This Day in History: The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was abolished and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany on this day in 1990. This was preceded by the dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall the previous year...a major turning point in history. While walls are usually built to keep outsiders at bay, this wall was built to keep people in. They were so desperate to keep people in that the wall did not just have concrete and barbed wire, the 96.3-mile wall came with 302 observation towers, 259 dog runs, 20 bunkers manned by more than 11,000 soldiers, and more than 79 miles of electrified fencing.
Yet, people still tried to leave. "The wall did not stop human flight. Instead, it forced people to be more creative. East Germans climbed over, tunneled under, and flew over the wall. They jumped from windows of buildings along the border—which later were demolished. GDR residents used balloons, built submarines, and created secret compartments in cars. An estimated 100,000 people tried to escape, and some 5,000 made it. Many of those who failed in their lunge for freedom paid a high price. Tens of thousands of East Germans were imprisoned for Republikflucht. Hundreds were killed—no one knows how many for sure—challenging the Berlin Wall. Include those murdered while attempting to cross the border elsewhere, and the death toll probably exceeded 1,000." ~Doug Bandow
There are two great lessons here about Socialism. The leaders know that this system will be unfavorable to the citizens, and the citizens will risk life and limb to escape it.
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