“Ich bin ein Berliner”

US President Kennedy speaks in front of Schöneberg Town Hall in Berlin

Having failed to push back against the building of the Berlin Wall during his first year in office, US President John F. Kennedy left many West Berliners feeling abandoned. To reassure an important ally, Kennedy used his visit marking the 15th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift almost two years later to assure West Berliners of continued American support. Addressing crowds gathered in front of Schöneberg Town Hall, he made clear the firm intention of the USA to guarantee the security of West Berlin against Soviet encroachment.

Portraying West Berlin as an “island of freedom”, he summed up his English-language speech with the German phrase “Ich bin ein Berliner”, the pronunciation of which he had practised before coming out onto the balcony to speak to the crowds. The million West Berliners listening to the US President responded with several minutes of cheering and chanting. Broadcast live on German and US radio and television, the speech gained international prominence and established itself in the collective memory of the Germans. The DDR leadership interpreted Kennedy’s appearance as a provocation.