The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier built by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) that separated East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The wall was built to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed 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.

click for more info / search similar!