Both Germany and its capital of Berlin were split into four sectors after World War II.

The Soviet Union was placed in control of the easternmost sectors of Germany and Berlin, and the other sectors were placed under the control of the US, France and Britain.

West Germany rebuilt and began to prosper after the war, but East Germany languished under communist restrictions.

Soon, the economic and social conditions of the West outstripped those in the East.

The economic development and societal freedoms of the West made it a magnet for educated and professional people in the East who felt stifled under communist control.

Millions evaded emigration restrictions and defected into West Berlin, a conduit offering safe passage to democratic West Germany and other western European countries.

This outflow of people deprived East Germany of its best and brightest.

So, East Germany’s masters in the Soviet Union decided it had to be stopped.

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