Published November 22, 2013

50 Years Ago Today: The Washington Post Printed an Article on the Upcoming State Visit of West Germany’s Chancellor

50 years ago today, The Washington Post printed an article on the upcoming state visit of West Germany's Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard. Kennedy was in Dallas that day and the visit never happened. Read the full story here.

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On Friday, 50 years ago, The Washington Post printed this article detailing the upcoming state visit of West Germany’s Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard. Washingtonians were reading this in the morning newspaper, the same day Kennedy was in Dallas. This visit never happened.

Kennedy and Erhard when JFK visited West Germany in 1962

Source: John F. Kennedy Library

WEST GERMANY’S new Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard, will arrive at Langley Air Force Base Sunday afternoon to begin a three-day state visit, his first since he became Chancellor of the Federal Republic last month. He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Gerhard Schroeder and Defense Minister Kai-uwe von Hassel.

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The Chancellor and his party will be met by U.S. Chief of Protocol Angier Biddle Duke, German Ambassador to the U.S., Heinrich Knappstein, and other officials on arrival. They will then proceed to Colonial Williamsburg where they will tour the historic settlement, and spend a private evening.
On Monday, full military honors will be accorded the Chancellor when he arrives at the White House by helicopter at 10:30 a.m. to be met by President Kennedy, Acting Secretary of State, George W. Ball, Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. David L. McDonald, and Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa, dean of the diplomatic corps.
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The Chancellor will receive the key to the city of Washington from D.C. Commissioner Walter N. Tobriner at Blair House, which will be Erhard’s residence during his visit. He will be the first visitor to stay there since its refurbishing.
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Erhard will have a final meeting with President Kennedy at 4 p.m. and they will issue a joint communique from the White House.
The Chancellor will then go across the street to be host at a reception at Blair House for the President, and later will preside at a black-tie dinner at the German Embassy residence on Foxhall rd. Finally, Erhard will give a formal reception there beginning at 10 p.m.

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The Chancellor will depart by helicopter from the Ellipse on Wednesday morning, proceed to Andrews Air Force Base and then La Guardia Airport for a day’s stay in New York. During his stay there he will call on N.Y. Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and tape a “Meet the Press” television program for Dec. 1. He will leave the United States Wednesday night, returning to Bonn.