On the 31th of July 1961, nearly 3000 refugees, who had arrived in West

Berlin, were asked for their main reason for leaving East Germany

forced to join the socialist party 528

family reunification 343
desire for better income and housing 205
conflicts in connection with state interference in private companies 136
asked to spy on others 135
asked to do things for the party 84
Suspected or persecuted for relationships with the West 81
permission to travel or move to West Germany was not granted 68
fear of punishment 63
forced to join the National People's Army or the People's Police 59
Unhappy about nationalisation of private economy 59
Resistance to the regime 57
marriage problems 53
rejection of communist educational system or children were not admitted to 48
secondary school
difficulties with wages and work 47
rejection of socialist ideology 44
former political prisoners 44
not admitted to university 41
rejection of demands of the party for ethical reasons 29
Jehovah's Witnesses 27
punished for not joining the party 22
difficulties meeting the state-set targets at work 22
forced to leave the church 21
dismissal due to company restrictions 17
asked to spy against clerics and the church 14
threat of withdrawal of custody for their children 14
forced labor of young people 12