The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to prevent East Berliners from escaping to West Berlin. It divided the city until 1989. The wall was prompted by the large number of people fleeing from East to West Berlin each month for greater prosperity. It cut through neighborhoods and separated families. Over its 28-year existence, 192 people died trying to cross the wall illegally. The wall fell in 1989 amid reforms in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev that weakened East Germany.