August-September 1961: The Division of Berlin; the Brandt-Kennedy Correspondence; Vice President Johnson’s Trip to Berlin; General Clay’s Appointment as Special Representative to Berlin; NSAMs No. 92 and 94; Meeting of the Four Western Foreign Ministers at Washington
105. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 862.181/8-1361. Confidential; Priority. Received at 4:50 p.m. Also sent to Bonn and repeated to London, Moscow, Paris, and POLAD USAREUR.
106. Telegram From the Embassy in Germany to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-1461. Secret; Priority. Received at 9:26 a.m. Repeated to London, Paris, Moscow, and Berlin.
107. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Germany
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/8-1461. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Day and approved by Kohler. Also sent to Berlin and repeated to Paris, London, and Moscow.
108. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Kennedy
Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 38, 509 Negotiations. Secret. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1986, 910.
109. Memorandum From President Kennedy to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 661.62B/8-1461. No classification marking.
110. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-1461. Confidential; Priority. Received at 6:58 a.m. on August 15. Also sent to Bonn and repeated to London, Paris, Moscow, and POLAD USAREUR.
111. Minutes of Meeting of the Berlin Steering Group
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Germany, Berlin, Steering Group. Secret. Prepared by Bundy on August 16.
112. Memorandum From Colonel Lawrence J. Legere to the President’s Military Representative (Taylor)
Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 34, Interdepartmental Steering Group. No classification marking.
113. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Germany
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 862.181/8-1561. Secret; Priority; Limited Distribution. Drafted by Thurston (S/O) and cleared by Cash. Also sent to London, Paris, and Berlin.
114. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-1661. Confidential; Priority; Limit Distribution. Received at 2:23 p.m. and passed to USIA at 3:45.
115. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 862.181/8-1661. Secret; Niact. Received at 3:54 p.m. Also sent to Bonn and repeated to Paris, London, Moscow, and POLAD USAREUR.
116. Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between Secretary of State Rusk and Secretary of Defense McNamara
Source: Department of State, Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192, Telephone Conversations. No classification marking. Transcribed by Phyllis D. Bernau.
117. Telegram From the Mission at Berlin to the Department of State
Source: Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Germany. Confidential; Niact. Received at 9:10 p.m. on August 16 and passed to the White House at 10 p.m. Also sent to Bonn and repeated to London, Moscow, Paris, and POLAD USAREUR. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1983, 2866.
118. Record of Meeting of the Berlin Steering Group
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Germany, Berlin, Steering Group. Secret. The source text bears no drafting information.
119. Message From the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Norstad) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Source: Eisenhower Library, Norstad Papers, Policy File, Berlin-Live Oak. Top Secret; Eyes Only. Repeated to USAREUR.
120. Letter From President Kennedy to Governing Mayor Brandt
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Germany, Berlin, Brandt Correspondence. Secret. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1983, 2867.
121. Report by Vice President Johnson
Source: Johnson Library, Vice Presidential Security Files, VP Travel, Berlin. Secret. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1983, 2868. For two other reports on the trip, see ibid., 1978, 209 A and 301 B. The Vice President also reported on his trip in a meeting with the President, Taylor, Rusk, Clay, Bohlen, and Bundy on August 21. A memorandum for the record of this meeting is in the Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Germany, Berlin. For three other accounts of the visit to Berlin, see Cates, The Ides of August, pp. 404-413 and 423-436; Bohlen, Witness to History, pp. 483-486; and Begegnungen und Einsichten, pp. 30-33.
122. Memorandum From President Kennedy to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-2161. Secret. The source text bears no drafting information. Also published in Declassified Documents, 1979, 467 A.
123. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in France
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-2161. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Kohler and Holloway. Repeated to London, Bonn, Berlin, and Moscow.
124. Record of Meeting of Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of Defense McNamara, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Source: National Defense University, Lemnitzer Papers, Box 29, L-216-71. Top Secret. The source text is Lemnitzer’s handwritten notes.
125. Memorandum by the President’s Military Representative (Taylor)
Source: National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 35, Berlin-NATO-Military Buildup. Secret. Attached to Document 253. According to a handwritten notation, copies of the memorandum were taken to a 9:45 a.m. meeting with Bundy and the President on August 24. Taylor’s recommendations were subsequently transmitted to Bonn and Berlin for comment. (Telegram 415 to Bonn, August 24; Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/8-2461)
126. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-2461. Secret. Drafted by Brown and approved in S on September 8.
127. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense McNamara to President Kennedy
Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Germany, Berlin, General Clay. Confidential. A copy was sent to Rusk.
128. Telegram From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Europe (Norstad)
Source: Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Germany. Top Secret; Immediate. Repeated to USAREUR for Clarke. A draft of this cable showing Bundy’s revisions is ibid., National Security Files, Germany, Berlin, Cables.
129. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.0221/8-2661. Top Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Holloway and approved by Hillenbrand. Also sent to Bonn, Paris for USRO, Moscow, and Berlin.
130. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-2661. Secret. Drafted and initialed by Hillenbrand and approved in S on September 9. For Grewe’s account of this conversation, which took place right after the meeting of the Ambassadorial Group (see Document 129), see Rückblenden, pp. 494-495. On August 25 Grewe had had a similar conversation with Hillenbrand. A memorandum of that conversation is in Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-2561.
131. Letter From President de Gaulle to President Kennedy
Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204. Secret. The source text is a Department of State translation. Alphand delivered the letter at 7:15 p.m. on August 26. A memorandum of his conversation with Rusk on that occasion is ibid., Central Files, 762.00/8-2661.
132. Memorandum From President Kennedy to Secretary of State Rusk
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 762.00/8-2861. Secret. A copy was sent to Secretary of Defense McNamara. Published in part in Declassified Documents, 1986, 912. A draft of this memorandum by Taylor has points a and b rearranged and a point e: “Reaction to a sudden invitation to negotiation by the USSR.” (National Defense University, Taylor Papers, Box 39, 6A Berlin) On August 28 Bundy sent the President a 4-page memorandum on the subject of negotiations, indicating that it was a complex subject and “the most important one” the President had before him. After reviewing the question of timing, Bundy stated that the President’s principal advisers were split on the issue of the substance of the negotiations and stressed that only Kennedy could decide the U.S. negotiating position. (Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Germany)
133. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.62A/8-3061. Secret. Drafted and initialed by Kohler and approved by the White House on September 11. The meeting was held at the White House. For a brief account of this meeting by Grewe, see Rückblenden, p. 496.