MYTH OF JFK'S 'BERLINER' SPEECH CAME 25 YEARS AFTER THE FACT
West Berlin (JFK+50) On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke to a million West Germans in Rudolph Wilde Plaza. The President said...
"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner."
Because free West Berlin was completely surrounded by communist territory, President Kennedy, as leader of the Free World in the Cold War, wanted the people of the city to know that America stood with them in the struggle.
There has been a misconception on just what JFK said in the German language that day in Berlin. Specifically, because JFK included the indefinite article "ein," the phrase implied that he was a Berliner Pfannkuchen*.
Kat Eschner argues that would NOT have been the interpretation in 1963. The President knew exactly what he was saying and so did the West Berliners who applauded and cheered. Eschner writes that the misconception arose 25 years after-the-fact in a Newsweek editorial which is responsible for the "urban legend."
*Berliner Pfannkuchen is a traditional German pastry with no center hole. It is made from sweet yeast dough fried in fat or oil with a marmalade or jam filling, icing, & powdered sugar.
SOURCE
"Where the Myth of JFK's 'Jelly Donut' Mistake Came From," by Kat Eschner, June 26, 2017, Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmagazine.com/
West Berlin (JFK+50) On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke to a million West Germans in Rudolph Wilde Plaza. The President said...
"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner."
Because free West Berlin was completely surrounded by communist territory, President Kennedy, as leader of the Free World in the Cold War, wanted the people of the city to know that America stood with them in the struggle.
There has been a misconception on just what JFK said in the German language that day in Berlin. Specifically, because JFK included the indefinite article "ein," the phrase implied that he was a Berliner Pfannkuchen*.
Kat Eschner argues that would NOT have been the interpretation in 1963. The President knew exactly what he was saying and so did the West Berliners who applauded and cheered. Eschner writes that the misconception arose 25 years after-the-fact in a Newsweek editorial which is responsible for the "urban legend."
*Berliner Pfannkuchen is a traditional German pastry with no center hole. It is made from sweet yeast dough fried in fat or oil with a marmalade or jam filling, icing, & powdered sugar.
SOURCE
"Where the Myth of JFK's 'Jelly Donut' Mistake Came From," by Kat Eschner, June 26, 2017, Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmagazine.com/
Berliner Pfannkuchen
Photo by Rainer Zenz
on de.wikipedia
