During U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Germany from June 23 to 26, 1963, hundreds of thousands of people streamed into the streets at several locations. The American flag and a sign inscribed “June 17″—West Germany’s day of remembrance for the uprising in East Germany in 1953—point to the political context of the visit during the Cold War. Kennedy’s journey was regarded as a powerful symbol of transatlantic solidarity and the Western security guarantee for the Federal Republic and West Berlin.