From the S&S archives:
President given West Germany's biggest welcome

BONN — President Kennedy Sunday received the greatest public welcome ever accorded a foreign leader in the history of West Germany.

A cheering, flag-waving crowd estimated by police at more than half a million turned out to line the streets and jam the squares where Mr. Kennedy appeared on his first Presidential visit to this country.

(The West German federal press office announced Sunday that police officially estimated between 1.5 million and 2 million Germans turned out to welcome President Kennedy, UPI reported.)

The President, beside Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in an open limousine, smiled and waved back at the crowds. He apparently was immensely pleased with his reception.

The. surge of the throng was greatest in Cologne, a, historic city with a population of 800,000. The Presidential limousine was almost engulfed twice as it slowly circled the cathedral. Seven mounted policemen finally were able to force a way clear.

"It certainly was a nice welcome," the President said afterward to West German Foreign Minister Gerhard Schroeder. "It could not have been better," lie told his press secretary, Pierre Salinger. "The welcome made us feel at home."

Mr. Kennedy's tour started at Wahn airport, where his plane landed at 9:42 a.m. (CET) after a direct flight from Washington. It ended 4½ hours and 42 miles later at Plittersdorf, the U.S. Embassy settlement on the Rhine River near Bonn. Cologne was the first stop.

Mr. Kennedy appeared at the city hall and heard Mass at the centuries-old cathedral.

From there the motorcade proceeded along the autobahn 20 miles south to the capital city of' Bonn, where Mr. Kennedy received a tumultuous ovation at the main square.

"Ken-ne-dee," men, women and children shouted again and again. There was hardly a space on the long route, even in the wooded and country areas, that was without at least a few well-wishers.

On Aug. 26, 1959, it had been "I like Ike" when President Dwight D. Eisenhower rode triumphantly through the villages between Wahn airport and Bonn: The crowd then was put at 100,000. On Sept. 4, 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle drew an estimated' 30,000 along that same route.

According to a police estimate, 350,000 turned out Sunday in Cologne, decked out in U.S. flags and red-and-white city flags. Another 100,000 were in the capital, and at least another 80,000 along the way

Progress Difficult

A sea of waving arms marked the slow progress of the Presidential limousine, flanked by 17 motorcycle policemen dressed in white coats.

"Welcome Kennedy," the signs said over and over again.

One young girl, apparently putting politics in second place, shrieked, "Aber er sieht sehr nett aus." ("But isn't he nice-looking.")

"Hi. John, thanks, and keep up the good work," one sign in Cologne said.

Some signs did remind the President of West German grievances, such as the Berlin wall, the failure to bring about reunification, and the status of certain territories lost in World War II.

`The Wall Must Go'

At the end of the route, when the President entered the American settlement of Plittersdorf, he also found "Welcome Kennedy" signs.

But there was something else, typical of the informality of his own people. Held up before him as he passed was a sign that spelled out in big black letters — "All the Best to Jacqueline."