Institute of Contemporary Arts

The Death of Peter Fechter

At midday on 17 August, 1962, Peter Fechter and Helmut Kulbeik, two teenage citizens of the GDR, jumped from a ground floor window on Zimmerstraße, Berlin, into 'the death strip' - an area of no-mans land leading up to the Berlin wall.

As they reached the wall, ignoring orders from the GDR guards to halt, they were fired upon, with a total of twenty one shots. Helmut made it over the wall to safety but Peter was hit a number of times in the back and abdomen.

Seriously wounded, he lay a few yards short of the wall shouting for help. Having seen what had happened, hundreds of citizens of West Berlin gathered, shouting demands at the GDR guards and American soldiers to help Peter, though they did nothing.

First aid kits were thrown over the wall but were of no use to Peter. After fifty minutes of calling for help, his calls fell silent. More than an hour after the attempted escape, GDR guards finally removed his dead body from the death strip.

The Death of Peter Fechter re-enactment event will take place at an undisclosed location in London, on Saturday 18 August at 12.00 noon.

This event will be filmed for a screening and discussion at the ICA later this year.

Places are limited so early booking is advised.

Note that the event will take place regardless of weather conditions.

This project has been made possible through the gratefully received support of the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Arts Council of England.

S Mark Gubb's website

£10 / £9 Concessions / £8 ICA Members

This event is currently sold out. Please call the Box Office from 12 noon on Friday 17th August to enquire about returns.

Ticket price includes coach travel.

Coaches depart from the ICA at 10am and arrive back at the ICA at approximately 3.00pm. Please bring refreshments.