What material was the Berlin Wall primarily made of?

The Berlin Wall was primarily made of concrete. Although the first barrier erected in August 1961 included barbed wire, wire fencing, concrete blocks, and temporary obstacles, the East German government progressively replaced it with stronger concrete constructions.

The Wall evolved through several versions between 1961 and 1989. Its final major form, known as the fourth-generation Wall, used reinforced-concrete sections about 3.6 metres high. These prefabricated segments were designed to resist climbing and prevent vehicles from breaking through. A smooth concrete pipe along the top made scaling more difficult.

The Berlin Wall was not simply one solid slab surrounding West Berlin. It was a fortified border system containing multiple walls and fences, watchtowers, patrol roads, anti-vehicle trenches, signal fences, dogs, and a cleared area known as the death strip. Steel mesh and other materials were also used in parts of the installation, but concrete was the principal material of the Wall sections most commonly seen in photographs.