Ich bin ein Berliner

"Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") is a famous phrase from a June 26, 1963 speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin. Kennedy was underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after communist East Germany had erected the Berlin Wall as a deadly barrier to its citizens escaping to the West.

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June 26 - 1963 - U.S. President - John F. Kennedy - West Berlin - United States - Democratic - West Germany - Communist - East Germany - Berlin Wall

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The speech is considered one of Kennedy's best, and a notable moment of the Cold War. It was a great morale boost for the West Berliners, who feared absorption into the Soviet empire. Speaking from the balcony of Rathaus Schöneberg, Kennedy said,

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Cold War - Soviet - Rathaus Schöneberg

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:"Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis Romanus sum. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is 'Ich bin ein Berliner.' 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!'"

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This message of defiance was aimed as much at the Soviets as it was the Berliners, and was a clear statement of U.S. policy in the wake of the Berlin Wall. However, Kennedy also faced criticism inasmuch as his speech seemed to accept the new status quo following the division of Berlin. Kennedy said West Berlin had been "besieged for 18 years" — alluding to the Berlin Airlift and other events — but critics said he had tacitly accepted that East Berlin was part of the Soviet bloc, despite the fact that all of Berlin was under four-power occupation and technically part of neither West nor East Germany.

Related Topics:
Status quo - Berlin Airlift - East Berlin - Soviet bloc

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The speech signaled American resolve in the face of communism, and helped boost Kennedy's standing ahead of his meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev two months later, at which the two agreed on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Related Topics:
Nikita Khrushchev - Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

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