The Berlin Wall, erected from August 1961 onward, divided the city into a western and an eastern part. This photograph from June 1963 shows the concrete wall with barbed wire topping viewed from the west side. Kennedy’s visit to West Berlin on June 26, 1963 was regarded as a political signal of American solidarity with the city divided by the wall’s construction. The wall was a central symbol of the Cold War and a central theme of the visit.