A Look Back at President Kennedy's Historic Berlin Speech

  Here I introduce the script of President John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech delivered on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin, Germany:

  "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.'

  I appreciate my interpreter translating my German!

  There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

  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. I want to say, on behalf of my countrymen, who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope, and the determination of the city of West Berlin. While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as your Mayor has said, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.

  What is true of this city is true of Germany—real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. 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.

  Ich bin ein Berliner."

[Summary]
  President John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech was delivered on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin, Germany, at the height of the Cold War. In the speech, Kennedy declared solidarity with the people of Berlin and rejected the Soviet Union's attempts to dominate Europe. He delivered one of his most famous lines: "Ich bin ein Berliner," which means "I am a Berliner" in German. He also spoke about the difficulties of freedom and democracy and expressed the hope for lasting peace with justice. The speech is remembered as one of Kennedy's most iconic and powerful speeches.
  President John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech was delivered on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin, Germany, at the height of the Cold War. In the speech, Kennedy declared solidarity with the people of Berlin and rejected the Soviet Union's attempts to dominate Europe. He delivered one of his most famous lines: "Ich bin ein Berliner," which means "I am a Berliner" in German. He also spoke about the difficulties of freedom and democracy and expressed the hope for lasting peace with justice. The speech is remembered as one of Kennedy's most iconic and powerful speeches.