John F. Kennedy's hidden diary, Europe 1937 : the travel journals of JFK and Kirk LeMoyne Billings / edited with an introduction by Oliver Lubrich.

New York : Berghahn Books, 2024.

©2024

vii, 174 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Originally published: John F. Kennedy : das geheime Tagebuch, Europa 1937. Wien : DVB Verlag, 2021.

"Presenting the 1937 diaries of John F. Kennedy's tour of Europe, this volume offers insights into his early experiences on a continent under the shadow of Nazism. In 1937, while still a student, John F. Kennedy undertook a grand tour of Europe with his close friend and travelling companion, Lem Billings. On this journey he began to keep a diary which is reproduced here in full and provides an unadulterated account of his thoughts and feelings. Superficially, it presents a picture of two young men enjoying their summer, sightseeing, going to the movies, bars and night clubs; but behind this we find, in Kennedy's political observations and encounters, the looming shadow of Nazism. In retrospect there are blind spots and misjudgments, but also insights of great topicality, for example on populism, and propaganda and its potent effects. On this trip and during his later travels in Germany, Kennedy engaged with the crucial questions of his later presidency: How does a dictatorship work? How is an alternative concept of society to be countered? And how can an impending war be averted? Kennedy's European and Russia policy and also his famous Berlin speech of 1963 ("Ich bin ein Berliner") are to be understood against this background. In addition to numerous archive photographs, this volume contains Kennedy's complete diary of his 1937 trip to Europe and, as a counterpart, the 'Scrapbook' of Lem Billings who documented it from his perspective"-- Provided by publisher.

Travel journals of JFK and Kirk Lemoyne Billings

Online version: Kennedy, John F. John F. Kennedy's hidden diary, Europe 1937. New York : Berghahn Books, 2023

English

January 17, 2024

Includes bibliographical references and index.