Scope and Content Note
The papers of Charles Eustis ("Chip") Bohlen (1904-1974) span the years 1862-1978, with the bulk of the material dating from 1940 to 1973. The papers are organized into the following series: Appointment Books, Speeches and Writings, Miscellany, Addition I, Addition II, Classified, and Oversize.
The Speeches and Writings File series is the largest and includes speeches given during Bohlen's ambassadorships to the Soviet Union, Philippines, and France, and lectures given after his retirement in 1969. Topics include foreign policy and Soviet relations. The writings mostly center around his book Witness to History, 1929-1969, and include various drafts and revisions, along with research material, notes, transcriptions of tapes, and correspondence. Other speeches and writings are in Addition I and Addition II.
The Appointment Books, including those in Addition II, roughly cover Bohlen's years as the ambassador to France.
Addition I contains congratulatory correspondence relating to his ambassadorial appointments and appointments to other United States Department of State positions. Included also are subject files containing biographical information on Bohlen and his grandfather, James B. Eustis, who also was an ambassador and United States senator; official logs of the trips to Berlin, Germany, and the Yalta Conference, in 1945, by presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman; and transcripts of addresses given by Dean Acheson. The photograph albums and scrapbooks mostly depict ceremonies that took place while Bohlen was the ambassador to France, but also the peace conferences held during and after World War II, and a trip to South Korea and Japan in 1951.
Addition II contains both family and general correspondence, including a separate file of letters with George F. Kennan. Further material includes interviews, awards, estate papers, passports, and reports on visits to Soviet schools in 1955.