In short order, it became clear that even the crown jewel of the Soviet empire relatively prosperous East Germany could not long survive the severe brain-drain and unimpeachable evidence of an alternative, better existence that ensued when the Hungarians gave, as a practical matter, what the Honecker regime had long denied its people: the right to emigrate.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Jackson-Vanik: Will Bush Reward Soviet Repression Or Preserve Key Incentive For Reform?