Answer:
Construction of the wall began on 13 Aug. 1961, and ran for 60 miles, all the way to Spandau Prison (where Rudolf Hess had been held). There were two walls, 100 meters apart. The strip of land between, was known as no mans land. Prior to the wall, the area was marked off by barbed wire. It divided the city of Berlin, even though the city was deep inside Communist East Germany. For Westerners to enter East Berlin, they had to pass through Check Point Charlie. After Russia's President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms (perestroika and glasnost) ca. 1987, the wall's future became in doubt. This was the beginning of the movement to remove the wall. Deconstruction began on 10 Dec. 1989. After some 2-3 weeks of confusion, demolition began in earnest.