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Kennedy: Ich bin ein Berliner
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"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner," -- John F. Kennedy, 1963
Touring throughout western Europe on goodwill missions in June 1963, Kennedy would speak to a nation divided both physically and in spirit. After the fall of Adolf Hitler in World War II, the East Germans, under Soviet control, would halt access to West Berlin in 1948 to those seeking freedom from the Soviet regime.
Years later, in 1961, those same East German forces would begin constructing a 12-foot high wall that would enclose West Berlin, further preventing their own from crossing into U.S. and allied territory.
With the Berlin Wall as his backdrop, Kennedy would deliver one of the most stirring speeches of the Cold War:
Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us… So let me ask you as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.
NEXT: Richard Nixon, Resignation Address
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