Ich bin ein Berliner

This study guide will help you analyze the speech “Ich bin ein Berliner” by John F. Kennedy. We will show you examples of elements in the text that will be relevant for your analysis. In these notes, we will focus on main topics, speaker, audience, language and circumstances. We will also give you an idea of Kennedy’s intention with the speech.

Presentation of the speech

Title: “Ich bin ein Berliner” 
Speaker: John F. Kennedy 
Context: US President John F. Kennedy’s speech in West Berlin 
Date of speech: 26^th of June, 1963

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35^th President of the United States from 1961 to 1963 (the year when he was assassinated). During his administration, an important part of Kennedy’s foreign policy was managing US relationships with the Soviet Union and Communist states in the context of the Cold War.

You can watch the speech here.