Ich bin ein Berliner facts for kids
"Ich bin ein Berliner" "I am a Berliner") is a quotation from a June 26, 1963, speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin.
The message was aimed as much at the Soviets as it was at Berliners and was a clear statement of U.S. policy in the wake of the construction of the Berlin Wall. Another phrase in the speech was also spoken in German, "Lasst sie nach Berlin kommen" ("Let them come to Berlin"), addressed at those who claimed "we can work with the Communists". The quotation was just short of five months before Kennedy was assassinated later that same year.
The speech is considered one of Kennedy's best, both a notable moment of the Cold War and a high point of the New Frontier. It was a great morale boost for West Berliners, who lived in an enclave deep inside East Germany and feared a possible East German occupation. Speaking from a platform erected on the steps of Rathaus Schöneberg for an audience of 450,000, Kennedy said,
Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner!"... All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
Kennedy used the phrase twice in his speech, including at the end, pronouncing the sentence with his Boston accent and reading from his note "ish bin ein Bearleener", which he had written out using English orthography to approximate the German pronunciation.
Other pages
- Tear down this wall! (Ronald Reagan speech)
Images for kids
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John F. Kennedy's phonetic transcription of the German and Latin phrases in the Ich bin ein Berliner speech
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Kennedy delivering his speech in Berlin
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Plaque commemorating Kennedy's speech next to the front entrance of Rathaus Schöneberg
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Berliner with plum jam filling
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See also
In Spanish: Ich bin ein Berliner para niños
