We did end up getting relatively close to the stage. My wife was clearly visible in a white blouse and colorful skirt in some photos in the papers. She covered me a bit.

I didn’t hear the ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech from the Schöneberg city hall, and I also only understood bits and pieces of the speech in Dahlem. I was a new arrival in West Berlin, and I couldn’t speak much English. That’s because I am actually from East Berlin. I grew up in Grünau. But in the East, I would not have been permitted to study at a university because I was the son of a commercial representative – a capitalist, as the authorities saw it.

To this day, I am grateful to those associated with Freie Universität who helped me get to West Berlin. They managed to get me a fake Swiss passport with my picture, a ticket for the West Berlin transit network, a little bit of Western money, and a sedative pill – if I hadn’t had that, I would probably have spilled the beans at the checkpoint. It made it possible for me to study in West Berlin.

When Kennedy promised to protect us, I was hugely relieved, believe me. But I hoped in vain that those living walled away in East Germany would also share in that relief. They ended up having to wait until 1989.”

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About the witness

Arnulf Mrose, 74, studied mathematics at Freie Universität, where he also earned his doctorate, in the 1950s and 1960s. He worked for a time as a research assistant, but ultimately decided on a teaching career. The nicest thing about his studies: He met the woman who became his wife on campus in Dahlem. She took pictures during Kennedy’s visit; the slides have been preserved.

Read more about the witness in the magazine wir, the magazine for Freie Universität alumni (PDF).