At which building did John F. Kennedy deliver his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech?

John F. Kennedy delivered his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech at Rathaus Schöneberg.

The U.S. president spoke outside West Berlin’s city hall on 26 June 1963, during a visit intended to demonstrate American support for the isolated city. His declaration that he was a Berliner became one of the best-known statements of the Cold War.

Rathaus Schöneberg served as West Berlin’s town hall during the city’s division. The speech came less than two years after East Germany had closed the border and built the Berlin Wall, making Kennedy’s appearance especially significant to West Berlin residents.

The sentence is sometimes discussed because of the German indefinite article, but German speakers understood the phrase as a forceful expression of solidarity. Kennedy was not claiming to have been born in Berlin; he was identifying himself with its people.