Offered is a collection of 23 original 4 x 6-inch black & white photographs of President John F. Kennedy’s trip to West Berlin on June 26, 1963. On his visit, Kennedy aimed to underline the support of the United States for West Germany 22 months after Soviet-occupied East Germany erected the Berlin Wall to prevent mass emigration to the West. In his speech that day, his message, best remembered as “I am a Berliner,” was aimed as much at the Soviets as it was at Berliners and was a clear statement of U.S. policy in the wake of the construction of the Berlin Wall. The speech is considered one of Kennedy's best, both a notable moment of the Cold War and a high point of the New Frontier. His visit, and his speech were a great morale boost for West Berliners, who lived in an enclave deep inside East Germany and feared a possible East German occupation. The 23 photos in this collection are original news photos for international wire services, and capture the late president delivering his address, as well as the crowd reactions and general “color” material for use in news reports of the day’s events. Each of the photos is captioned on the back in German, some with black graphite pencil inscriptions, all with purple stamps from the West German news agency that distributed the photos. Highlights include a close-up photo of Kennedy at the podium with three microphones, a profile photo of the president on the streets of Berlin, a candid photo of Kennedy getting into of a car with U.S. officials behind him, and a photo of him waving to the crowd from the back seat of a convertible with other dignitaries alongside. There are four photos that capture Kennedy at the Berlin Wall, including one of him climbing up the wooden platform overlooking the Berlin Wall, as well as a photo of Kennedy and other dignitaries gazing out from the top of the platform at the Berlin Wall. There are four photos of Kennedy’s motorcade from the Berlin airport to the Berlin Wall, and one photo of Kennedy getting off Air Force One. Other photos include his reception at the airport by an official, three photos of Kennedy at a meeting in West Berlin, and five photos of Kennedy delivering his speech on the steps of Rathaus Schöneberg for an audience of 120,000.

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