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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.
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-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-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-322-021
This folder contains memoranda from Henry Owen, National Security Council Assistant for East-West Negotiations and Berlin, to various persons regarding matters of foreign affairs including Berlin and the Soviet Union; relations with France; and MRBMs (medium range ballistic missiles).
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-318-003
This folder contains memoranda and indexes of materials compiled for President John F. Kennedy’s weekend reading. Topics include various matters regarding Cuba, United States policy towards Middle Eastern countries, Communist China, disarmament, France, Berlin, and the Soviet Union.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-011
This folder contains summaries of meetings with President John F. Kennedy regarding nuclear weapons programs and implementation of the Nassau Agreement, including the sale of Polaris missiles to Great Britain, French reaction to the agreement, and the possibility of a multilateral nuclear force. Additional subjects include aerial reconnaissance over Cuba and suggested resumption of bilateral talks between the United States and Soviet Union regarding Berlin.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-009
This folder contains summaries of meetings with President John F. Kennedy. Topics include the Pathet Lao and the threat of communism in Laos, nuclear weapons testing and disarmament, and Berlin. Also included in this folder is a memorandum of a conversation between President Kennedy, French Minister of Culture André Malraux, French Ambassador to the United States Hervé Alphand, and others discussing French resistance to the admittance of Great Britain into the Common Market, U.S. attitude towards nuclear weapons for France, and the U.S. presence in Europe.
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-322-002
This folder contains memoranda from Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council (NSC) to McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Topics include negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, France-Algeria relations, Syria’s secession from the UAR (United Arab Republic), and United States military policy in Berlin and relations with the Soviet Union.