JFK ARRIVES IN VIENNA FOR SUMMIT
Vienna, Austria (JFK+50) On June 3, 1961, President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy arrived here in the Austrian capital following a visit to France. The Kennedys were greeted at Schwechat Airport by Adolf Sharf*, President of Austria.
Upon arrival, President Kennedy said...
"I spent a month in Klagenfurt** on the Worthersee in your beautiful country and...I am delighted to have an opportunity to visit here again. We are grateful to the city of Vienna and to the Government of Austria for the hospitality which they have afforded us."
The President met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev for the first time at the American Embassy. Mr. Kennedy was accompanied by Secretary of State Dean Rusk and National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy. Mr. Khrushchev was assisted by Andrei Gromyko and Anatoliy Dobrynin.
According to Chris Matthews, Khrushchev had "demanded a showdown" on the issue of BERLIN and once at the summit made a point to lecture JFK on "socialist inevitability."
MacroHistory says that President Kennedy "labored under the conception that the Soviet Union was bent on fomenting revolution around the world," while Premier Khrushchev "argued about balance of power,...Laos and nuclear testing."
The talks continued the following day.
*Adolf Sharf (1890-1965) served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 1945 to 1957 & President of Austria from 1957 to 1965. He was born in Nikolsburg, Moravia and earned his doctorate at the University of Vienna in 1914. AS served in World War I and in June 1961 hosted a state banquet for President Kennedy & Premier Khrushchev at Schonbrunn Palace.
**Klagenfurt, located in southern Austria, is the 6th largest city in the country with a population of 100,000+ in 2018. It is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia. It is home to the University of Klagenfurt.
SOURCES
"Remarks Upon Arrival at the Schwechat Airport in Vienna, June 3, 1961," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, January 20 to December 31, 1961, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1962.
"Vienna Summit Conference, June 1961," MacroHistory and World Timeline, www.fsmitha.com/
Khrushchev & Kennedy
Vienna, Austria
June 1961
JFK Library Photo
