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Cold War Berlin Wall Kennedy Berlin Wall speech
Kennedy Berlin Wall Speech (June 26, 1963)
Figure 1.--Before a huge crowd in West Berlin, in the shadow of the Wall, President Kennedy delivered one of the seminal speeches of the Cold War. He told Berliners abd the Free World, "There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin. Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us."
The Cold War lasted over four decades, depending on just when you date the beginning. Durin that long period there are three speeches that stand out defining the conflict. Two occurred in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. The first was delivered bt Winston Churchill in Fulton Missouri in which he created the phase 'Iron Curtain' (1946). The next was President Kennedy's speech here in Berlin (1963). And the third was President Reagan again in Berlin whhen he challenged General Secretary Gorbechev, "Mr. Gorbechev, tear down this wall!." (1987)
A huge crowd assembled in West Berlin, in the shadow of the Wall. At the time, American and Soviet tanks stood mussel to mussel. Berlin was the most dangerous location of the Cold War. The small American garrison in West Berlin was incapable of resisting a Soviet assault. The people of West Berlin were unsure if the Americans would dare stay in the beleagered city. President Kennedy on June 26, 1963 delivered one of the seminal speeches of the Cold War and in fact the history of freedom. He told Berliners and the Free World:
There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin. Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us.
It is difficult to conceive of a more stirring inditement of not only the Wall, but the Communist system that put up that evil wall. It was a short succint statement of what the Cold War was all about.
