Ich Bin Ein Berliner Speech Analysis

During the June of 1963, President John F. Kennedy toured five Western European nations in the name of altruism and public spirit as well as to strengthen alliances with the United States. First, he visited Germany which had endured the torment of Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship just twenty years before and emerged as an East and West. This became a landmark symbol of communism vs. democracy and suffering vs. freedom. In “Ich bin ein Berliner,” JFK utilizes justice bound diction, emotional appeals, and repetition to shed light on the injustices of the Berlin Wall. Beginning in his introduction, JFK utilizes powerful associations around the word “democracy.” Words like “freedom” and “progress” portray democracy in a positive light. This paired with phrases such as, “moments of crisis,”and “offense[s] against humanity” juxtapose the good and bad of communism against democracy evidencing the evils of the Berlin Wall. He intends not for just the people of Berlin or even just Germany, but for the people of the world to feel a sense of remorse and personal responsibility for this lapse in humaneness in our humanity. It is important to note that the Holocaust was not far behind in the past and that Germany and the world was still recovering from those crimes …show more content…
"Ich bin ein Berliner" which translates to "I am a Berliner," helps JFK resonate with the audience on a personal level. He also repeats the line, "Let them come to Berlin" to get the attention of the rest of the free world to stand up and do something about these injustices refuting the claim that, “communism is the new wave of the world.”
In “Ich bin ein Berliner,” not only does John F. Kennedy express his opposition of the Berlin Wall but he urges the world to pay attention and not let these atrocities go unnoticed. In the wise words of Elie Wiesel, “human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere,” and “only one enemy is worse than despair: