"Wall of Shame" Berlin Wall August 13 , 1961. Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR on 13 August 1961. It included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses. Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans (20% of the population) circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by cros

When Was the Berlin Wall Built? | Britannica