June 26: John F. Kennedy and the “Ich bin ein Berliner” Speech

On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy stood before a large crowd in West Berlin and delivered one of the most famous speeches of the Cold War. The city of Berlin had become a powerful symbol of the conflict between democracy and communism. After World War II, Berlin was divided into zones controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.