Which U.S. president visited West Berlin in 1963 and gave the “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech?

John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin in 1963 and gave the “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech.

Kennedy arrived in West Berlin on 26 June 1963, nearly two years after East Germany had erected the Wall. He spoke at Rathaus Schöneberg, where he praised the city’s resistance and emphasized that the United States regarded Berlin’s security as a major Cold War commitment.

His visit followed growing concern about the political and humanitarian consequences of the Wall. West Berlin was an enclave surrounded by East German territory, and its connection to West Germany depended on carefully protected access routes.

The visit is sometimes confused with Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate, which also addressed the Berlin Wall. Kennedy’s speech came earlier and is remembered for the German phrase “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Reagan’s speech included the later-famous appeal to “tear down this wall.”