A young man from the United States in Europe before World War II

Kennedy’s student diaries create a reliable image of the future US president’s outlook a trip that was important To formulate his later views on democracy and the leadership of the Cold War. Until now hidden in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, they have just been published by the publisher vegetable In the form of a personal diary and under the title John F Kennedy’s secret diary,

The Spanish version was presented this Thursday at the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy. Director of Vegueta, eva moleGave the stage to the Director of RAE, santiago munoz machado, To the editor and author of the epilogue, the German philologist oliver lubricht

, and United States Ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, Vegueta’s edition includes many archival photographs, an introduction by Muñoz Machado, and an afterword by Lubrich.

,Kennedy, diary of the trip to Europe that led to World War II,

This book presents an accurate account of JFK’s thoughts and feelings. On the surface, it presents an image of two young people enjoying the summer, sightseeing, going to the movies, bars, and nightclubs. “His friend (‘Lem’) was gay, and that didn’t stop him from doing anything. Furthermore, one can see in the diary that Kennedy i had many girlfriends” said the US Ambassador at the presentation.

But behind this we find the long shadow of Nazism in Kennedy’s remarks and political meetings. Looking back reveals blind spots and errors in judgment, such as a reflection in which the future President of the United States confirms that Nordic breeds “are superior to breeds from Southern Europe”, Thus we find, says Lubrich, “the process of understanding” of the young man himself, who had just turned 20.

But John F Kennedy’s secret diary It also includes very timely ideas, for example Populism and propaganda And its powerful effects. On this trip and during his subsequent visits to Germany, Kennedy faced important questions of his later presidency: How does a dictatorship work? How can an alternative concept of society be countered? And how can the impending war be avoided? Kennedy’s European and Russian policies and his famous 1963 Berlin speech (“Ich bin ein Berliner”

) should be understood in this context.

From cities such as Munich, Nuremberg, Cologne, and Amsterdam, Kennedy recounted his experiences. “We arrived in Munich about eight o’clock and went to the Hofbrauhaus brewery, which was very interesting. Here, Hitler appears to be as popular in Italy as MussoliniHowever, publicity seems to be their biggest weapon,” he notes. The diary concludes in London, where Kennedy poses four introspective questions that history has the responsibility to answer.

That time, civil war spain He was avoiding becoming the future US President. Kennedy reached Saint-Jean de Luz, the French border with Spain, where he described the bullfights with horror. “Very interesting, but very cruel, especially when the bull attacked the horse,” he writes. He is surprised and horrified by the enjoyment the spectators are having in watching the horse run with its intestines hanging out. He also mentions the Spanish Civil War from Irun: “There was a government too divided to unify Spain. England leans a little towards Franco.”

Ambassador Reynoso, who began her presentation with the exciting “I never thought I’d be here,” explained: “Kennedy and I studied at the same place at Harvard. Of course, under different circumstances. During our studies after, I was very lucky to reach SpainSomething that was impossible for a president to do in 1937.”