Every gun, mine, and guard tower on the Berlin Wall was pointed at East Germans. In 1957, the communist regime in East Germany made unauthorized emigration treason after an estimated 2.5 million people voted with their feet, fleeing the communist East towards the West. So in 1961, the authorities closed the border, called the wall “the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart”, and gave border guards shoot to kill orders. People only ever risked their lives escaping in one direction.