Why did Eastern Bloc countries restrict emigration during the Cold War?
Eastern Bloc governments restricted emigration primarily to prevent a brain drain of professionals trained at state expense. They also argued that open emigration would force costly wage restructuring, and that individuals owed the state an "education tax" in return for subsidized schooling and training from birth. Soviet leaders also feared that free emigration would expose the gap between Soviet living standards and those in the West.
How many East Germans emigrated to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was built?
More than 3.5 million East Germans emigrated to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961. This represented approximately 20% of East Germany's entire population. The loss was disproportionately concentrated among professionals such as engineers, physicians, teachers and skilled workers.
When was the Berlin Wall built and why was it erected?
A barbed-wire barrier was erected on the 13th of August 1961, with a more permanent concrete wall following two days later. It was built to close the Berlin sector border, which had remained an accessible crossing point after the Inner German border was sealed in 1952 and had become the primary route for East German emigrants, with 207,000 people crossing in the first seven months of 1961 alone.
Who were the most famous defectors from the Eastern Bloc?
Famous defectors include ballet stars Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova and Alexander Godunov, tennis player Martina Navratilova who defected after the 1975 U.S. Open, chess grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi, MiG-25 pilot Viktor Belenko, U.N. Undersecretary General Arkady Shevchenko, and Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva. East German defectors included soldier Conrad Schumann, photographed jumping the Berlin Wall while it was still under construction.
How did West Germany pay to free political prisoners from East Germany?
West Germany paid 70,000 West Deutsche Marks per head to secure the release of 70,000 East German political prisoners, netting East Germany 3.4 billion West Deutsche Marks in total. East Germany categorized these payments as compensation for damage the prisoners had inflicted on socialism and reimbursement for their state-funded education, rather than as ransom.
What happened to Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions when the Berlin Wall fell?
On the night of the 9th of November 1989, East German border checkpoints were opened after a government spokesman misstated regulations and tens of thousands of East Berliners flooded Checkpoint Charlie. The official dismantling of the Berlin Wall began on the 13th of June 1990 in Bernauer Strasse. All border controls between East and West Germany ceased on the 1st of July 1990, the day East Germany adopted the West German currency.