from living near the Inner German border. Additionally, Arnstadt was promoted to captain, received good grades and been awarded several times, including the Medal for Exemplary Border Service. Death On the morning of 14 August 1962, Arnstadt was killed by Hans Plüschke, a 23-year-old West German Bundesgrenzschutz border guard, in a shootout next to the border in his section at Wiesenfeld. Investigation At approximately 10:30 AM, while supervising the fence construction, Arnstadt and his assistant Karlheinz Roßner broke away from his men to closer inspect the border west of the fence. According to Roßner, they discovered a West German border guard patrolling at the border, whom Arnstadt accused of entering East German territory and warned him to leave. A few minutes later, Arnstadt and Roßner spotted three West German border guards approaching, but this time Arnstadt wanted to "arrest one of these provocateurs" and waited for them to get closer. Arnstadt surprised the West Germans, shouting "Stop! Stay up! Hands up!" aiming his pistol at them while Roßner issued a warning shot as ordered with his submachine gun at the same time. Reportedly, Plüschke then fired at them, shooting Arnstadt above his right eye and killing him instantly. Plüschke claimed that Arnstadt and Roßner had shot at him and his colleagues first and he returned fire at Arnstadt in self-defence. Response Arnstadt's death was the fourth death of an East German border guard to occur within a short period of time, which led to a very strained relationship between the two opposing sets of German border troops. The Cold War tensions between East Germany and West Germany were escalated by his death and resulted in a propaganda war between the two countries. East Germany portrayed Arnstadt as a defender of the territory of the German Democratic Republic, styled as a folk hero and had several public institutions named in his honor. Plüschke was sentenced to 25 years in prison in absentia for his murder by an East German court and his extradition was requested. According to West German officials, Plüschke was returning fire after his patrol was shot at. Hans Plüschke's murder At 4 a.m. on March 15, 1998, the body of 59-year-old Hans Plüschke was found by a motorist on the Bundesstraße B84 between Rasdorf and Hünfeld, from his vehicle. Plüschke's death prompted a number of conspiracy theories in Germany as he was fatally shot in his right eye,