JFK’s Ich Bin Ein Berliner Speech

After the surrender of Germany near the end of World War Two, Berlin and the whole of Germany was divided between the communist east and the democratic west, causing Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to call West Berlin “a bone in my throat,” further vowing to “eradicate this splinter from the heart of Europe.”

Soviet Threats

When Khrushchev later threatened to restrict western access to West Berlin, in a televised address to the nation on July 25th, 1961, President John F. Kennedy pushed back at the Soviet leader’s threat, announcing a major military buildup in western-held Germany, further declaring that any attack on West Berlin would be viewed as an attack on the United States.

Tragically Assassinated

As the Cold War reached its zenith years, less than seven months after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis and an equal number of months before JFK’s tragic assassination, on June 26, 1963, after the young president viewed the Berlin Wall and the barrenness of East Berlin, he rejected a script written by his speechwriters, penning his own words for an address before an enthusiastic crowd of West Berliners—a speech that would galvanize his presidency, at the same time highlighting his staunch defense of democracy and self governance.