JFK

"Ich bin ein Berliner” speech

John F. Kennedy

Rudolph Wilde Platz, Berlin, June 26th, 1963

Group 6 members:

- Basset Bastien- Briffaut Ninon- Guitard Emilien- Heritier Felix- Hourman Maxence- Mulier Matthis- Sérafini Noélie

Index

Introduction

Biography

International context

German context

Speech structure

Extract analysis

Themes analysis

Conclusion

Quiz

Sources

01

Introduction

"Ich bin ein Berliner” speech

02

Biography

of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

- Born: May 29th, 1917, Brookline, Massachussets - Family name well-known in American politics - Stopped university studies twice: London School of Economics & Princeton University - 1936: entered Harvard University - Thesis: British participation in Munich Agreement (best-seller)

• Vocabulary
• Descent = origines familiales
• Feats of arms = faits d’armes
• To bug Martin Luther King = mettre sur écoute MLK
• Cathodic legitimacy = légitimité cathodique, c’est-à-dire la légitimé construite à la télévision

Head of State

1960-1963

- The 37th President of the United States - Defeating Richard Nixon by a head. 58.04% of G.E.

Pacific War

Televisual debate, 21st October 1960John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Democrat) - Richard Nixon (Republican)

1941-1945

- Feats of arms- Navy and Marine Corps Medal

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International context

The Cold War

• Vocabulary
• Rekindled = ravivé
• Threatened = menacé
• Overturn = coup d'Etat
• Acknowledging = reconnaissant

Khruschev VS JFK

On the screen

- In October 1962: Dr No, first episode of James Bond movies - Context that inspired the pop culture - Center of American concerns

Cuba crisis

1961-1963

- Missiles installed by the U.S.S.R. on the island of Cuba: discovered by Americans - October 22th, 1962: President Kennedy ordered the naval encirclement of the island - September 1963: Moscow-Washington hotline or "red telephone"

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German context

From the blockade to the Wall

• Vocabulary
• Iron Curtain = expression regroupant tous les moyens utilisés par les autorités soviétiques pour rendre la frontière entre les deux blocs imperméable

'How to Close the Gap?', D.R. Fitzpatrick, 1948

The "Shame Wall"

Blockade of Berlin

Two Germany ?

1948-1961...

1961-1989

1948

- Soviet blockade on West Berlin enclave - Forced westerners to unite their efforts - Considered at the beginning of the Cold War

- Build from August 13rd, 1961 to November 9th, 1989- The wall is built to stop the immigration of people from east to west - Named "Shame Wall" by Western people

- Union of the three western occupation zones = Federal Republic of Germany - Creation of a new state by the soviets = German Democratic Republic

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Speech structure

• Vocabulary
• Highlights = moments forts

- JFK as a great speaker: -> Improvisation -> Smiling, enthusiastic, calm and determined -> Pauses before and after some important points -> Bostonian accent

Speech structure

- The major processes: -> Model of proximity -> Defender of Berliners - Concise and effective speech - Speech mostly known for his title: "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" -> But, many other important sentences: "let them come to Berlin", "straight to the point", "free to choose", “democracy is not perfect”

- Themes: -> Freedom, democracy, fraternity -> Attacks communism -> Pride: to be a Berliner - Historical references: Ancient Rome, General Clay, General de Gaulle

06

Extract analysis

Some difficult words/expressions in the speech:* Fellow = collègue* Proudest boast = la plus grande fierté* Besieged = assiégé* Vivid demonstration = preuve vivante* To lift your eyes beyond = pour élever vos yeux au-delà* Merely = simplement* To all mankind = à toute l’humanité* Sober = modéré

Some vocabulary: * Civis Romanus sum = I am a Roman citizen* Ich bin ein Berliner = I am a Berliner* Lass' sic nach Berlin kommen = Let them come to Berlin* Proudest boast = la plus grande fierté* To emphasize = mettre l’accent sur* Outcry = indignation* Strong bond = lien fort* Speech rate = debit de parole

03

01

- Smiling, enthusiastic, calm and determined - Ability to improvise - Particular use of timing before and after some important points - Bostonian accent

- Epistrophe: the repetition of words at the end of sentences -> Repetition of “Let them come to Berlin” X5 - Parallelism: the use of matching sentence structure, so as to balance ideas of equal importance -> “Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum"” / “Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner."”

- Bridge of sympathy with the audience - Moving words: broad words, which convey a strong idea, in order to stand out from its political opponents (but often similar in the end) -> “democracy”, “freedom” and “progress” - Personified symbol of trust: General Clay

04

02

- Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them -> “world of freedom” = “We are free, you are not” - Simplification: popularise a complex subject to be better understood, make an explanation more accessible -> Instead of explaining complex political issues, he says “come to Berlin”

- References: an allusion, a mention -> the quote “civis Romanus sum” from another speech, linked to "Ich bin ein Berliner"

07

Theme analysis

The message behind

Denunciation

of the communist model

- West Berlin erected as the counter model of communism - Invites people to come to Berlin and see by themselves - "Shame Wall" = "offense against humanity" - Constant opposition : West / East

Legitimation

of the American model

- General Clay: legitimize the American presence - Great American values: freedom & democracy - Give promises- West Berlin = symbol of the free world

"Ich bin ein Berliner", Plantu, Le Monde, Nov. 10th 1989

08

Conclusion

"Ich bin ein Berliner"

• Vocabulary
• Domestic policy = politique intérieure
• Regarding = en ce qui concerne
• Doughnut = donut
• To concur = convenir, concorder
• Convertible car = voiture décapotable
• Assassination = meurtre d’une personnalité importante
• Commitment = engagement

- JFK marked the international history: -> Era of "détente" -> Commitment to Berliners - Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 8th, 1989 - USA soft power: competition with the USSR

"Ich bin ein Berliner"

- Domestic policy: JFK met MLK (segregation) - November 22th, 1963: visit in Dallas to campaign for the Presidential election -> JFK is shot several times -> Rudolph Wilde Platz of Berlin: renamed John Fitzgerald Kennedy Platz 3days after his assassination

- Urban legend: "Ich bin ein Berliner"= citizen of Berlin = doughnut - The fight for peace and freedom continues:-> treaty concluded with the USSR to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation -> creation of the Moscow-Washington hotline - "Détente" period

09

Quiz

Who really listened?

Do you think JFK's position against the USSR was the right one in this phase of détente?

Thank you!

Sources

• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mur_de_Berlin
• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discours_de_JFK
• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerre_froide
• https://www.themessagecompany.fr/blog/ich-bin-ein-berliner-de-j-f-kennedy-un-discours-modele-de-proximite
• https://www.integrersciencespo.fr/ich-bin-ein-berliner
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GKd50lrROc
• https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/june-26-1963-ich-bin-ein-berliner-speech
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner
• https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkberliner.html
• https://blog.reedsy.com/rhetorical-devices/
• https://www.florianmueck.com/2012/04/22/ich-bin-ein-berliner-speech-analysis/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYk38-Bh09s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdfYlrSeAMI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9sRQNsaf6c
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEsnmPuycKY
• https://www.presentation-guru.com/ethos-pathos-logos-the-three-pillars-of-rhetoric/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_D._Clay
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John-F.-Kennedy-Platz
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a-class-above-what-kennedys-accent-tells-us-about-us-presidents-past-and-present-tb7xntq8z
• https://www.granger.com/results.asp?image=0012291
• Histoire du XXème Siècle, « Le monde entre guerre et paix », Tome 2 : 1945-1973, Pierre Milza et Serge Bernstein, 2017, Editions Hatier.
• Histoire des Etats-Unis, Jacques Binoche, 2017, Editions Ellipses.
• Laurence Leamer, The Kennedy Men : 1901-1963,Editions Harper Collins, 2011.
• https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/12/the-medical-ordeals-of-jfk/305572/

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