nostalgic
It was 50 years ago today (on June 26, 1963) that President John F. Kennedy went to Berlin and made his famous speech in which he deeclared "Ich Bin Ein Berliner." He had intended to say, in German, "I am a Berliner", though according to some of his critics, the literal translation of what he said was "I am a pastry" or some such. My (non-existent) German isn't good enough to know who is correct, but perhaps
polkweed can settle this controversy for us.Two years earlier, in 1961, the Berlin Wall was constructed by the Soviet Union, walling off the section of the city which the Soviets occupied. (After the fall of Germany in 1945, Berlin was divided into zones for the allies, one for France, Britain, the US and Soviet Union. At the end of the war the allies joined forces and occupied the new West Germany against the soviet east Germany. Many Berliners didn’t want to live under communist rule so many east Berliners fled to the west, thus affecting the East Berlin economy massively. The wall was constructed to prevent further out-migration.
Kennedy visited Berlin in 1963 and more than a million west Berliners showed up to show support for Kennedy and his hope for a free Berlin. President Kennedy visited Vienna and Austria at the summits for meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev, but the meetings were unsuccessful in their attempts to resolve the issue of freedom for Berliners.
Kennedy delivered the speech in front of the Berlin Wall and made his speech pledging support for the goal of a free and democratic Berlin. Here is a YouTube video containing a portion of that speech: