Date of Birth:
01/14/1944
Date of Death:
08/17/1962
Peter Fechter was the first East-German to die because of an attempt to climb of the Berlin Wall. He was shot by East-German border guards when he made the escape attempt close to Checkpoint Charlie along with his freind Helmut Kublein. Young Peter lay screaming for a couple of hours before he bled to death because soldiers on both sides were afraid they would get shot at if they approached him.
In 1996 former East German border guards Rolf Friedrich and Erich Schreiber were charged with manslaughter (Peter Fecter) and attempted manslaughter (Helmut Kublein). They were both convicted and received just under 2 year sentences.
A Peter Fechter Memorial art piece has been put up close to where he died with the inscription "..he only wanted freedom.".