John-F.-Kennedy-Platz (John F. Kennedy Square), formerly Rudolph-Wilde-Platz, in the

Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempe ...

section of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

is the square in front of the former city hall of

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

(

Rathaus Schöneberg Rathaus Schöneberg is the city hall for the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Berlin. From 1949 until 1990 it served as the seat of the state senate of West Berlin and from 1949 until 1991 as the seat of the Governing Mayor. History The sa ...

). It was here, on June 26, 1963, that US President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

gave his famous speech to the Berliners, in which he stated: "''

Ich bin ein Berliner "" (; "I am a Berliner") is a speech by United States President John F. Kennedy given on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin. It is one of the best-known speeches of the Cold War and among the most famous anti-communist speeches. Twenty-two mont ...

''". The square was renamed John-F.-Kennedy-Platz on 25 November 1963, three days after Kennedy's assassination,"Berliners Cry as Taps Sound for Kennedy— City Hall Square Now Bears His Name", ''Chicago Tribune'', November 25, 1963, p. 12 and a large plaque dedicated to Kennedy, mounted on wall next to the entrance to the city hall, was unveiled one year after Kennedy's speech.

References

External links

Text, Audio, Video of Kennedy's Berlin Speech

See also

References

External links

Further reading