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A book about the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated sixty years ago, has been published by the Foundation for Research on Central and Eastern European History and Society. Entitled “The (End of the) American Dream – John F. Kennedy”, the book, written by historian Rajmund Fekete, Director of the Institute for the Research of Communism and research fellow at the Institute for American Studies at the National University of Public Service (NUPS), was launched at the House of Terror Museum on Wednesday.

The book received praise from Balázs Mártonffy, Director of the Institute for American Studies at NUPS, and from Tamás Magyarics, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute.

Mr. Mártonffy said that he found the book to be the excellent product of a great deal of background research, and stressed that the author has separated the man from the myth and subsequent mythologising.

He said that John F. Kennedy approached domestic and foreign policy from completely different angles. A particularly important characteristic of the President was that he was less concerned with domestic policy and, as the book points out, “he wanted to be virtually his own Secretary of State”. Mr. Mártonffy noted that JFK wanted to appropriate all power and influence in foreign affairs.

He pointed out that the United States has changed a great deal since Kennedy’s time, and one aspect of this is that while back then the Soviet Union was portrayed as the United States’ principal enemy on the international stage, that role is now being given to China.

According to the Director, in crisis management today what we need is a Kennedy: someone who can utilise the whole range of foreign policy instruments in a rapid and reactive way.

Mr. Magyarics described how Kennedy embodied the realisation of three dreams: the political involvement of the Irish; the fact that he was the first Catholic American president; and the emergence of a new generation.

He said that Kennedy was a practitioner of Realpolitik, that he was one of the first presidents to be truly “made”, that he consciously prepared for the job, and that for him the presentational aspects of politics also mattered a great deal.

Mr. Magyarics stressed that Kennedy was both “the last of his kind and the first of his kind”.

In a roundtable discussion following these commendations, Mária Schmidt, Director-General of the House of Terror Museum and editor of the book, said that Kennedy was at once a sex symbol, a kind of “rock star”, a highly skilful politician and a statesman. She added that the fact that he was the victim of an assassination and that it is not known exactly what happened adds to the mystique that still surrounds Kennedy.

“To us he is still interesting, and still worthy of our attention”, she said.

Professor Schmidt stressed that the book shows Kennedy to have been a very talented, hardworking and committed politician. While it is true that everything was done to make him president, she said, Kennedy “put in the work”, doing everything he could to turn his positional advantage into real success.

She also pointed out that Kennedy’s anti-communism was one of his most important leitmotifs, and that he had played the leading role in the 1963 general amnesty in Hungary, for which “we owe him a debt of gratitude”.

Speaking of the American Dream, she said that it was very important to his generation, because it meant freedom and opportunity, and Kennedy was its embodiment.

Mária Schmidt also said that she believes that the American Dream is not yet over, although it is “perhaps not at its best now”. She stated, however, that she is confident that it will recover, and that it is important that there is once more something that “can give us some kind of inspiring vision”. What threatens to end this dream, she observed, is that America is increasingly suffering from “liberty deficit”.

Rajmund Fekete said that, through the use of the media, Kennedy’s character had been consciously constructed to create a version of the American Dream. As well as being an extremely proficient politician, he noted, his physical appearance was also very carefully considered.

The author pointed out that Kennedy focused on foreign policy because he believed it could create national unity.

He also said that Kennedy was the only US president to write a letter to Prince Primate Joseph Mindszenty, thanking him for his steadfastness and for fighting against communism.

Speaking of the American Dream, he said that Kennedy’s career was a guide for all, and that his tragic death also came as a shock to the Soviet bloc.

In his book, Mr. Fekete wrote the following: “It is safe to say that John F. Kennedy was the first modern president of the United States of America, whose professional career was accompanied by a conscious effort to build his image in the media. Each of the phases in his career (war hero, best-selling author, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, congressman, senator, US president) are frames that can be analysed individually, but when placed side by side they form a complex picture.”

According to the related press release, the author has examined the late president from many angles: as a politician; as a patriot; as a father; as a husband; and as the hope of a people, who can be described – perhaps without exaggeration – as embodying the hero and the American Dream in one person.

Source: MTI