Who built the Berlin Wall?

The Berlin Wall was built by the government of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), with the approval and backing of the Soviet Union.

The operation – codenamed “Rose” (Operation Rose) – was planned in strict secrecy. Even many senior East German officials were not told until the last moment. The key figures behind it were:

Walter Ulbricht, the East German head of state, who had publicly denied any plans to build a wall just two months earlier, declaring on 15 June 1961: “Nobody has the intention of building a wall.” It remains one of the Cold War’s most infamous lies.

Erich Honecker, then the SED Central Committee secretary responsible for security, was the operational organiser. He coordinated the logistics of sealing the border overnight and would later succeed Ulbricht as East German leader.

Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier, gave the final approval. The decision was formally agreed at a Warsaw Pact meeting in early August 1961. Without Soviet backing, the GDR could not have acted.

In the early hours of 13 August 1961, around 40,000 East German soldiers, police, and Kampfgruppen (factory militia workers) sealed the border with barbed wire, concrete posts, and improvised barriers. Berliners woke to find their city divided. Families, friends, and neighbours were separated overnight.

The initial barbed wire was progressively replaced by more permanent structures, eventually evolving through four generations into the formidable concrete barrier that stood for 28 years. For the full story of that night, see when the Berlin Wall was built.