JFK School 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall Celebration

November 12, 2009

Berlin
Ambassador Philip D. Murphy

Thank you very much for inviting us to this very special program. Thank you Director Reinhard and to the German and American principals who have welcomed my family here tonight. Thank you to the student speakers and the Boy Scout Troup for their presentation.

Ich möchte auch Herrn Norbert Kopp, den Bezirksbürgermeister von Steglitz-Zehlendorf, begrüßen. Herr Kopp, als Einwohner „Ihres" Bezirks sage ich Danke - denn die Gegend, in der ich wohne, ist ein wirklich lebenswerter Ort.

[I also wish to recognize the presence of Steglitz-Zehlendorf Bezirksbürgermeister Norbert Kopp. As a resident of your Bezirk, Herr Kopp, I wish to especially thank you for making my neighborhood such an enjoyable place to live.]

The whole Murphy family is delighted to be in Berlin. My wife and I are especially pleased that our four children will be able to spend part of their youth in this beautiful and historical city. I am sure that the parents of the 650 American students here at the John F Kennedy School feel exactly the same way.

The Kennedy School was established 49 years ago. It is now an established Berlin institution and remains a highly desired school of first choice - for Americans, Germans and students of a number of other nationalities. Over the past 49 years, the alumni of this school have been exposed to a unique perspective on the history, culture, and language of both the United States and Germany. The U.S. Embassy continues to be committed to a strong institutional partnership to the John F. Kennedy School. The Embassy contributes to a Trust Fund on behalf of families who send their children to JFK, which funds educational materials and costs that help support the uniquely American aspects of the school. A goal of mine during my time here is to work with Berlin city officials to ensure that the JFK School is strongly supported.

Since the Trust Fund was founded in 1997, the Embassy has contributed about 4 million Euros. That money has gone toward the purchase of American books and instructional materials. It has paid for the computer network which now connects all the classrooms. It supports special activities such as the ‘Odyssey of the Mind' club and the annual Model UN. The 2009 Model UN takes place next week. It also pays the expenses required to recruit new American teachers and administrators. Their skill and enthusiasm are essential to maintaining the American character of the School. So although Embassy children may only make up a small percentage of the total school population in any given year, the Embassy contributes directly to the overall good of the School. We are proud to do so.

Why? Because this school is a shining example of German-American relations. The special place the JFK School holds in Berlin's post-war history is captured by the school's namesake. President Kennedy's visit to Berlin in June 1963 is history. His words, "Ich bin ein Berliner" symbolized not only America's commitment to Germany, it also symbolized America's commitment to freedom and democracy for all. Less well-known is the fact that on that June day, President Kennedy also visited the Free University. His appeal to the students there, I believe, also apply to the students of the school that bears his name.

The President said that schools must not be primarily interested in "turning out merely corporation lawyers or skilled accountants. ....it must be interested in turning out citizens of the world, who comprehend the difficult, sensitive tasks that lie before us as free men and women, and who are willing to commit their energies to the advancement of a free society."

When I hear those words, I think of all those students who lived on the other side of the Berlin Wall, of a young Angela Merkel, who last week in Washington, before a historic joint session of Congress, talked about the significance of Kennedy's visit and her passion for the ideas represented by the American Dream.

Sie sagte: Ich habe mich begeistert für den American Dream - die Möglichkeit für jeden, Erfolg zu haben, durch eigene Anstrengungen es zu etwas zu bringen.

Das Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten - es war für mich lange Jahre meines Lebens das Land der unerreichbaren Möglichkeiten. Mauer, Stacheldraht, Schießbefehl - sie begrenzten meinen Zugang zur freien Welt. So musste ich mir aus Filmen und Büchern, die teilweise meine Verwandten aus dem Westen schmuggelten, ein Bild von den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika machen.

[She said: I was passionate about the American dream - the opportunity for everyone to be successful, to make it in life through their own personal efforts.

The land of unlimited opportunity - for a long time it was impossible for me to reach. The Wall, barbed wire and the order to shoot those who tried to leave limited my access to the free world. So I had to create my own picture of the United States from films and books, some of which were smuggled in from the West by relatives.]

I had the honor of attending that joint session and listening to the Chancellor's remarks. They were very moving. The Wall that divided Germany divided people and ideas for 40 years. There is probably not a German or American alive above a certain age who does not feel touched or moved in some way by the stories and images and memories that the fall of the Berlin evoked and this 20^th anniversary.

It is important, however, that people under twenty also feel the drama of this history. Your program this evening - "Stimmen durch die Mauer/Voices Through the Wall" - contributes to keeping the memory and meaning of this struggle for freedom alive. I congratulate the students of John F. Kennedy School for putting this production together. My family and I look forward to viewing more of the performance this evening. I thank the teachers and administrators of John F. Kennedy School for ensuring that the meaning and history behind the words of President Kennedy and Chancellor Merkel are taught here.

Thank you all for your commitment. I look forward to meeting with you and getting to know you during the reception.