John F. Kennedy's Speech at the Berlin Wall

the walls separated more than a city it separated the world on one side lived people who were free to be Christians or Muslims Buddhists Hindus Jews or Confucians on the other side lived people whose expression of any religion was discouraged or taken away on June the 26th a short distance from the wall and overlooking the east the people of West Berlin welcomed a visitor the President of the United States of America [Applause] 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 there are some who say that communism is the wave of the future let them come to Berlin and there are even a few who say that it's true that communism is an evil system but it permits us to make economic progress lost Zeenat Berlin in common freedom as 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 while the wall is the most obvious and

vivid demonstration of the failures of the communist system for all the world to see we take no satisfaction in it for it is as your mayor has said an offense not only against history bought an offense against humanity separating families dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters and dividing up people who wish to be joined together freedom is indivisible and when one man is enslaved all enough free all all free men wherever they may live a citizens of Berlin and therefore as a free man I take pride in the words ich bin ein bier

Lena [Applause] you