In a symbolic show of support, John F. Kennedy had sent his vice president, Lyndon Johnson, to West Berlin in August 1961. At the time, he also ordered 1,500 American troops stationed in other parts of the Federal Republic to West Berlin to reinforce the U.S. garrison there. In June 1963, Kennedy made a personal trip to the city. On the occasion of his visit, East German border guards suspended large panels of red cloth from the Brandenburg Gate and mounted an English-language propaganda poster directly in front of it. The poster claimed that the denazification and demilitarization of Germany called for in Yalta and Potsdam had been achieved only in the GDR. After being photographed in front of the Wall with Governing Mayor Willy Brandt and Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Kennedy delivered his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech at Schöneberg City Hall. Photo by Will McBride.