With impressive shots, the film shows the situation at various sections of the Wall, the escape of a young border soldier, protest measures by West Berliners, the arrival of additional US troops on August 20, 1961. It observes the activities and propaganda in the "Eastern sector" and reports on the effects of the construction of the Wall on the labor market and on the retail trade. The bloc confrontation reaches its climax during these days in August 1961.