President Kennedy's Speech

While visiting in West Berlin I stopped at Kennedy Platz, the site of President John F. Kennedy's famous speech. The tour guide was recalling the climax of that impassioned address&md;the part when the President paused and then cried, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" The crowd that day in 1963 was swept up in the emotion of his words and ignored their meaning until later. Kennedy had wanted to say, "Ich bin Berliner!" or "I am a Berliner!" But what he actually said was, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" or "I am a jelly doughnut!"