Berlin 1961 (100 page)

Kennedy dispatched Ambassador Thompson to Moscow in late February with his first letter for Khrushchev—which the premier refused to receive for ten days. (
Abbie Rowe/JFK Library
)

March 13. Breaking with protocol, Kennedy meets with Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt, the West German opposition leader, before seeing Chancellor Adenauer. (
Library of Congress
)

April 5. Kennedy takes a stroll with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan during a break in their talks in Washington, where the president would surprise his ally with the administration’s hard line on Berlin. (
Robert Knudsen
/
JFK Library
)

April 15. Adenauer and Kennedy praise each other at a press conference—though neither trusts the other. (
Abbie Rowe/JFK Library
)

April 16. Johnson throws a barbecue for Adenauer at his Texas ranch—and on the way to the airport, tells him about the Bay of Pigs operation then under way. (
AP Photo
)

April 22. Kennedy and Eisenhower meet at Camp David to discuss the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs disaster. (
Robert Knudsen/JFK Library
)

Khrushchev travels the Soviet Union on an “agricultural tour,” drumming up local support for the coming October Party Congress. (
Novosti/Sovfoto)

A Soviet spy at Hyannis Port. In a rare photo, military intelligence agent Georgi Bolshakov (second from right) sits with JFK, an interpreter, and Khrushchev’s son-in-law Alexei Adzhubei (right). Before the Vienna Summit, Bolshakov began secret talks with Robert Kennedy as a conduit between the president and Khrushchev. (
Cecil Stoughton/JFK Library
)

June 1961, Washington. A reinjury of his back caused JFK much pain at the Vienna Summit. He was usually careful not to be photographed on crutches. (
Abbie Rowe/JFK Library
)

May 31. Children waving American flags welcome Kennedy to Paris. (
USIA
/
JFK Library
)

The First Couple, dressed for a formal dinner in their honor at the Élysée Palace. (
USIA/JFK Library
)

June 3, Vienna. Kennedy and Khrushchev shake hands on the first day of their historic talks. (
USIA/JFK Library
)