Why did people risk their lives to escape East Berlin? Take a country and its capital city. Cut them in half. Build a wall through the middle of the capital to keep the parts – and the people – separated. Now install a command economy on one side and a free market on the other. Which side will provide a better life for its people?

Following World War II, Germany and its capital, Berlin, were divided exactly like that. What was the result of this economic experiment? Learn from people who lived on both sides of the Berlin Wall about how vastly different life was from one side to the other and discover why people were willing to risk their lives to escape East Berlin.

Subject Areas:

■ Business
■ Economics
■ Geography
■ Government
■ World History

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