The Berlin Wall
On the 13th of August, 1961, construction on the Berlin Wall began. Starting off as only barbed wire and cinder blocks, the wall was later replaced by 15 feet concrete walls. People who had gone to visit their friends on the other side could not get back to their own home and family. Parents who had gone on business trips were kept from returning to their family.
"When I visited Germany in the 1970s, East and West Berlin were two completely different places." ~Francis Hajek
Cause of the Wall
The Soviet Union decided to build the Berlin Wall to prevent their citizens from escaping to West Germany. In the years between 1954-1960, East Germany had suffered a case called the "brain drain." Many Germans took advantage of the free education in East Germany, but moved back to West Germany where living conditions were overall better. This caused the "brain drain," where East Germany lost 36,759 people with academic and professional qualifications, and 11,705 educated students. All these people were educated at the expense of East Germany, so West Germany benefited from East Germany's investment. Tensions began to grow and the prevention of a second war was another reason for the building of the Berlin Wall.
"A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war." ~ John F. Kennedy
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Informative videos of the building of the Berlin Wall, Discovery Channel Education