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There were only two possible solutions to the problem: complete control over all access points to the West, including air corridors, or to build a wall. Since complete control of the airways was not feasible, Ulbricht’s insistence on the immediate closure of the border and the position on the problem of the open border, which had meanwhile been adopted by Khrushchev, led to corresponding support for the planned measures.²²

A central argument for the decision was the volatile economical situation in the GDR and the increasing numbers of people leaving for the West. When Ulbricht returned from Moscow, the SED politburo began putting the plans, which had been discussed in Moscow, into action. (Which, in agreement with the Soviet side, were technically already being prepared). On August 10^th and 11^th, the People’s Chamber, the Council of Ministers and the East Berlin Magistrate adopted resolutions on border closure, the wording of which provided by the Sed. Only comrades in the highest political ranks were let in on the plans in order to keep them secret for as long as possible. At the same time, logistical preparations were being made and all the stops were pulled out on the propaganda front to prepare citizens for the radical measures.