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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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-08-02-B
AR39, ST27
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-08-07-C
AR25, KN20
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-29-A
ST15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-12-06-A
AR30, ST17, KN27
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-06-B
AR18, KN14
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6369-A
President John F. Kennedy meets with the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson in the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) President Kennedy; Ambassador Thompson; Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6340-B
President John F. Kennedy meets with State Department Officials in the Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) Far side of table: United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Ambassador at Large Averell Harriman; Special Assistant to the Secretary of State Charles Bohlen. (L-R) With backs to camera: Ambassador-designate to Yugoslavia George Kennan; President Kennedy; Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C25517
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C25516
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C25515
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. An unidentified woman stands at right. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C25514
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-25-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Clockwise from top right side of table: Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson, Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (mostly hidden), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden behind Director Foster). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-21-62
Meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-20-62
Meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-18-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson (partially hidden), Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden), Under Secretary of State George Ball (partially hidden), Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy stands at far left; President Kennedy (looking down, with hands on table) and Secretary of State Dean Rusk stand at far right; Executive Secretary of the National Security Council Bromley Smith (back left) sits against the wall, near the bookcase. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-16-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson (partially hidden), Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Under Secretary of State George Ball (mostly hidden), Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy (mostly hidden behind Secretary Rusk), and White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger (on far edge of frame) stand at right; Executive Secretary of the National Security Council Bromley Smith (back left) sits against the wall, near the bookcase. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-1-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Clockwise from top right side of table: Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson, Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy (mostly hidden), Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (mostly hidden), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden behind Director Foster). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-523-2-62
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-523-1-62
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7623-B
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7623-A
President John F. Kennedy visits with the recipients of the 1962 Rockefeller Public Service Awards. Listed in the President’s schedule: President of the Federal National Mortgage Association, J. Stanley Baughman; assistant general counsel for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Reginald G. Conley; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden; Associate Director for Research and Development for the Census Bureau, Morris H. Hansen; Ambassador at Large, Llewellyn E. Thompson; President of Princeton University, Robert F. Goheen; Princeton University Trustee, John D. Rockefeller, III; and Princeton University faculty secretary of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards, Robert W. Van de Velde. Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-23110
President John F. Kennedy visits with award recipients at the presentation ceremony of the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. Left to right (in foreground): Career Ambassador, Llewellyn E. Thompson; Virginia Lyon (accepting the award on behalf of her husband, Dr. Waldo K. Lyon, Head of the Submarine and Arctic Research Branch of the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory); Medical Officer for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey; Chief of the Department of Cardiorespiratory Diseases at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Dr. Donald E. Gregg; President Kennedy; Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Dr. Robert Gilruth; President of the Federal National Mortgage Association of the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA), J. Stanley Baughman. Standing in background (L-R): New York Times photographer, George Tames (partially hidden on edge of frame); Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Anthony J. Celebrezze; unidentified; astronaut Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. (very back, mostly hidden); Secretary of the Army, Cyrus R. Vance; astronaut Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (mostly hidden); Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr. (face obscured); Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (Minnesota); Representative Kenneth A. Roberts of Alabama (partially hidden); Senator Estes Kefauver (Tennessee); Chairman of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board and Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. James E. Webb; Senator John A. Carroll of Colorado (mostly hidden); Senator Frank Carlson (Kansas); Executive Secretary of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board and Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, John W. Macy, Jr.; Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner (partially hidden on edge of frame). West Wing Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-23109
President John F. Kennedy visits with award recipients at the presentation ceremony of the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. Left to right (in foreground): Career Ambassador, Llewellyn E. Thompson; Virginia Lyon (accepting the award on behalf of her husband, Dr. Waldo K. Lyon, Head of the Submarine and Arctic Research Branch of the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory); Medical Officer for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey; Chief of the Department of Cardiorespiratory Diseases at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Dr. Donald E. Gregg; President Kennedy; Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Dr. Robert Gilruth; President of the Federal National Mortgage Association of the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA), J. Stanley Baughman. Standing in background (L-R): Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth; Associated Press (AP) photographer, Henry Burroughs (very back, partially hidden); Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Anthony J. Celebrezze; unidentified; Secretary of the Army, Cyrus R. Vance; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr. (face obscured); Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (Minnesota); Representative Kenneth A. Roberts of Alabama (mostly hidden); Chairman of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board and Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. James E. Webb; Senator John A. Carroll (Colorado); Senator Frank Carlson (Kansas); Executive Secretary of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board and Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, John W. Macy, Jr. West Wing Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-23108
President John F. Kennedy stands with award recipients at the presentation ceremony of the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. Left to right (in foreground): Career Ambassador, Llewellyn E. Thompson; Virginia Lyon (accepting the award on behalf of her husband, Dr. Waldo K. Lyon, Head of the Submarine and Arctic Research Branch of the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory); Medical Officer for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey; Chief of the Department of Cardiorespiratory Diseases at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Dr. Donald E. Gregg; President Kennedy; Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Dr. Robert Gilruth; President of the Federal National Mortgage Association of the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA), J. Stanley Baughman. Standing in background (L-R): Associated Press (AP) photographer, Henry Burroughs (very back, partially hidden on edge of frame); Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), Anthony J. Celebrezze; unidentified; Secretary of the Army, Cyrus R. Vance (facing away); astronaut Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (mostly hidden); Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr. (face obscured); Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota (partially hidden); Representative Kenneth A. Roberts of Alabama (partially hidden); Senator Estes Kefauver (Tennessee); Chairman of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board and Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. James E. Webb; Senator Frank Carlson (Kansas); Presidential Assistant, John J. McNally (very back, standing in West Wing Colonnade); Executive Secretary of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board and Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, John W. Macy, Jr.; Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown (in back, mostly hidden); Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner (in back, partially hidden); Assistant Attorney General, Ramsey Clark. West Wing Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.