June-July 1961: The Summit Conference at Vienna June 3-4; NSAM No. 58; the Western Reply to the June 4 Soviet Aide-Memoire
62. Memorandum From the Deputy Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization (McDermott) to Frank Cash of the Office of German Affairs
Source: Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Germany. Secret. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1978, 256B.
63. Memorandum From the President’s Military Representative (Taylor) to President Kennedy
Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 38, 505 Berlin Contingency Planning. Top Secret. On July 8 Rusk, McNamara, and Taylor flew to Hyannis Port for a meeting with the President. According to one account Kennedy expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of Berlin planning and, impressed by the reservations which Schlesinger had raised to Acheson’s report, decided to ask Acheson to prepare a political program for Berlin. (Schlesinger, A Thousand Days, pp. 388-389) No other record of this meeting has been found. On July 10 the President sent a short memorandum to Taylor asking him to provide a list of the things agreed at the meeting and the papers he had requested from the Departments of State and Defense. (National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 38, 505 Berlin Contingency Planning)
64. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/7-1261. Top Secret. Drafted by Topping and approved in G on August 4.
65. Telegram From the Embassy in Germany to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762B.00/7-1261. Secret. Repeated to London, Paris, Moscow, and Berlin.
66. Memorandum of Discussion in the National Security Council
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, NSC Meetings. Top Secret. Prepared by Bundy on July 24. For another report of this meeting, see Document 67.
67. Notes on the National Security Council Meeting
Source: National Defense University, Lemnitzer Papers, Box 29. Top Secret. These handwritten notes were presumably made by Lemnitzer. For another account of this meeting, see Document 66.
68. National Security Action Memorandum No. 59
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, NSAMs. Top Secret. Copies were sent to Taylor, Sorensen, and David Bell, Director of the Bureau of the Budget.
69. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/7-1861. Top Secret. Drafted by Topping on July 18 and approved by Johnson on July 31.
70. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Germany, Berlin. Confidential. Drafted by Nitze on July 17. The meeting was held at the Metropolitan Club. On July 12 and 17 Menshikov had similar conversations with Bowles and Rostow. A memorandum of his conversation with Rostow is ibid., and is summarized in The Diffusion of Power, p. 230; a memorandum of his conversation with Bowles is in Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/7-1261.
71. Paper Prepared by Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Chron. Secret. Attached to the source text but not printed is a 2-page paper, also dated July 17, on the military buildup. The paper favored a “low key” approach and noted that the psychology of a mobilization was not desirable at the present time.
72. Memorandum of Meeting on Berlin
Source: Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Germany. Top Secret. Prepared by Bundy.
- The source text does not give a date for this meeting of the Coordinating Group, but internal evidence suggests that it took place on July 14.↩