Insider Tour Berlin Blog: spy

The Bridge of Spies, Glienicker Brücke

Battleground Berlin, from 1945 to 1989, countries with opposing ideologies honed their espionage skills in this geopolitical hub. From the turning of individual informants, to hoovering up information en mass, the two superpowers, and their satellites, vied to get the edge on the other – knowledge is power. From the mundacity of sifting through shed loads of correspondence, to daring missions behind enemy lines, no stone was left unturned in the struggle for world dominance.

Insider guides took some time to retrace the sites of these operations, and the fascinating stories behind them, in and around Berlin.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church – post WWII, Berlin becomes the world's spy capital.

George Blake's residence on Platanenallee.

Charlottenburg Palace – site of the KGB defection of Alexai Myagkov in 1974.

ECHELON on Teufelsberg. British Military Hospital in the foreground, location of Hess's autopsy in 1987.

The Teams

British

MI (Military Intelligence) 6 / Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) a.ka. Box 500

BRIXMIS

French

Deuxieme Bureau (until 1982) & Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (DGSE)

FMLM et al.

Soviet

KGB (Commitee for State Security) and GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) et al.

U.S.

Strategic Services Unit (SSU) then (from 1947) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

C.I.C. (until 1961), A.S.A. (until 1977), then A.S.A., INSCOM, USMLM, FCA et al.

East Germany

Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA) and Hauptabteilung II

West Germany

Organisation Gehlen and (from 1956) Bundesnachrichtendienst

Bundesverfassungsschutz

'London House', British Military Sector HQ and counter intelligence hub.

A spy

Mission House, BRIXMIS liaison location in Potsdam.

KGB Forbidden City, Potsdam, 3rd Directorate military counter intelligence

First CIA HQ location in Dahlem

Allied Museum Dahlem

Hastings TG503 bomber used in the Berlin airlift

Former Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science. Site of the the first nuclear fission by Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann and Lise Meitner.

Site of Allied Control Council walkout 1948.

Him again!

Site of the La Belle Disco bombing 1986.

Looking for Operation Stopwatch Gold.

Found it!

Karlshorst, site of German unconditional surrender in May 8th, 1945.

HQ of the KGB/GRU/SMAD, residence of Marshal Zukov.

KGB prison '45-'63.

The Players

Lavrenty Beria – Petrov
Robert Bialek – Bruno Wallman
George Blake – Diamond

Anthony Blunt – Tony/Johnson
Alexei Myaglkov – n/a
Guy Burgess – Mädchen/Hicks

John Cairncross – Liszt Jeffrey
Carnney/Jens Karney – Kid/Uwe
Nigel Dunkley – Hotspur

Allen Dulles – Mr. Bull
Musbath Eter – n/a
James Hall III – Paul

William 'Wild Bill' King Harvey – n/a
Gennadi Titov – n/a
Donald Maclean – Homer

Adjutant Chef Philippe Mariotti – n/a
Erich Mielke – Fritz Leissner (1936-39)

Major Arthur (Nick) Nicholson – n/a
Harold (Kim) Philby – Sony/Stanley

Geoffrey Prime – Rowlands
Alexander Schalk Golodkowski – Schneewittchen

Manfred Severin – Hagen/Canna Clay
Wolfgang Vogel – Eva
Huseyin Yildirim – Blitz

Marcus (Mischa) Wolf – Michael Storm (1945-49)
Günter Guillaume – Hansen

Rainer Rupp – Mosel/Topaz
Anne Christine Bowen – Turqoise
Gabriele Gast - Leinfelder

George Blake

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11472573/Revealed-Grim-fate-of-the-MI6-agents-betrayed-by-George-Blake.html

Mission House and Glienicker Bridge http://www.brixmis.co.uk/early-years.html

KGB Potsdam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB_Prison,_Potsdam

Allied Museum http://www.alliiertenmuseum.de/en/home.html

Dahlem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlem_%28Berlin%29

La Belle Disco Bombing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Berlin_discotheque_bombing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/5/newsid_4357000/4357255.stm

Operation Stopwatch Gold http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/berlin_tunnel.asp

Karlshorst http://www.museum-karlshorst.de/en.html

Marshal Zukow http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/1900s/p/zhukov.htm

From a Nazi Military Technology Faculty building to 25 million cubic metres of WWII rubble to American Cold War listening post, Teufelsberg has a rich and odd history. After years of abandonment, it seems this unique location has hope for a rich future too. Under new management the space is embracing its identity as an infamous location for graffiti. With art as the magnetic draw, Marvin Schütte is busy building an atmosphere of inclusion and ingenuity, from solar and wind power, to an urban garden, beer-garden and pizza shop. A designated museum area is also in development which will highlight the voices of people who worked at the listening station during the Cold War. Insider guides and staff enjoyed a great adventure full of art and stunning views, along with fascinating memories from our colleague Nigel's time spent working at the listening post. Take a look, and then take a hike up there for yourself!