National Archives Opens New Cuban Missile Crisis Exhibit in October with Free Public Programs
Press Release · Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Washington, DC…The National Archives presents a free series of programs in October 2012, including a special panel discussion featuring opening remarks from Caroline Kennedy and the new book Listening In:  The Secret White House Tapes of John F. Kennedy, Cuban Missile Crisis-related film screenings, and a program with the authors of The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy/Khrushchev/Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis – all inspired by the new exhibit “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis.” All programs are free and open to the public, and will be held in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on the corner of Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, NW.

About “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis”
Secretly recorded White House tapes form the centerpiece of this exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Visitors listen in as the President and his advisers work furiously to avert a nuclear war. Original documents, artifacts, and photographs complement the tapes, breathing humanity into this milestone 20th-century event. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs from October 12, 2012, through February 4, 2013, in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building. Museum hours are 10 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., daily, except Thanksgiving and December 25.

Book Lecture: The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy/Khrushchev/Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis
Friday, October 12, at noon, William G. McGowan Theater
James Blight and Janet Lang discuss their new book, The Armageddon Letters, which takes readers behind the scenes during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. A book signing will follow the program.

Film: The Missiles of October
Saturday, October 13, at noon, William G. McGowan Theater
William Devane portrays President John F. Kennedy and Martin Sheen is Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in this critically acclaimed, made-for-television docudrama of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Use of the film courtesy of CBS Television Studios. (1974; 150 mins)

Films: From the Vaults: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Thursday, October 18, at noon, William G. McGowan Theater
A selection of films from the holdings of the National Archives including One Week in October (1964) and Conversation With the President (1962).

Panel Discussion: The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis/The Secret White House Tapes
Thursday, October 25, at 7 p.m., William G. McGowan Theater
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a panel will discuss JFK’s secret White House recordings, which will be played during the program.Caroline Kennedy will offer opening remarks. Timothy Naftali, former director of UVA’s Miller Center Presidential Recordings Project, will moderate panelists David G. Coleman, author of The Fourteenth Day; Philip Zelikow, former director of the Miller Center; and Ted Widmer, co-author of Listening In:  The Secret White House Tapes of John F. Kennedy. Speakers will sign books following the program.

To verify the date and times of the programs, the public should call the Public Programs Line at: (202) 357-5000, or view the Calendar of Events online. To request an accommodation (e.g., sign language interpreter) for a public program, email public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 prior to the event.

“To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” was created by the National Archives and its John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and made possible in part by the Foundation for the National Archives, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and the generous support of Lead Sponsor AT&T with special recognition to the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family.

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For press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at 202-357-5300.

Follow the Cuban Missile Crisis in real time as the JFK Library tweets the 13 days:  @JFKLibrary, hashtag #13Days.

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