Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

On this day 1963 JFK went to Berlin (streaming and mp3 of speech here)....

"I am proud to come to this city as the guest of your distinguished Mayor, who has symbolized throughout the world the fighting spirit of West Berlin. And I am proud -- And I am proud to visit the Federal Republic with your distinguished Chancellor who for so many years has committed Germany to democracy and freedom and progress, and to come here in the company of my fellow American, General Clay, who -- who has been in this city during its great moments of crisis and will come again if ever needed.

Two thousand years ago, 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."

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world.

Let them come to Berlin.

There are some who say -- There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future.

Let them come to Berlin.

And there are some who say, in Europe and elsewhere, we can work with the Communists.

Let them come to Berlin.

And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress.

Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

... relish the wonderful, brief, repetitive but powerful, direct speech ... compare and contrast with the smirking chimp now. Lord Patel was 22 when he heard this and was inspired - who wasn't?

Democracy is an award winning play by Michael Frayn , premiered at the National Theatre in 2003 opened on Broadway in 2004 and has been shown in Copenhagen and Oslo (Brandt was married to a Norwegian and took nationality during the war).

The play, based in fact, deals with the decision of Willy Brandt (in the picture, then Mayor of Berlin then sponsored by publisher Springer) West German chancellor had to make about exposing Günter Guillaume who worked as his secretary as a Stasi spy, and who was privy to many state secrets.