear detection technology; different political interests in the test ban debate; and some issues in getting the test ban signed, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-01
In this interview Ruina discusses the Nike-Zeus antiballistic-missile-missiles; briefing President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on the Nike-Zeus missiles; JFK’s comprehension of the briefing material and the type of questions he asked; Project Defender; the background and organization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency; the leadership and organization of the Department of Defense; interactions with Robert S. McNamara; competition between the military and the Defense Department on research and development and for resources and congressional funds; the period of new, advanced—but not always useful—technology; and Project AGILE and counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
RFKOH-WAH-01
In this interview Harriman discusses his role in the State Department and how it developed over time; Robert F. Kennedy’s [RFK] work on the Special Committee for Counter Insurgency in Latin America; various criticisms of RFK’s travels and his work on the counter insurgency committee, especially by the younger generation; how Lyndon B. Johnson supported RFK in his 1964 Senate campaign; RFK’s trip to Africa; and RFK and Vietnam, among other issues.
Textual folder
John H. Sharon Personal Papers
JHSPP-006-016
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-225-010
This file contains memoranda and reports from various government departments and agencies regarding support for missile technology and nuclear aid to France. Materials include a Department of Defense report titled, "Policy on Sharing Nuclear Information, Materials and Delivery Systems with France"; a Department of State report titled, "Nuclear Aid to France"; and minutes from a meeting between President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-296-015
This folder contains answers to a questionnaire regarding the National Security Council; a press release of a letter from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson concerning President Eisenhower’s decision not to release reports from the Gaither Report; and memoranda concerning the Cold War.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-295-014
This folder contains a memorandum and a report by the President’s Science Advisory Committee Panel on Civil Defense concerning civil defense, nuclear war, and fall shelters.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-295-013
This folder contains correspondence, memoranda, and a draft of a Fireside Chat given by President John F. Kennedy concerning civil defense, nuclear war, and the Office of Civil Defense.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-295-011
This folder contains memoranda and an address delivered by Gerard Piel entitled, “The Illusion of Civil Defense,” concerning civil defense, fallout shelters, and what to expect in the event of a nuclear war.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-295-010
This folder contains memoranda and a draft of a booklet concerning civil defense, fallout shelters, and what to expect in the event of a nuclear war.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Lee C. White
JFKWHSFLCW-003-008
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Lee C. White
JFKWHSFLCW-002-003
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-306-009
This folder contains memoranda from numerous government departments and agencies regarding legislation proposed by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) for the private ownership of special nuclear materials and the civilian nuclear power program.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-307-006
This folder contains a report to the United States Congress from President John F. Kennedy titled, “United States Aeronautics and Space Activities, 1961,” summarizing actions by various departments and agencies related to the U.S. space program. Topics include communication satellites, a reorganization of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), nuclear testing, meteorological studies, space sciences, and manned space flight. Also included in this folder are telegrams and memoranda concerning astronaut Colonel John Glenn’s successful orbit around the Earth, a directive from the Department of Defense for military space programs, and Soviet Union criticisms of the U.S. space program.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-322-019
This folder contains memoranda from Richard E. Neustadt, advisor to John F. Kennedy, regarding staffing issues and the transition into the White House, including a memo discussing President Franklin Roosevelt’s staffing of the White House, and approaches for various departments and agencies. Also included in this folder are memoranda from Neustadt to President Kennedy on numerous administrative policies, Great Britain and the European Common Market, and a study of the Skybolt missile program and its subsequent cancellation.