Question

Why was the Berlin Wall erected in 1961?

Why was the Berlin Wall erected?

Answer 1

1. The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 by East Germany, with Soviet support, to stop the mass exodus of people from East Berlin to West Berlin. 
2. A large number of skilled workers, professionals, and young people were fleeing communist East Germany for the democratic and prosperous West, weakening the East German economy.
3. The East German government wanted to prevent the influence of Western ideas and maintain strict communist control over its citizens.
4. The wall symbolized the growing division between the Eastern (Soviet) and Western (Allied) blocs, and was built at the height of Cold War rivalry.