The answer to this topic has been largely debated by many historians, as to what were the main reasons for the construction of the Berlin wall. There is no absolute definite answer to this question, but given the substantial evidence it is logical to concur that the main reasons for the GDR to construct the Berlin wall was, the Berlin Crisis of 1958, Emigration and the overall influence of Nikita Khrushchev. Each, playing a huge role in the building of the Berlin Wall that would act as physical embodiment of Winston Churchills 'Iron Curtain'. Following Khrushchev's swift appointment as soviet leader in 1958, he began to appoint swift changes that juxtaposed the former leader. Josef Stalin. Khrushchev gave the three western super powers, (Britain, America and France), and ultimatum that would heighten tensions amongst the four countries even further. Khrushchev's Ultimatum concluded that the three superpowers had to remove their troops from the capital Berlin within six months and leave Berlin to be a 'free city'. Khrushchev felt the need to generate this ultimatum because of the problems within the GDR such as the pressures from the cold war and the propaganda crisis as the West’s success (especially in West Berlin) made communism look weak. This ultimately highlights the ultimatums significance, because it suggests that, the East was becoming more and more frustrated with the increase in tensions, which is arguably a contributing factor to the building of the Berlin Wall. Another contributing factor, was the fact that the west outwardly rejected the ultimatum Khrushchev proposed, further increasing tensions. This mattered because, which led to a series of summits such as Geneva, Paris and Vienna, which impacted international relations and the cold war as a whole. Therefore, it is clear that Khrushchev's ultimatum, did play a key role in the building of the Berlin Wall as it not only impacted on the building of the wall itself but international relations as a whole. Following on, from Khrushchev's Ultimatum, Khrushchev's influence over the GDR as a whole is arguably another main reason for the building of the berlin wall. Khrushchev took part in major summits (Geneva, Paris, Vienna) to resolve the Berlin issue, but negotiations with the West failed. This mattered because it led to, international relations decreasing, which arguably added fuel to the fire that sparked the Easts decision to build the Berlin Wall in 1961. Another key event that highlighted the extent of Khrushchev's influence was his conflict with Kennedy in 1961. The tensions increased, when Khrushchev met Kennedy in Vienna to discuss Berlin and other Cold War issues. Khrushchev repeated his ultimatum: the West must leave Berlin within six months, or the Soviets would sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany. Kennedy refused to back down, insisting the USA would protect West Berlin’s freedom. This had a significant impact on the cold war as it led to disagreements being made and further mishaps to occur that would evidently lead to the Berlin walls construction in August of that year. Thus, this supports the view that Khrushchev's influence as well as emigration and the berlin crisis of 1958 that they were the ,ain reasons for the Berlin walls immediate construction. Another main reason which was stated in the introduction, was Emigration. Emigration holds arguable significance, because of how severe it was, to the point where it was labelled a crisis. By 1961, around 3 million East Germans had fled to the west through west Berlin. This is important, because it shines light on the GDRs weaknesses as the citizens of the GDR were desperate to escape. This could be due to the Wests propaganda that they used and the glamorised lifestyle of living in the west. However the reality was true. Even thought the GDR had the best living standards in the Eastern bloc they were no match for their Western Counterpart (the FRG). This is arguably the fulcrum for as to why, the GDR faced a massive exodus of citizens leaving for the FRG. Additionally, many of the people leaving were young, skilled workers, causing a "brain drain" which damaged the GDRs economy and prestige. Making the GDR look weak and unstable. This, showcases how significant emigration was, because of the impact it had over the GDR and its international 'prestige'. Therefore, this factor directly contributed to the building of the Belin Wall, granting it a spot in the list of the top three main reasons why the Berlin Wall wall was built. However, some Historians might suggest that the GDRs economy was one of the main reasons as to why the Berlin wall was built. For context, the GDR had a centralised economy. This means that, everything was owned by the government, from banks to small business, everything was centralised. This is significant because having a centralised economy meant that living standards and consumer goods were significantly lower quality than the FRG, which is also another catalyst that sparked the emigration crisis. Even though, the GDRs economy was undeniably a key factor it still does not hold as much significance as the other key factors such as emigration, Khrushchev's ultimatum and his influence over the GDR as a whole. It was mass emigration that made the crisis urgent people were voting with their feet instead of within the GDR given the fact that the economic problems were more internal than external even though, there was external factors that did impact the GDRs economy such as trading and international relations. None of these, held as much impact as the main reasons as stated above. Therefore the GDRS, economy is not a main contributing factor that led the building of the Berlin wall. To Conclude, the main reasons for the building of the Berlin wall was Khrushchev's influence over the GDR, his ultimatum and the emigration crisis, because of their impact on international relations and the increase in tension it caused which further led to the Berlin wall being built. Even though, some may argue that the economy is a main reason, it is arguably a contributing factor not one of the absolute main reasons that lead the Berlin wall being built. Overall, the Berlin walls construction acted as an embodiment of the societal and ideological divide of the East and the west. A physical symbol of Churchills iron Curtain.