Springe direkt zu Inhalt

John F. Kennedy at Freie Universität

John F. Kennedy is received enthusiastically by the audience in Dahlem.This was the moment the crowd in Dahlem had been waiting for: John F. Kennedy arrives, standing in an open limousine with the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.John F. Kennedy is awarded honorary citizenship of Freie Universität Berlin.Almost 20,000 visitors give the President of the United States their rapt attention.From the back of the crowd, President Kennedy is hardly visible, but his words can be clearly heard by all.In his speech in Dahlem, President Kennedy is addressing the leaders and future leaders of Germany.During the President’s speech, his bodyguards wait near the car, a Lincoln X-100.President Kennedy's visit was followed by numerous representatives of the press.

"The Free University must be interested in turning out citizens of the world"

1963 during the Cold War the President of the United States gave a programmatic speech in Dahlem

It is 3:20 p.m. on June 26. A crowd of nearly 20,000 gathers on the campus of Freie Universität, in Berlin’s Dahlem district. They have come to hear the man who is driving up to the Henry Ford Building right now, in a Lincoln Continental convertible with Washington license plates.

And they won’t be disappointed: A few minutes later the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, starts his highly acclaimed speech at Freie Universität Berlin.

50th Anniversary Program: With several lectures, an official ceremony, and a symposium Freie Universität was drawing attention to the significance of the American President's visit in Berlin as well as to the speech he gave at the university in Dahlem.

John F. Kennedy Visits Dahlem

startseite

A Triumphal Visit to the Free University

All lthe tickets were gone within a very short time, and hours before the President's speech, the atmosphere in Dahlem was euphoric. This was the 26th of June, 1963, in Dahlem.

Pictures and Documents

tagesspiegel

50th Anniversary of Kennedy's Visit

Everything from the grandstand seating plan to thus far unpublished photographs and an audio file of President Kennedy's speech: here you will find a variety of documents related to President Kennedy's visit to Freie Universität Berlin.

Institute and Graduate School

Die Bibliothek des John-F.-Kennedy-Insituts

Research and Teaching about North America

When J.F. Kennedy traveled to Berlin, he brought a special gift with him: 2,500 slides and a book about American art. Both are still treasures of the library. After his assassination in Dallas, the institute was renamed in his honor: John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies (JFKI).