On the opposite side of East Berlin, Germany, was West Berlin. West Berlin was filled with Americans, French, and British. (Tea anyone?) While East Berlin represented Communism, West Berlin represented freedom and democracy. One million East Berliners escaped to West Berlin between 1952 and 1961. (Langerbein, "Great Blunders?: The Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and the Proposed United States/Mexico Border Fence," 16). So many people escaped, the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to cut off all access to West Berlin. On the West side of Berlin, is where the famous Brandenburg Gate is located. On November 9, 1989, all border crossings to West Berlin were made available again. West Germany's currency was worth a lot more than East Germany's currency.