Construction of the Berlin Wall began in 1961. On August 13 of that year, East German authorities closed the border around West Berlin and began installing barbed wire, fences, and other barriers; concrete sections followed soon afterward.
The German Democratic Republic built the Wall to stop its citizens from leaving East Germany through West Berlin. Between 1949 and 1961, millions of people had moved to the West, creating a severe political and economic problem for the East German state. The new barrier divided East and West Berlin and became the most visible symbol of the Cold War.
The first barrier was a rough system of wire and temporary defenses rather than the later concrete structure most people picture. East German authorities progressively strengthened it with concrete slabs, guard towers, a cleared “death strip,” and other obstacles. The Wall was built on East German territory, just inside the border.
A nearby date often causes confusion: the Wall fell on November 9, 1989. Its construction began 28 years earlier, in 1961, after East German leader Walter Ulbricht had publicly denied that a wall would be built.