Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 723 › Conversation 723-009

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on West Germany

Thursday, May 11, 1972 · 3:03 PM–3:09 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation723-009 on Tape 723 (tape position 01:22:32–01:26:56)StartThursday, May 11, 1972 at 3:03 PMEndThursday, May 11, 1972 at 3:09 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 723-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with an unidentified individual to discuss a diplomatic communication received from the West German government. The conversation focuses on an analysis of a response from Egon Bahr, described as mild in tone and notably silent regarding the upcoming summit. The participants assess the implications of the German feedback, which appears to express subtle dissatisfaction with recent decisions without escalating tensions.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 83.6 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:22:32 into the tape and ends around 01:26:56.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

1:26:43I spent two hours with the Bremen.
1:26:46One hour's stay at the answer came in from Dreschner.
1:26:50It's basically a very mild answer.
1:26:54It doesn't mention the summit at all.
1:26:56It sort of bleeds a little about the decisions less so than their public note.
1:27:01And it says...

NARA Description

On May 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:03 pm and 3:09 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 723-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 723-9

Date: May 11, 1972
Time: Unknown between 3:03 pm and 3:09 pm

Location: Oval Office

The President talked with an unknown person.

     An unknown person’s return
         -Return call

Also recorded on May 11, 1972

  • 723-010 3:09 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:09 pm to 3:24 pm.
  • 723-011 3:24 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:24 pm and 3:25 pm.
  • 723-012 3:25 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:25 pm to 3:39 pm.
  • 024-079 3:39 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:39 pm.
  • 024-080 3:39 PM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 3:39 pm to 3:40 pm.
  • 723-013 3:39 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:39 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 723-017 3:39 PM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 3:39 pm.
  • 723-014 3:40 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 3:45 pm.

All 35 conversations from May 11, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 723-009, May 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/723-009 (accessed October 9, 2026).