Communism is defined as a political and economic doctrine, the aim of which is to abolish private property and profit-making enterprises and replace them with public ownership and control of industry, agriculture and resources (“Communism”). The product of this government is supposed to be a society free from social classes based on wealth, property and political power. The Soviet Union was the first country to test these government strategies, and it didn't take long for the regime to collapse. The inevitable collapse of communism led to the fall of the Berlin Wall; this began the domino effect of freedom that ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. On Sunday, August 13, 1962, the East German government began construction of the Berlin Wall (“Berlin Wall”). The Berlin Wall was built to divide post-World War II communist-ruled East Germany with democratic West Germany. That day, Berlin families were awakened by military machinery, coils of barbed wire and armed guards. Families who had crossed the newly created border the night before to visit friends and/or relatives were greeted by a wall and closed transit systems (“Berlin Wall”). For them this meant that they would no longer be able to return home and be with their families for however long this division of the country lasted. As the day wore on, some East German government officials feared that citizens would start a riot. However, contrary to their fears, the streets of East Berlin remained eerily silent. Almost thirty years after that day the wall still separated friends and relatives just a few kilometers away. The wall was a physical division between the two superpowers of the time: the East controlled by the communist regime in the Soviet one......middle of paper......Web. March 30, 2014."Communism." Gale Student Resources in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Student Resources in Context. Network. April 1, 2014."The Fall of the Berlin Wall: 1989." Global Events, 2013. Np: np, 2013. N. pag. Resources for Gale students. Network. March 26, 2014."The fall of the Soviet Union." Gale Encyclopedia of United States History: War. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Student Resources in Context. Network. April 6, 2014.Hoeppler, Christopher. "Russian demography: the role of the collapse of the Soviet Union". Journal of Undergraduate Research for the Humanities 10 (2011): no. page Print."Reagan Quotes." American experience. Np, nd Web. April 10, 2014. “The Soviet Union Falls: December 26, 1991.” Global Events: Milestone events throughout history. Ed. Jennifer Stock. vol. 2: Asia and Oceania. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2013. Student Resources in Context. Network. April 7. 2014.