Which East German leader pushed for the Berlin Wall to stop the hemorrhaging of East Germans into the West?

• A. Erich Honecker
• B. Klement Gottwald
• C. Nikita Khrushchev
• D. Walter Ulbricht

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that the Berlin Wall was put up by East Germany to stop the heavy flow of people fleeing to the West. Walter Ulbricht was the East German leader at that time, and he pushed for the wall’s construction in 1961 as a means to halt the mass exodus of East Germans—an exodus that was draining the country of workers, talent, and legitimacy. The barrier around West Berlin was meant to seal off escape routes and stabilize the regime, with Soviet backing.

Klement Gottwald led Czechoslovakia, not East Germany, so he isn’t the right figure here. Nikita Khrushchev was the Soviet leader who pressured many Berlin-related decisions, but he wasn’t the East German leader. Erich Honecker came to power later and continued border controls, but the decision to build the wall occurred under Ulbricht.