John F. Kennedy’s famous ‘Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in West Berlin on June 26, 1963 underlined the support of the United States for West Berlin after the Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin wall 22 months earlier. After World War II the capital of Hitler’s Third Reich had divided, the communist East and the democratic West. In 1961, the East German government erected a barbed-wire barrier around West Berlin. Months after the wall became a large concrete wall, no longer could East German defect to the West, and vice versa. The West accused the US of failing to respond forcefully to the erection of the Wall. Kennedy wanted to give a speech to let the citizens though that the US were on there side. So on June 26, 1963, behind a long table set up on the steps of the Rathaus Schöneberg, Kennedy delivered the speech in front of an estimated 450,000 people. Kennedy was the only man who could deliver this speech, as he was the president at the time, the world wide known leader of the United States. …show more content…
They did not agree with the construction of the wall. Kennedy told them what West Berlin was a symbol of freedom in a world threatened by the Cold War. The message was also aimed towards the Soviets, although it was specified. It was a clear statement of U.S. policy in the wake of the construction. At the conclusion of the speech, his words were followed by the tolling of the Freedom Bell in remembrance of those in East