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Hamilton’s random connection to Russia’s JFK files

Hamilton girl wrote to Premier Nikita Khrushchev
A Hamilton girl wrote Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Her letter was included in the former KGB's dossier on the JFK assassination. The dossier was released by the U.S. government on Oct. 15, 2025, after receiving it from the Russian government. SOURCE: JFK FILES

Credit: JFK Files/U.S. Government

Credit: JFK Files/U.S. Government

A Hamilton girl wrote Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Her letter was included in the former KGB's dossier on the JFK assassination. The dossier was released by the U.S. government on Oct. 15, 2025, after receiving it from the Russian government. SOURCE: JFK FILES
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Among the more than 350 of the former KGB’s files about former President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination is what appears to be a random letter from a then-11-year-old Hamilton girl.

The KGB was the Soviet Union’s secret police, which also had roles in foreign intelligence and counterintelligence.

The release of the Russian dossier on JFK was announced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, chair of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, and then the document was posted on a JFK Facts Substack.

The majority of the report is in Russian, but some documents written in English begin to emerge around page 300, including a letter from Lee Harvey Oswald — the man who assassinated JFK — asking for Soviet citizenship.

Then on page 316, a letter from Debby Rotunda of Ludlow Street in Hamilton, Ohio, is included in this report. The girl’s letter addresses Nikita Khrushchev, former premier of the Soviet Union following the death of Joseph Stalin.

A Hamilton girl wrote Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Her letter was included in the former KGB's dossier on the JFK assassination. The dossier was released by the U.S. government on Oct. 15, 2025, after receiving it from the Russian government. SOURCE: JFK FILES

Credit: JFK Files/U.S. Government

icon to expand image

Credit: JFK Files/U.S. Government

The Nov. 25, 1963-dated letter reads:

“Dear Premier Kruschev (sic),

“I am 11 years old and want to see our whole world live together in peace. don’t (sic) you think it would be a good idea for you to tear down the Berlin wall as a tribute to President John F. Kennedy and a gesture of friendship to our new President Lyndon B. Johnson?”

She also included what appears to be a school picture with the letter.

A timestamp on the letter shows the Soviet government received it on Dec. 4, 1963.

The Berlin Wall did eventually fall 26 years later in November 1989.

While it is not the only handwritten letter in the dossier — Kennedy’s widow, Jacqueline, wrote a thank you letter to Khrushchev — it is the only letter from a person without a connection to the assassination.

Later in the dossier, a letter from President Johnson to Khrushchev echoed Debby’s request.

“...I believe strongly in the value of direct and private exchanges between you and me — in addition to the important business which of course goes on through official channels — whenever these private exchanges can be useful in the cause of peace."

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Michael D. Pitman has been a reporter in southwest Ohio since 1999. He's covered local governments in Warren and Butler counties, as well as state and national issues. He currently covers the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.