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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-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-45
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy dictating memoranda. President Kennedy dictates the first memorandum to Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy on a proposed article on counter-guerrilla tactics. President Kennedy dictates the second memorandum to Bundy on the policy for Cuba. President Kennedy dictates the third memorandum to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer on troop levels in Vietnam. President Kennedy dictates the fourth memorandum to Secretary of State Dean Rusk on foreign aid, defense, and balance of payments involving West Germany and Europe. President Kennedy dictates the fifth memorandum to Special Assistant to the President Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., on a proposed electoral commission.The recording begins in mid-sentence. Occasionally, the dictation belt skips.