JFK and Hitler's Place in History:
In late July and early August 1945, just weeks after the end of the war in Europe, the 28-year-old John F. Kennedy visited Germany. Accompanying him was US Navy Secretary James Forrestal (whom President Truman later appointed as the first Secretary of Defense).
Kennedy recorded his experiences and observations in a diary that was not made public until just a few years ago. (It was published under the title Prelude to Leadership: The European Diary of John F. Kennedy, Summer 1945 [Washington, DC: Regnery, 1995].)
After touring many cities and military installations, Kennedy and Forrestal flew to Bavaria, where they visited the town of Berchtesgaden and then drove up to Hitler's mountain retreat, which was "completely gutted, the result of an air attack from 12,000 pound bombs by the R.A.F. [British air force] in an attempt on Hitler's life." They then ascended to Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" lair high in the mountains.
Just after this visit, Kennedy wrote a remarkable commentary in his diary, dated August 1, 1945, about Hitler and his place in history:
"After visiting these places, you can easily understand how that within a few years Hitler will emerge from the hatred that surrounds him now as one of the most significant figures who ever lived.
He had boundless ambition for his country which rendered him a menace to the peace of the world, but he had a mystery about him in the way that he lived and in the manner of his death that will live and grow after him. He had in him the stuff of which legends are made."
Less than a year after this European tour, Kennedy was elected to Congress in Massachusetts, beginning a political career that took him to the White House, and which ended suddenly with his death on November 22, 1963. |
