At first a large number of people were climbing over the wall with little trouble. The government in East Berlin then outlawed the sale of rope and twine. One of the most well know people who tried to get over was Peter Fetcher, age 18, who tried to climb over the wall on August 17, 1962. He was shot and left to bleed to death. This caused a outcry from the press throughout the world. Over 5,000 people tried to escape by climbing over the wall. About 100 died in the process, most were shot. The last person to get killed trying to climb the wall was Chris Gueffroy.
