John F. Kennedy Addresses West Berlin
1963-06-26
John F. Kennedy spoke outside Schöneberg Town Hall on 26 June 1963 after visiting the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. Standing beside West Berlin’s mayor, Willy Brandt, and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, he declared himself a Berliner. [3] [2]
Since August 1961, the Wall had separated families and stopped the movement of people from East to West through the city. American forces continued to hold their sector of Berlin. [1] [3] [2]
Kennedy acknowledged democracy’s difficulties while condemning a system that kept its population inside by force. He promised solidarity with West Berlin and looked toward German reunification, without offering an immediate way to remove the barrier. [2]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- JFK and the Cold War — JFK Library
Berlin crisis and construction of the Wall, August 1961
- Kennedy’s declaration of solidarity with West Berlin — German History in Documents and Images
Speech transcript; title date cross-checked against JFK Library
- One Day in Berlin: Kennedy’s visit and speech — JFK Library
USG:2B-1; itinerary and speech description
- Knappstein, Karl Heinrich
Biographical register, p. 1
- State Department telegram to the embassy in Germany, 23 January 1963
FRUS 1961–1963, volume XIII, document 60
Related Reading
Cite This Article
John F. Kennedy Addresses West Berlin. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record 1350c2b89411b841f0b1. https://chanceries.org/research/history/germany-kennedy-187cbec3d6/