August 13, 2020: On August 13, 1961—59 years ago today—the East German government began construction of the Berlin Wall.[1]

While the stated purpose of the wall was to keep foreigners from entering and undermining the communist regime, the wall actually served to "stop mass defections from East to West.”[1] It became one of the defining features of the Cold War era.

The wall stood for 28 years. During that time, at least 171 people were killed trying to escape East Germany. Additionally, “more than 5,000 East Germans (including some 600 border guards) managed to cross the border by jumping out of windows adjacent to the wall, climbing over the barbed wire, flying in hot air balloons, crawling through the sewers and driving through unfortified parts of the wall at high speeds.”[1]

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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