Berlin Revisited

Ich bin ein Berliner!” Eight years ago—June 1963—President John Kennedy stood in front of the West Berlin City Hall and assured 100,000 massed Berliners that America stood firm for freedom in the world and in West Berlin. The Berliners cheered wildly and presumably believed him.

However, ten years is a long time to live in a mutilated and divided city. The gay and gallant West Berliners, who laughed their way through the danger and deprivation of the postwar years, of the blockade in 1948, seem less gay and, only by a formidable act of will, gallant.

AA

About the Author

Anne Armstrong

Featured Tags

Ich bin ein Berliner!” Eight years ago—June 1963—President John Kennedy stood in front of the West Berlin City Hall and assured 100,000 massed Berliners that America stood firm for freedom in the world and in West Berlin. The Berliners cheered wildly and presumably believed him.

However, ten years is a long time to live in a mutilated and divided city. The gay and gallant West Berliners, who laughed their way through the danger and deprivation of the postwar years, of the blockade in 1948, seem less gay and, only by a formidable act of will, gallant.