European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 26, 1963, Darmstadt, Hesse Jun 16, 1963 the stars and stripes partial text of president Kennedy s speech Frankfurt Germany following is the prepared text of president Kennedy s speech tues Day at the of Tulsa Irene St Paul s Church in Frankfurt one Hundred and fifteen years agr a most Learned parliament was convened in this historic Hall. It goal was a United German federa Tion. Its members were poets an professors lawyers and thinkers doctors and clergymen freely elected in All parts of the land. No nation applauded its endeavours us warmly As my own. No Assembly Ever strove More ardently to put perfection into practice. And though in the end it failed soother building in Germany More deserve the title of Cridla of German but can there be such a title in my own Home City of Boston place of the authors of the revolution has Long been known As the Cradle of american but when. In 1852, the hungarian Patriot Kossuth addressed an Audi ence there he criticized the name. It is he said a great name but there is something in it which saddens my heart. You should not say american Liberty you should say Liberty in America Liberty should not be either american or european it should just be Liberty � must nourish Kossuth was right for unless Liberty nourishes in All lands it cannot flourish in one. Conceived in on Hall it Munt be carried to Many. Thus the seeds of the Amer lean revolution had been brought earlier from Europe and they later took Root around the world. And 1 the German revolution of 1b48 transmitted ideas and idealists to America and other lands. Today in 1963, democracy and Liberty Are More International than Ever. And the spirit of the Frankfurt Assembly. Like the spirit of Fanell Hall. Must Uve in Many hearts and is sons if it is to live at Alt h for we live in an age of inter k dependence As Well As Independence pm an age of internationalism in a Stead of nationalism. In 1848 Many 3jbe countries were indifferent to the goals of the Frankfurt parliament. W it was they said a German prob Ftp. Lem. Today there Are no exclusively a German problems or american. Problems or even european prob w Lens. There Are world problems am and our two countries and con it a cents Are inextricably bound to a Gether on the tasks of peace As w fwu " we a we Are partners for peace not 5v la it narrow bilateral context but in a framework of Atlantic part -. Ner shop. The Ocean divides us less than the Mediterranean divided l tha ancient world of Greece and Rome our Constitution is old an Yotts is Young our culture i Young and yours is old but in hour commitment to Freedom wer can and must speak with but one voice. Our roles Are distinct but complementary and our goals Are the same peace and Freedom for All men for All time in a world of abundance is Why our nations Are working together to strengthen nato to expand Trude to assist the developing countries to align our monetary policies and to Bull the Atlantic Community. I w o u 1. Not diminish the my raced of West 73 term my i economic achievements j but the True German my rare has a been your rejection of the past for be the future your reconciliation with France your participation in9$jg the building of Europe your leads ing role in nato and your grow Jing support for constructive under 19 takings throughout. The world. Your economic institutions your u guarantees your�9 Confidence in civilian authority Are mall harmonious with the ideals of1h older democracies. And they form of firm pillar of the democratic european Community. Y but Goethe tells us in his great est poem that Faust lost the Liberty of his soul when he said to the a Long moment stay thou Are and our Liberty too is endangered it we pause for the pass no moment if we rest on our achievements if we resist the in Cerf Progress. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is thaw of life. And those who look Only to the pasare certain to miss the future. The future of the West lies i Atlantic partnership a system to cooperation. Inter depend lice an Larmony whose Peoples can jointly meet their burdens and opportunities throughout the world. Some say that is Only a dream but i Donot agree. A generation of achieve ment the Marihall plan nato the Schuman plan and the com Mon Market urges us up the lath to greater Unity. There will be difficulties and de lays. There will be doubts and Dos courage rent Tero will be d 1 f frences of approach and opinion. But we have the will and the Means to serve three related goals the heritage of our countries then Ltd of our continents and the interdependence of the Western Al Liance. Some say that the United state swill neither hold to these purposes nor Abeldt by its pledges that Weill revert to a narrow National ism. But such doubts Fly in the Ace of history. For 18 years the United states has stood us watch or Freedom All around the world. The firmness of american will an the effectiveness of american strength have been shown in sup port of free men and free govern ments in Asia in Africa in the americas and. Above All Here in Europe. We have undertaken an sustained in Honor relations of Mutual Trust and obligation with Mure than 40 allies. To Are proud of this record which More than answer Sall doubts. But in addition these proven commitments to the com Mon Freedom and safety Are assured. In the future As in the past by one great fundamental fact that they Are deeply rooted i America s own self interest. Our commitment to Europe is in dispensable in our interest As Well As yours. It is not in our interest to try to dominate the european councils of decision. If that were our objective we would prefer to see Europe divided and weak enabling the United states to Deal with each fragment individually. Instead we look Forward to a Europe United and Strong speaking with a com Mon voice acting with a com Mon will a world Power capable of meeting world problems As a full and equal partner. Interest off us All this is in the interest of us War in Europe As we Learned twice in 40 years destroys peace in America. A threat to the free Dom of Europe is a threat to the Freedom of , that is Why no administration in Washington con fall to respond to such a threat not merely from Good will but from necessity. And that is Why we look Forward to a unite Europe in an Atlantic partnership an entity of interdependent parts sharing equally both burdens and decisions and linked together in the tasks of defense and the arts of is no fantasy. It will be achieved by Concrete Steps to solve the problems that face us All Mili tary economic and political. Partnership is not a posture but a process a continuous process tha grows stronger each year As we de vote ourselves to common first task of the Atlantic Community was to assure the common defense. That defense was and still is indivisible. The unite states will risk its cities to defend yours because we need your free Dom to protect ours hundreds of thousands of of. Soldiers serve with yours on this continent intangible evidence of that pledge. Those who would doubt our Pledger deny this indivisibility those who would scan rate Europe fro America or spilt one Nelly from another would Only give old in Comfort to the men who make themselves our adversaries an Welcome any Western disarray. The purpose of our common Mill try Effort is not War but Pence not the destruction of nations but the Protection of Freedom. The Orres that West Germany contrib utes to this Effort Are second to Mno Monn euro pen n nut Ion in in us first line of Elensi and your divisions slide Liy Ide with stir own Are a source of Trei Iklo to us nil. Potent deterrent these conventional forces Are is Enolal. And they Are backed by the Sanction of thousands of the postmodern weapons Here on european soil and thousands More Only min utes away on Post around the world. Together our nations have developed for the Forward defense of free Europe a deterrent far surmising the present or prospective orce of any hostile Power. Nevertheless it u natural tha America s nuclear position has raised questions i thin the Alliance believe we must confront these questions not by turning the clock Ackward to separate National de terrents but by developing a More closely unified Atlantic deterrent with genuine european participation. How this can Best be done is now under discussion with those who May wish to join in this proposal before us is for a new Atlantic Force. Such a Force would bring strength instead of weakness. Cohesion instead of division. I would belong to All members not one with All participating on basis of full Seq Utility. And As Europe moves towards Unity its Roland responsibility Here As else accordingly. Meanwhile there is much to must work More closely la Jether on strategy training an planning. European officers from nato Are being assigned to strategic air command Headquarters in Omaha. Modern weapons Are be ing deployed in Western Europe. And America s slate la deterrent the most powerful in history will continue to be at the service of the whole Alliance. Second our partnership is nonmilitary alone. Economic Unity is aim imperative not Only Amon the nations of Europe but across the wide , economic cooperation is needed throughout the entire free world. By opening our markets to the developing countries of and latin America by contributing our capital and our skills. Help assure them of a favourable this is an Atlantic the Atlantic nations helped to Nonken these Peoples. Our Mer chants and traders ploughed up their soils and their societies Aswell in search of minerals and Oil and rubber and Coffee. Now we must help them gain full member ship in the 20th Century closing the Gap Between Rich and poor another great economic challenges the coming round of Trade negotiations. Those deliberations Are much More than a technical Dis Cussion of tariffs and Commerce they Are an Opportunity to Bull common industries and across the Atlantic. The Are an Opportunity to open up new sources of demand to give new 1m Petus to growth and make More jobs and Prosperity for our sex pin Dong populations. They Are to recognise the Trad ing needs and aspirations of other free world nations. Including Japan. In Short these negotiations area test of our Unity. While each no Ion must naturally look Outor us own interests each Netlon just also look out for the the need for greater mar sets on both sides of the Allan Lac do need to reduce the imbalance we when developed and developing Tion and the need to Rel Mulle Ito Allan Elf Economy to High revels if Protection. We must not return to the 19.10when we exported to each other or own Slit Netlon. We must no return to the Dan credited View that ride favors some notions at the Ponse of others. Let no one Hank that the United St los Withney n fraction of us Economy de end enl on Trade and Only a nmn Lart of hot with Western Europe is seeking Irtle expansion in Der to dump mtr goods on this on Lent. Trade expansion Willelm us nil. The experience of the common Market like the expert Nee of the German Zollverein Hows an increased Rise in and general Prosperity re Ultang for All participants in Schrade agreements with no member profiting at the expense of anole a. As they say on my own Cape cod a rising tide lifts All the a partnership by definition Erves both partners without dam nation or unfair advantage. Ogeth r we have been partners in adversity let us also be partners in Prosper Ltd. Beyond development and trades monetary policy. Here again our note rests run together. Indeed Here is no Field in which the wider interest of All More clearly outweighs the narrow interest of one. We have lived by that Pron Isle As Bankers to Freedom for a generation. Now that other a ions including West Germany have found new economic strength is Lime for common efforts Here of. The great free nations of the world must take control of our monetary problems if those prob Ems Are not to control us. Common purpose third and finally our partner ship depends on common political purpose. Against the hazards of division and lassitude no lesser Force will serve. History tells us that disunity ant relaxation Are the great internal dangers of an Alliance. Thucydides reported that the peloponnesian a and their Allie were mighty in Battle but Handl rapped by their policy making Way in which he related each presses us own Neralic results in no action at ill. They devote More time tothe prosecution of their own Pur poses than to the consideration of the general Good Ach supposes that no harm will come of his own neglect that it is the business of another to do this or that and so As each separately entertains the same illusion the common cause imperceptibly is that also to be the Story of the grand Alliance welded in a moment of imminent danger Willit disintegrate in complacency. With each member pressing it sown ends to the neglect of the common cause this must not Betha Case. Our old dangers Are not gone beyond return and any division among us would bring them Back in doubled strength. Our defences Are now Strong but they must be made stronger our economic goals Are now a Jour but we must get on with their performance. And the greatest your necessities the most notable of our missions. Is Progress toward Unity of political purpose. For we live in a world in which our own United strength and wll must be our first Reliance. Shave said before and will soy again we work toward the a when there May be real peace be tween us and the communists. Weill not be second in that Effort. But that Day is not yet great present task of construction is Here on this Contin enwere the Effort for a unified tree Europe is underway. It is not Foramer Lynns to prescribe to euro peans How this Effort should Ben ruled Forward. Nor do i believe hot there is any one right Courser any single final pattern. It is europeans who Are building eur Ope. Yet the reunion of Europe Ascot open is shape it bringing a a remanent end to the civil War sent have repeatedly wracked tha world will continue to Hove theeler mined support of the United totes. For that reunion is a Neces try step in strengthening the Community of Freedom. It would Treathen our Alliance for its de Ense. And it would be in our Naonal interest As Well As yours. It is Only a fully cohesive Europe that ran protect us All against ramen Letlon of the Alliance. On Yuch a Europe wll permit full re in Ralty of treatment across the Ocean. In facing the Atlantic Agen a. With Only such a Europe can we have a full give and take be Ween equals an equal sharing of responsibilities and an equal level f sacrifice. I repeat again Shat there May be no mls under Tandang the Choice of paths Tohe Unity of Europe is a Choice which Europe must make. But Sou continue this great Effort undeterred by either difficulty or de a you should know that this new european greatness will be not abject of fear but a source of strength for the United states of Merica. There Are other political task before us. We must All learn to rect Lee More completely the Artof consultation on matters stretch no Well beyond immediate Mill Ary and economic questions. To Gether for example we must explore the possibilities of leasing he tensions of the cold War an reducing the dangers of the arms race. Together we must work to strength in the spirit of those europeans who Are now not free toc establish their old ties to free Lorn and the West so that their Leslie for Liberty and sense of a Ion Hood will survive for future expression. We ask those who would be our adversaries to under tand that in our relations with hem we will not bargain on a Ion s interest against another s Aid that the commitment to the cause of Freedom is common to us All. All of us in the West must healthful to our conviction that peace in Europe can never be com Lete until everywhere in Europe men can choose. In peace and free Dom How their countries shall be governed and choose without Reat to any neighbor reunified Ion with their countrymen. No easy liberation i preach no easy liberation and make no empty promises but my countrymen believe strongly in the proposition that All men halt be free and All free men shall have this right of Choice. For we know now that freedoms More than the rejection o tyranny that Prosperity is More than an escape from want that partnership is More than a Shar ing of Power. These Are All. Above All. Great human adventures. The must have meaning and conviction and purpose and because they do in your country now and to mine in All the nations of the Alliance we Are called to a great new mis Sion. So we Are All idealists. We Areall Vlasio Narlins. Let it not be said of this Atlantic generation that we left ideals and visions to the past. Nor purpose and determination tour adversaries. We have come too for we have sacrificed too disdain the future now. And we shall Ever remember that Goethe told us that the highest Wisdom. The Best that Mankind Ever the realization that he Only earns his Freedom and exl Stenc who Dally conquers them 8
