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Those who could get tickets considered themselves lucky. ©Universitätsarchiv der Freien Universität Berlin
VISITING GERMANY: BERLIN – John F. Kennedy at Freie Universität Berlin – Kennedy Visits Dahlem – 50-year anniversary
Anniversary Program – The Berlin visit of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the 50-year anniversary of the founding of the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies are being commemorated with numerous events at Freie Universität Berlin.
The Day in Pictures
Beginning with people lining the streets patiently waiting, and leading up to the U.S. President’s triumphant arrival in a Lincoln X-100 convertible: Kennedy’s visit to Berlin’s Dahlem district in pictures
Ich bin ein Dahlemer
His speech at Schöneberg’s City Hall is etched in memory, but the content of Kennedy’s speech at Freie Universität was actually more important.
Behind the Scenes of John F. Kennedy's Speech at Freie Universität
On March 27, 1963, the Academic Senate of Freie Universität unanimously passed a confidential resolution to invite Kennedy to speak at the university and to name him an honorary member of the university. There were 91 days before the visit, and a staggering amount of organizational work had to be completed.
The Day in Pictures and Documents
Those who could get tickets considered themselves lucky. Source: Universitätsarchiv der Freien Universität Berlin
"This school must be interested in turning out citizens of the World":
Kennedy's speech at Freie Universität as an audio file.
Master at encouragement
The rhetoric of encouragement: Kennedy’s speech at Freie Universität. An interview with political linguist Josef Klein.
What would Kennedy say today?
Thomas Greven, an expert on the U.S., considers a hypothetical question: What would Kennedy say to the people of Berlin today?
The day in documents
From the entrance tickets to the grandstand seating plan: Documents related to Kennedy's visit to Dahlem.
Politics, Protests, Personalities
The John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies was founded in 1963 by the political scientist Ernst Fraenkel. Source: Bernd Wannenmacher
When John F. Kennedy traveled to Berlin with his delegation in the summer of 1963, he brought a special gift with him: two slide projectors, 2,500 slides, and an accompanying book about American art, all intended for the newly founded Institute for North American Studies at Freie Universität. This kit introducing American ideas is still part of the collections at the institute library to this day – though the projectors are now obsolete.
Just a few months after his visit, Freie Universität gave the former U.S. president a posthumous honor: On November 25, 1963, just three days after the attack in Dallas, the Institute for North American Studies was renamed the John F. Kennedy Institut (JFKI).
Kennedy had just been named an honorary member of Freie Universität Berlin in June, delivering a speech in front of the Henry Ford Building that was cheered by faculty and students alike. With such fresh memories, the university shared in mourning the president. His death cast a pall over the start of the 1963 winter semester. Herbert Lüers, at the time the university’s rector, wrote a circular about the events on the occasion of the enrollment celebrations, in it expressing a deep personal sense of loss. Lüers also called the speech the U.S. president had given during his visit in June Kennedy’s legacy for Freie Universität.
At the time, the university had close ties to North America: In the 1950s, shortly after its founding, Freie Universität established its first few partnerships with top American universities, including Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia; plans for an institute of North American studies were already in the works at the time. The founding of the institute was ultimately made possible by the Ford Foundation , which provided about a million dollars intended for various purposes, including to develop the library.
The institute’s founder, Ernst Fraenkel, also had ties with the Americans, which helped him to set the tone. Fraenkel, a German Jew, was able to flee to the United States on the eve of World War II – and he was one of the few scholars to return to Germany in the 1950s. With his work on the American system of government and theories of democracy, he was considered one of Germany’s leading political scientists at the time.
Anniversary Program
The Berlin visit of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the 50-year anniversary of the founding of the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies are being commemorated with numerous events at Freie Universität Berlin.
Lecture: "Berlin 1963: J. F. Kennedy besucht den gefährlichsten Ort der Welt"
["Berlin 1963: John F. Kennedy visits the most dangerous place in the world"]
Lecture by Friedrich Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C. The lecture will be given in German.
Time and Location
- Wednesday, June 26, 2013, 6 p.m.
- Henry Ford Building, Lecture Hall A, Garystr. 35, 14195 Berlin
Advance Registration
- RSVP required by June 21: Fax: +49 30 838 73444 or Email: einladung@fu-berlin.de.
- The doors will open at 5:30. Please have your photo ID ready.
Anniversary Celebration in Honor of the Founding of the John F. Kennedy Institute 50 Years Ago
Words of Welcome
- Prof. Irwin Collier, Ph.D., Director of the John F. Kennedy Institute
- Prof. Dr. Peter André Alt, President of Freie Universität Berlin
- His Excellency Philip D. Murphy, Ambassador of the United States of America in Federal Republic of Germany
The Institute in Retrospect
- Prof. Dr. Winfried Fluck and Prof. Dr. Heinz Ickstadt, John F. Kennedy Institute
Keynote Address
- Prof. Alan Trachtenberg, Ph.D. (Yale University), "Dark Patches and Solitude: Whitman's American Noir"
Time and Location
- Thursday, June 27, 2013, 4 p.m. (s.t.)
- Lecture Hall 1 B, Rostlaube, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin
- The reception following the speeches will be held in the rooms of the John F. Kennedy Institute, Lansstraße 7-9, 14195 Berlin.
Symposium: "New Horizons: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on North America"
Leading scholars will analyze current developments in American society and culture, discuss varieties of the meaning of notions of "crisis," and survey new forms of social and cultural creativity. The speakers include Prof. James K. Galbraith, Ph.D. (University of Texas, Austin), Prof. Paula Moya, Ph.D. (Stanford University), and Prof. Ramón Saldívar, Ph.D. (Stanford University).
Time and Location
- Friday, June 28, 2013, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Room 340, John F. Kennedy Institute, Lansstraße 7-9, 14195 Berlin
Link to the Symposium Schedule
"Homecoming" and "Back to the Sixties" Party
Hosted by the students of the John F. Kennedy Institute
Time and Location
- Friday, June 28, 2013, starting at 6:30 p.m.
- John F. Kennedy Institute, Lansstraße 7-9, 14195 Berlin
Sign Up for the Events of the Institute's Anniversary Celebration
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All current and former students and staff are invited to all the festivities celebrating the anniversary of the institute's founding.
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Alumni and former employees are asked to RSVP to the following email address: jfki50years@zedat.fu-berlin.de.
