The Berlin Wall was a concrete manufacturing firm.
Berlin Wall . 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 . The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect 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 .