Ich bin ein Berliner

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ich-bin-ein-berliner

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Where is Ich bin ein Berliner?West Berlin, Germany
2. How many people live in Ich bin ein Berliner?Approximately 2.1 million (West Berlin, 1963)
3. How big is Ich bin ein Berliner?West Berlin covered approximately 480 square kilometers (185 sq mi)
4. What does "Ich bin ein Berliner" mean?It means "I am a citizen of Berlin." In Berlin, the word "Berliner" refers to a person, not a doughnut.
5. Why did President Kennedy say "Ich bin ein Berliner" in 1963?He wanted to show support for the people of West Berlin and warn the Soviet Union that the U.S. would defend freedom.

Cold War: A state of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s.
Iron Curtain: A symbolic and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War.
Rhetoric: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Solidarity: Unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support.