<P> The Berlin Wall ( German : Berliner Mauer ) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989 . Constructed by the German Democratic Republic ( GDR , East Germany ) , starting on 13 August 1961 , the Wall completely cut off ( by land ) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989 . Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and finished in 1992 . The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls , accompanied by a wide area ( later known as the `` death strip '' ) that contained anti-vehicle trenches , `` fakir beds '' and other defenses . The Eastern Bloc portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the `` will of the people '' in building a socialist state in East Germany . In practice , the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period . </P>
<P> The Berlin Wall ( German : Berliner Mauer ) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989 . Constructed by the German Democratic Republic ( GDR , East Germany ) , starting on 13 August 1961 , the Wall completely cut off ( by land ) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989 . Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and finished in 1992 . The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls , accompanied by a wide area ( later known as the `` death strip '' ) that contained anti-vehicle trenches , `` fakir beds '' and other defenses . The Eastern Bloc portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the `` will of the people '' in building a socialist state in East Germany . In practice , the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period . </P>
when did the east berlin wall go up
when did the east berlin wall go up
1961
1961