Between 1949 and 1961 about 2,5 million East Germans had fled from East to West Germany. The loss of this working potential threatened to destroy the economic viability of the East German state. Because of that the government of the German Democratic Republic erected the Berlin Wall 1961 as a result of a decree passed by the East German "Volkskammer" in order to curb the flow of refugees to the Federal Republic of Germany. People, who tried to cross the border were shot down by borderguards.