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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-TKF-01
In this interview Finletter discusses his appointment as the NATO Representative; John F. Kennedy’s character and his skills as a politician; and the proposal of and subsequent negotiations over the Multilateral Force Project.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-067-001
This photograph album, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, documents the travels of the Kennedy family in 1938 and 1939 during Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.'s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Of note are photographs of the family's trans-Atlantic voyage from the United States to London, England, aboard the S.S. Washington; their residence at 14 Prince's Gate in London; a Changing of Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace, including photos taken by Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy with his box camera; members of the Life Guards regiment of the British Army; the Serpentine recreational lake and Kensington Gardens in London; "Barroc End," the home the Kennedy family rented in Ascot, England; Paris, Fontainebleau, Barbizon, Cannes, Mougins, and Antibes, France; Interlakken, the Rhone Glacier, Lucerne, and the Little Scheidegg mountain pass in Switzerland; Cologne and Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany, as well as views from aboard a steamship on the Rhine River; Marken and Volendam, Holland (the Netherlands); Blarney and Cork, Ireland; Vatican City; and Rome, Italy. Those pictured include Rose; Joseph, Sr.; Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy; Eunice Kennedy; Patricia “Pat” Kennedy; Robert F. “Bob” Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Ted; Kennedy family friends, Edward E. Moore and Mary Moore; Governess to the Kennedy children, Elizabeth Dunn (referred to as “Dunn” in original captions); and nurse to the Kennedy children, Luella Hennessey. Many leaves contain original handwritten captions in white ink, although the handwriting does not belong to Rose and the writer has not been determined. Original handwritten inscriptions are written in black and blue ink and pencil on the versos of many photographs. This photograph album contains 150 photographic prints.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-061-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his education, travels, and other aspects of his life from 1936 to 1940. The scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, postcards, and printed ephemera related to his time at Harvard University; his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom; trips to various European countries; and social events and activities. Newspaper and periodical clippings cover a wide range of topics, including Joe, Jr.’s athletic career and involvement in student government at Harvard; the Kennedy family’s arrival in London, England, following Joe, Sr.'s appointment as ambassador; the prospect of British involvement in the global conflict that became World War II; Joe, Sr.'s opinions on and actions related to the war; and other political and society news and events. Others featured in clippings and pictured in photographs include Joe, Jr.’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; his siblings, John F. “Jack” Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, Patricia Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jean Kennedy, and Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy; his grandparents, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; his cousin, Joseph Francis Gargan, Jr.; and family friend, Hugh Fraser. Printed ephemera pasted into the scrapbook include invitations to various parties, receptions, luncheons, dinners, weddings, meetings, and banquets, including a ball at Buckingham Palace; event programs; menus; tickets; and calling cards. Of note are a set of fingerprints that Joe, Jr., had taken during a visit to the Boston Police Headquarters; an envelope containing five bird feathers; photographs of Joe, Jr., dressed in drag for a Harvard theater production; clippings related to his purported relationship with figure skater Megan Taylor; a letter from British Member of Parliament, Anthony Eden; photographic prints and postcards that capture a Kennedy family trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland; a photograph of Joe, Jr., aboard the R.M.S. Mauretania; clippings related to Joe, Jr.’s voyage from London to New York City, New York; Spanish paper currency; an unsent postcard addressed to Katherine “Kikoo” Conboy, nanny to the Kennedy children, signed by Joe, Jr.; a photographic postcard signed by Alois Lang, the actor who portrayed Jesus in the 1934 performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany; contact prints of strips of 35mm black and white negatives that capture scenes from Joe, Jr.’s 1939 trip to Spain with Kathleen following the end of the Spanish Civil War, including images of Spanish Loyalist tanks and damage from the siege of the Alcázar of Toledo; a photographic postcard featuring an image of Adolf Hitler shaking hands with Hermann Göring; signed portrait photos of several unidentified women; and prints of four watercolor illustrations depicting scenes from the Spanish Civil War, credited to “Artillery Lieutenant Luis Serrano.” Other destinations pictured in photographic prints and postcards include Warsaw, Poland; Cannes, France; Capri, Rome, Venice, Naples, and Amalfi, Italy; Copenhagen, Denmark; Czechoslovakia; Killarney and other locations in Ireland; and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Original handwritten captions and inscriptions are written in black ink on some of the leaves. This photograph album contains 164 photographic prints and postcards, 134 newspaper and periodical clippings, 29 pieces of printed ephemera, six banknotes and two banknote fragments, four pieces of correspondence, and four prints of watercolor drawings.