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Transcripts from the Gerald S. and Deborah H. Strober oral history collection, 1989-1996

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Transcripts of oral history interviews of the John F. Kennedy Presidency, 1989-1992
Oral history interviews conducted by Gerald S. and Deborah H. Strober for their book entitled "Let Us Begin Anew": An Oral History of the Kennedy Presidency.
BOX-FOLDER 1/1 Oral history interview with Morris Abram, 1992-05-12
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on May 12, 1992, over the telephone.
Morris Abram (1918-2000) was a Jewish-American lawyer from Georgia who was a civil rights activist and associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the John F. Kennedy administration. During the Kennedy administration he was a general counsel, Peace Corps member (1961), and a member of the U.N. Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Persecution of Minorities (1962-1964).
Abram discusses his experiences with the John F. Kennedy administration, specifically concerning civil rights issues. He speaks of Kennedy's relations with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Luther King, Sr.; Lyndon Johnson; the Warren Commission, Kennedy's philandering, and J. Edgar Hoover; Adlai Stevenson; Dean Rusk; the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and "Camelot."
BOX-FOLDER 1/2 Oral history interview with Alexei Adzhubei, 1991-02-27
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on February 2, 1991, in Moscow, Russia.
Adzhubei was the son-in-law of Nikita Khrushchev and was in Khrushchev's inner circle during his tenure as the USSR's head-of-state. He was chief editor of the newspaper Izvestia and conducted the first exclusive Soviet interview with an American president. He also acted as a behind-the-scenes liaison between Khrushchev and Kennedy's inner circle.
Son-in-law of and aide to Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev and editor-in-chief of the Soviet era newspaper, Izvestia. Adzubei relates his memories of working under Khrushchev and socializing with the Kennedys. He discusses the circumstances behind his exclusive interview of President Kennedy; Khrushchev's reactions to the Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy's assassination; his relationship with Kennedy's press secretary, Pierre Salinger; and how Khrushchev impacted the waning Soviet empire.
BOX-FOLDER 1/3 Oral history interview with David Bell, 1992-01-22
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on January 22, 1992 ; recorded in Cambridge, Mass.
Bell was Director of the Bureau of the Budget (1961-1962) and an administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) from 1963-1966. After his government service he would serve as a vice-president of the Ford Foundation.
Bell discusses the circumstances of his entry into the Kennedy administration as Budget Director and into the Agency for International Development (AID). He speaks of how Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon and general economic issues during the Kennedy years.
BOX-FOLDER 1/4 Oral history interview with Richard Bissell, 1991-06-03
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on June 3, 1991 ; recorded in Farmington, Conn.
Bissell was Deputy Director of Plans for the CIA (1959-1962). He was a key official behind development of the U-2 spy plane and the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Bissell discusses the CIA's role in the Kennedy administration; including his general reading on John F. Kennedy and the 1960 campaign; extensively on Cuba, plans to assassinate Castro, and the Bay of Pigs; Robert Kennedy; Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.; Ted Sorenson; Vietnam and Diem assassination; National Security Council meetings; and the Kennedy brothers' relations to the rest of the government.
BOX-FOLDER 1/5 Oral history interview with Julian Bond, 1989-11-21
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on November 21, 1989 ; recorded in Cambridge, Mass.
Bond was a founder and member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and a contemporary of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960's. He later went on to serve as a member of the Georgia legislature, serve as president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and serve as the chairman of the NAACP.
Bond discusses his role in Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1960's. He mostly speaks about the Civil Rights Movement, including: the freedom riders; Birmingham, Ala.; James Meredith and Ole Miss; the March on Washington; Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis. He also discusses his personal opinions on President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and the assassinations of JFK and MLK.
BOX-FOLDER 1/6 Oral history interview with Bernard Boutin, 1991-11-29
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on November 29, 1991 ; recorded over the telephone.
Boutin was Deputy Administrator (1961), later Administrator (1962-1964) of the General Services Administration.
Boutin discusses the election of 1960; his role in Kennedy's campaign and the events that occurred during it and the Democratic National Convention. He talks about his work for the General Services Administration (GSA). He also discusses John and Robert Kennedy's relationship with each other and their relationships with Lyndon Johnson. He concludes by talking about Kennedy's assassination in Dallas.
BOX-FOLDER 1/7 Oral history interview with Ben Bradlee, 1992-01-29
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on January 29, 1992 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Bradlee was the Washington bureau chief of Newsweek magazine during the Kennedy administration. He would go on to achieve greater journalistic prominence as the editor of the Washington Post newspaper.
Bradlee discusses President Kennedy's takes on the Cuban crises, civil rights, and Vietnam. He also goes into the relationships between the Kennedy brothers, Lyndon Johnson, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, staff politics, and Kennedy's Irish heritage.
BOX-FOLDER 1/8 Oral history interview with Willy Brandt, 1991-01-29
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober in 1991 (exact date in question) ; recorded in Bonn, West Germany.
Brandt was a West German politician and the mayor of West Berlin during the Kennedy administration. He was a major leader of the German Social Democratic Party (SDP) and was Chancellor of West Germany (1969-1974).
Brandt, the mayor of [West] Berlin, discusses the issues and incidences surrounding the Berlin crises of the early 1960's, including the construction of the Berlin Wall and Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berlinner" speech. He also gives his opinions on the Kennedys and his foreign policy advisors and the assassination.
BOX-FOLDER 1/9 Oral history interview with Edmund Brown, Sr., 1991-05-06
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober in May 1991 (day uncertain) ; recorded in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Brown was Attorney General of California during the early years of Kennedy's presidency and governor of California during the later years of his presidency
Brown discusses the 1960 Democratic primary and presidential campaigns, Californian issues during the Kennedy years, the religious issue of Kennedy's Catholicism, Richard Nixon, and the Kennedy legacy.
BOX-FOLDER 1/10 Oral history interview with Ray Cline, 1992-05-22
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on May 22, 1992 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Cline was CIA station chief in Taipei until 1962 and Deputy Director for Intelligence at CIA headquarters for the remainder of the Kennedy presidency. From 1969 until his retirement in 1973, he was Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the Department of State during the Richard Nixon administration.
Cline, a CIA officer, discusses his opinions about his time advising President Kennedy. Mostly he relates the goings-on of Kennedy's inner sanctum during the Cuban Missile Crisis; including background on the Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose. He also discusses Vietnam and Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories.
BOX-FOLDER 1/11 Oral history interview with William Sloane Coffin, 1991-07-24
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on July 24, 1991 ; recorded in Stratford, Vermont.
Coffin was Christian reverend and chaplain at Yale University. He was a civil rights activist and Peace Corps member.
Coffin discusses his opinions of the Kennedy brothers, Sargent Shriver, and Martin Luther King, Jr. He speaks at length of Kennedy's grappling with the Civil Rights Movement. He also talks about the Cold War, Vietnam, the assassination and its aftermath.
BOX-FOLDER 1/12 Oral history interview with Archibald Cox, 1991-12-18
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on December 18, 1991 ; recorded in Cambridge, Mass.
Cox was Solicitor General of the U.S. (1961-1965) during the Kennedy administration.
Cox discusses his entrance into the Kennedy administration and gives his opinions on Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and civil rights.
BOX-FOLDER 1/13 Oral history interview with Lloyd Cutler, 1991-04-24
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on April 24, 1991; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Cutler was an associate of the Kennedy family. In 1962, he co-founded the Washington, D.C. based law firm Wilmer Cutler and Pickering, specializing in international law and public policy. Later, he co-chaired the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, formed at the request of President Kennedy.
Cutler discusses topics that run the gamut of the Kennedy administration: civil rights, religious issues, staffing, family, Vietnam, Cuba, legacy, etc.
BOX-FOLDER 1/14 Oral history interview with Angier Biddle Duke, 1989-10-18
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on October 18, 1989 ; recorded in New York, N.Y.
Duke was Chief of Protocol for the White House and State Deptartment (1961-1964). Before and after his time in the White House he served ambassadorships to El Salvador (1952-1953), Spain (1965-1967), Denmark (1968-1969), and Morocco (1979-1981).
Duke discusses protocol issues and relates anecdotes concerning American foreign policy advisors and foreign officials. He talks about finding residences for African diplomats in segregated D.C.; President Kennedy's favorite world leaders and interactions with them; Kennedy's relationship with Khrushchev; Berlin; Kennedy's trip to Ireland; Duke's relationship with Jackie Kennedy; the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis; Vietnam; Robert McNamara; and JFK's relationship with Robert Kennedy.
BOX-FOLDER 1/15 Oral history interview with Ralph Dungan, 1991-09-14
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on September 14, 1991 ; recorded at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Dungan was a Special Assistant to the President, 1961-1966. Was also an ambassador to Chile.
Dungan discusses the 1960 presidential campaign, and his opinions of all the personalities involved in John F. Kennedy's rise to power. He discusses the typical day in the Kennedy White House; civl rights and Martin Luther King, Jr.; Cuba and Khrushchev; the image of "Camelot"; Lyndon Johnson; J. Edgar Hoover; and general Kennedalia.
BOX-FOLDER 1/16 Oral history interview with Courtney Evans, 1992-05-22
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on May 22, 1992 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Evans was the FBI liason with Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
Evans discusses the relationship between Robert Kennedy's Justice Department and the FBI. Topics such as the mafia, civil rights (freedom riders), the relationship between J. Edgar Hoover and the Kennedys, and the assassination of President Kennedy.
BOX-FOLDER 1/17 Oral history interview with James Farmer, 1990-01-04
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on January 4, 1990 ; recorded in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Farmer was the National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Farmer discusses the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s; specifically, the Freedom Riders, Martin Luther King, Jr., jailings, the Kennedys ignorance of black America, his interactions with JFK and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and the interactions between the disparate civil rights organizations.
BOX-FOLDER 1/18 Oral history interview with Harry Felt, 1991-05-09
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on May 9, 1991; recorded in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Admiral Felt was commander of U.S. armed forces in the Pacific (1958-1964).
Admiral Felt discusses the situation in Vietnam and Southeast Asia during Kennedy's presidency, including the assassination of President Diem. He also offers anecdotes on his personal encounters with President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, and other government officials.
BOX-FOLDER 1/19 Oral history interview with Gerald Ford, 1991-07-22
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on July 22, 1991 ; recorded in New York, N.Y.
Ford was a Representative from Michigan (1949-1973) during John F. Kennedy's tenure as a representative and senator and during his presidency. Later he would become the 38th president of the United States.
Ford discusses his interactions with John F. Kennedy when they were both in the Congress and 1960 presidential campaign, how Kennedy differed from Nixon. He discusses the differences between how JFK and President Lyndon Johnson dealt with Congress. He also discusses the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and the Kennedy assassination through his seat on the Warren Commission.
BOX-FOLDER 1/20 Oral history interview with Henry Fowler, 1992-01-29
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on January 29, 1992 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Fowler was the Undersecretary of the Treasury (1961-1964) during the Kennedy administration. He later served as the 58th Secretary of the Treasury (1965-1968) during the Johnson administration.
Fowler discusses President Kennedy's way of assimilating information; the political-military-economic issues regarding the Soviets and Berlin; anecdotes behind Lyndon Johnson's acceptance of the vice presidential ticket and his deference to the president in public.
BOX-FOLDER 1/21 Oral history interview with Wayne Fredericks, 1991-01-29
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on September 19, 1991 ; recorded in New York, N.Y.
Fredericks was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
Fredericks discusses the Kennedy administrations diplomatic dealings with the emergent independent post-colonial African nations. Including anecdotes concerning the presidents of Uganda and Ivory Coast; the Congro issue; the State Department's African Bureau; civil rights in South Africa.
BOX-FOLDER 1/22 Oral history interview with Orville Freeman, 1991-04-18
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on April 18, 1991 ; recorded in New York, N.Y.
Freeman was the 29th governor of Minnesota (1955-1961), before leaving office to become Secretary of Agriculture under President Kennedy. He held the office through the end of the Johnson administration in 1969.
Freeman discusses President Kennedy's handling of agricultural affairs; including the 1963 wheat sale to the Soviet Union. He also goes into length on the events surrounding the 1960 Democratic National Convention and about his personal relationship with Lyndon Johnson. Numerous musings on President Kennedy, in general.
BOX-FOLDER 1/23 Oral history interview with J. William Fulbright, 1989-12-21
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on December 21, 1989 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Fulbright was a Democratic senator from Arkansas (1945-1975). He was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1959-1975.
Fulbright discusses foreign policy issues during the Kennedy administration; specifically [Senator] John F. Kennedy's time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the possible invasion of Cuba, Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, relations with the Soviet Union, and Vietnam and the Diem assassination.
BOX-FOLDER 1/24 Oral history interview with Roger Hilsman, 1989-11-15
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on November 15, 1989 ; recorded in New York, N.Y.
Hilsman was Director of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1961-1963) and Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (1963-1964).
Hilsman discusses President Kennedy's actions regarding Vietnam in great length. He compares Kennedy's policies with those of Eisenhower and FDR's. He talks about how the Bay of Pigs fiasco influenced Kennedy's policies in Asia. He discusses the bureaucratic and personal interplays between Allen Dulles, McGeorge Bundy, Robert McNamara, and other national security figures of the Kennedy administration. He also discusses the Cuban Missile Crisis.
BOX-FOLDER 1/25 Oral history interview with U. Alexis Johnson, 1989-10-16
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on October 16, 1989 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Johnson was Deputy Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (1961-1964). From 1964 to 1965 he was Deputy Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam. In 1965 he returned to the position of Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 1965 to 1966. He also served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs 1969 to 1973. He was chief United States delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks from 1973 until retirement in 1977.
Johnson discusses the internal deliberations amongst Kennedy administration officials during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He goes on to talk about the American escalation of involvement in Vietnam.
BOX-FOLDER 1/26 Oral history interview with Philip Kaiser, 1991-12-31
Interview [most likely] conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on December 31, 1991 ; recorded in Washington, D.C.
Kaiser served ambassadorships to Senegal and Mauritania during the Kennedy presidency. After the Kennedy presidency he served ambassadorships to Hungary and Austria.
Kaiser discusses President Kennedy's dealings with African heads-of-state.
BOX-FOLDER 1/27 Oral history interview with Nicholas Katzenbach, 1990-01-05
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on either January 5, 1990 or December 31, 1991 ; recorded in New York, N.Y.
Katzenbach was Assistant Attorney General (1961-1962) and Deputy Attorney General (1962-1964) in Robert Kennedy's Justice Department. He later served as the full Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration (1964-1966).
Katzenbach discusses his time working in Robert Kennedy's Justice Department. He talks about Robert Kennedy's handling of civil rights issues, including the Freedom Riders, Ole Miss, and March on Washington. He also talks about Vietnam and the Diem assassination. He offers his opinions on the relationships between the Kennedys, and their relationships with LBJ, Dean Rusk, J. Edgar Hoover, et al.
BOX-FOLDER 1/28 Oral history interview with Sergei Khrushchev, 1990-12-20
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on December 20, 1990 ; recorded in Cambridge, Mass.
Khrushchev is the son of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. He currently resides in the U.S. and works as a scholar.
Khrushchev discusses his father, Nikita Khrushchev's, meeting with President Kennedy at the Vienna Summit.
BOX-FOLDER 1/29 Oral history interview with Robert Komer, 1991-04-25
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on April 25, 1991 ; recorded Washington, D.C.
Komer was a member on the National Security Council during the Kennedy administration. He served in the CIA and later as ambassador to Turkey.
Komer discusses foreign policy issues and anecdotes from his time in the Kennedy administration. Yemen, Israel, and the Middle East figure prominently. He offers much insight into the inner-workings of Kennedy's White House.
BOX-FOLDER 1/30 Oral history interview with Victor Krulak, 1991-05-07
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on May 7, 1991 ; recorded in San Diego, California.
Krulak was a Marine Corps general who served the Joint Chiefs of Staff as Special Assistant for Counter Insurgency Activities (1962-1964).
General Krulak discusses his role as an advisor on Vietnam during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
BOX-FOLDER 2/1 Oral history interview with Robert Manning, 1992-01-22
Interview conducted by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober on January 22, 1992 ; recorded in Boston, Mass.
Manning was Assistant Secretary of State of Public Affairs (1962-1964). He was a journalist for Time magazine and was editor of The Atlantic Monthly.
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