Planning Documents for Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s Camp David Conference on the Berlin Crisis (1959)

Date: March 20-22, 1959

Created By: No Author

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Cold War, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Beach and Aurand Records, Box 17, Visit by Prime Minister Macmillan, March 19-22, 1959; NAID #12023940

This collection of documents concerns the March 20–22, 1959 meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at Camp David, Maryland. Contemporary news reports included in the collection describe the gathering as a conference focused on the Berlin Crisis, which had intensified after Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev demanded changes to the status of West Berlin and threatened to transfer Soviet responsibilities there to East Germany. Eisenhower and Macmillan met as the Western allies considered how to respond to Soviet pressure and prepare for further negotiations.

Rather than recording the diplomatic discussions themselves, most of the documents reveal the logistical planning required for the high-level conference. They include cabin assignments for Eisenhower, Macmillan, Secretary of State Christian Herter, Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd, ambassadors, military officers, and other officials. Additional materials provide helicopter transportation instructions and a seating plan for the presidential helicopter traveling from Bethesda to Camp David. The collection even includes the dinner menu for March 20. Together, these records offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the White House organized a presidential summit and provide context for Eisenhower and Macmillan’s Cold War consultations during the Berlin Crisis.