so, in West berlin, it was capitalist, so v v v rich. people from East germany, which was communist and less rich (actually v v poor) would sneak over to the west side to experience the riches. the soviet union caught wind of this, so they decided to build the wall, making sure no capitalist influences snuck into the eastern part of germany. this was bad, the west was living lavish, while the east was dirt poor. it got so bad, that the US had to airlift supplies into Berlin in order to sustain the Eastern part so they wouldnt starve.