Peter Fechter
Born in 1944, died on 17 August 1962. One of the best-known victims of the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Wall quickly became a symbol of tragedy. At the same time, however, it was also a source for many romantic legends. In fiction and film about the Cold War the Berlin Wall was exploited as an object of cult. In the final scene of the most famous of spy novels, John le Carré's “The spy who came in from the cold” (1963, screen adaptation 1965), the main character dies while attempting to trespass the Berlin Wall – he was betrayed, of course.
The reality was much more prosaic. The East-German border guards, who had orders to stop the escapees with bullets, if necessary, killed at least 245 people on the Wall (at least 1347 on all borders of the GDR). The escape was successful in about 5000 cases, but in most cases escape was thwarted at an early stage of its inception.
One of the most famous of Wall-victims was the 18-year old Peter Fechter. On 17 August 1962, at about 14.15, Fechter and his friend attempted to climb over the Wall close to checkpoint Charlie. His companion succeeded in climbing over, but Fechter was shot without warning by the GDR border guards (Rolf F. and Erich S. have been identified; they were convicted in 1997). The youngster was wounded and fell back on the Eastern side of the Wall. Many witnesses saw the action from the western side.
The prone Fechter cried loudly for help. On both sides of the Wall large crowds gathered. The police officers of the FRG threw medical aid packets to Fechter but did not dare to help. Neither the border guards of the GDR nor the American soldiers had the courage to walk up to the boy either, although the crowds were shouting at them. Within an hour Peter Fechter had bled to death.
Why did no one go to help him? The border guards did not dare walk into the border zone, because they were afraid of enemy fire. Only a few days earlier there had been a shooting incident between Americans and East Germans, in which people had died. Only after the youngster had died did the border guards of the East take the corpse away. A memorial was later erected in West-Berlin. But the authorities of East Germany persecuted the Fechter family for decades: as a result, his mother developed mental problems and his father died embittered.
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