Which 18-year-old East German was shot and left dying at the Berlin Wall in 1962?

Peter Fechter was the 18-year-old East German who was shot and left dying at the Berlin Wall in 1962.

On 17 August 1962, Fechter and his friend Helmut Kulbeik attempted to climb over the Wall near Zimmerstraße. Kulbeik reached West Berlin, but Fechter was hit by East German border guards and fell into the area between the two sides.

He remained there for about an hour, calling for help, while guards from neither side immediately entered the dangerous zone. East German soldiers eventually removed him, but he died from his wounds. The incident caused outrage in West Berlin and international condemnation.

Fechter is sometimes described as the first person killed at the Wall, but that wording is disputed because Günter Litfin had died earlier, on 24 August 1961. Fechter’s case became especially famous because of the public delay in rescuing him.