Cold War garden gnomes portraying President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev

A set of six garden gnomes—each one a caricature of a Cold War leader—was a gift to President Kennedy from a citizen of West Germany. In addition to the two figures shown here, the set included statues representing West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Vice Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, Mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt, and French President Charles de Gaulle.

The Khrushchev figure wears only one shoe, a humorous reference to the 1960 incident at the United Nations General Assembly, when the Soviet Premier reacted in anger to a speech by removing one of his shoes and brandishing it in the air while addressing the international body.