Fechter Shot at the Wall: Cold War's Youngest Martyr
Peter Fechter was eighteen years old when he and a friend attempted to climb the Berlin Wall near Checkpoint Charlie on August 17, 1962. East German guards opened fire. His friend cleared the wall; Fechter fell back on the Eastern side, shot in the pelvis. He lay in the death strip screaming for help for nearly an hour while hundreds of people watched from both sides. Western police threw first aid packages over the wall but couldn't reach him without risking an international incident. East German guards eventually carried his body away after he bled to death. The incident provoked massive anti-Soviet protests in West Berlin and transformed the Wall from a political barrier into a symbol of murderous oppression.
August 17, 1962
64 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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