50 years ago. Today I read an article at the Atlantic.com – and then I started to remember myself: In the year 1963 I was aged 18, loved the BEATLES, made my high school’s newspaper, was carried with my school camerades to Berlin to listen to John F. Kennedy saying “I am a Berliner” (of course I took a photo of him and Willy Brand), noticed the battle between Black and White in Birmingham, Alabama, read about Martin Luther King (and wrote about the German Martin Luther for my diploma, preparing to study theology), made some debates about the war in Vietnam – was shocked, as president Kennedy was killed. I adored Jacques-Yves Cousteau, wrote my first book reviews about French existentialism, especially about the myth of Sisyphus, written by Albert Camus. It was a Sisyphus goal to change the conflicts between black and white in USA (I sang old gospels as a lead vocalist in a theatre in Germany, in the background a spiritual choir) – but it was also a Sisyphus goal to fight vs. Nazism (and the Neo-Nazism) in Germany. 1963, I had the music (listened to the folk singers Joan Baez and Bob Dylan), the photography, the English newspapers to climb out of my narrow minded German local horizons. Will never forget, that Kennedy gave optimism – he was wind below my wings; sad that he was killed [and later Dr. Martin Luther King too]…
title=”Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) – photo uploaded by The U.S. National Archives, click on the portrait to enter their galleries on Flickr [sent to my group BLOG IT]
related:
the Atlantic.com: 50-years-ago-the-world-in-1963
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hits of 1963:
Flickr Comments 
What a tumultuous period of history we have lived through.
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Enjoyed the flashback Frizz 🙂
There is an urgent need for such visionaries today.
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I enjoyed how you captured your thoughts and feelings during that time period. Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy have left an indelible mark in history and culture and I admire them for their courage to stand up for Civil rights.
Also, I love Jacques-Yves Cousteau, but admittedly, many of what he did and filmed will definitely not be replicated today. 😉
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An amazing formative period, in which hopes were raised, crushed, raised again, crushed again…. We’ve (well, you at least) have talked about identity a lot and surely the sixties helped forge an interesting one: you. I’m three years younger and American, and, as you know, I’ve always seen myself as outside the loop, a loose cannon or thread. But these events shape us.
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Reading your post I think of ” …it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,…” –Dickens. Great post, Frizz!
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Beautifully shared… You were living a full and active life. 🙂
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1963 I started on the university to learn medicine. Later as a doctor and professor on a university hospital i saw that i have to learn my life long .
The love to the blues remains over all this time and i am happy to have now the time to hear this music daily.
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Thank you for sharing a piece of your history and thoughts.
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Seems like you and I were listening to very different music back then, but I remember too, the influence of American poetry and music… and the hopes inspired by ideology, and an ache for freedom and brotherhood.
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