Why Berlin is still the Spy Capital | Spy Documentary

Berlin is the scene of countless agent stories. Just before Christmas 2022, a scandal rocked the German Federal Intelligence Service @Bundesnachrichtendienst. An employee allegedly spied for Russian secret services and reported directly to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin's network of agents is considered the strongest weapon against the West. Berlin has been already the scene of countless spy stories, real and fictional, from the Cold War to today.

Its history as a spy-craft hotspot began after World War 2. The Allies ended Nazi rule and divided the capital into four sectors. Nowhere else did the superpowers of West and East meet as closely as in the divided city, making it a perfect place for spies. Whether they were working for the Russian KGB, the American NSA and CIA, the British MI6 or the East German "Stasi", the respective agents lived secret lives with fake identities, spying on the other side. The island of West Berlin, surrounded by the socialist East Germany, also inspired countless thrillers, be it Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies", the James Bond film “Octopussy" or "The Bourne Conspiracy". Berlin is simply a must for top-class spooks!

On this episode of Arts Unveiled, we explore the covert side of Berlin in search of espionage locations: Checkpoint Charlie, the Friedrichstraße train station, the Teufelsberg and the Glienicker Bridge. Along the way, we meet ex-agents with unbelievable stories, such as Mr. and Mrs. Schevitz. For years, the American couple lived in West Berlin as top spies for East Germany. Their highly explosive goal: to spy on the German chancellor. We learn how famous double agent George Blake sabotaged secret projects like the tunnel construction of "Operation Gold". And we show why Berlin remains a hotbed of espionage: in recent years, for example, NSA wiretapping scandals and a contract killing attributed to people with ties to the old KGB have made headlines. It seems Berlin is still a popular playing field for intelligence agencies.

00:00 Intro
00:57 Berlin - The Frontline of the Cold War
03:44 Spy Stations: Journey into Darkness
04:42 Friedrichstrasse Border Crossing
06:35 The Stasi
07:26 Normannenstrasse: Stasi Headquarters
08:35 Glienicker Bridge: Agent Exchange
10:52 Teufelsberg Listening Station
12:26 Marienfelde Refugee Processing Center
15:17 Berlin-Gatow Airfield: Spies in the Airspace
17:50 Allied Museum Berlin
20:40 Checkpoint Charlie Border Crossing Point
22:40 What happened after the Fall of the Berlin Wall?
23:48 German Spy Museum Berlin
24:14 Berlin Spies Today

#dwhistoryandculture #berlin #jamesbond #007 #spies #agents #gdr #doubleagent #kgb #cia #coldwar #bnd #stevenspielberg #teufelsberg #checkpointcharlie #espionage #putin #berlinwall #secretservice #humphreybogart #bordercontrol #westgermany #ddr

[bettyswallocks]

Why Berlin? Because it’s the only place in the world where the USA and USSR lived next door to each other, with overlooking plots.

[Bulletguy]

A relative of my neighbour employed by British Forces and stationed in Berlin worked in espionage for the KGB. His motive was purely from feeling overlooked for promotion. Fluent in Russian he also worked at GCHQ after returning from Germany. In 1982 he was charged with espionage and sentenced to 38 years.

[edwardloomis]

Served with U.S. forces in Berlin, 1984-1987. The first thing newcomers did was attend "The School of Standards" for two weeks that told us repeatedly that we would be targeted by spies. This video confirms what we were taught.

[laurenzplr]

26 minutes and 7 seconds of pure entertainment combined with knowledge, great work by whoever made that movie 👍

[ralphwatkins]

One of my patients was stationed in West Berlin during the Airlift. It's where he met his beautiful Czech wife. But their relationship was not by happen chance. In postwar Berlin, the KGB rounded up pretty women from around their new territories. Sent them to places like Berlin & Vienna to mingle & collect intelligence from western allied troops. My patient was a supply SGT during the Berlin Airlift. His future wife made sure she got selected to be one of those female spies. She had plans of her own. She did supply the KGB with information for a while while she had told her love about how she was being used. So when he got orders to go back to the US, they got married the night before & they were both flown to the US. That was her plan all along. To escape the Soviet takeover. I was stationed in Berlin for 3 years in the early 80s in the intelligence field. It was like living in a spy novel.

[Outdoor]

Lived in West Berlin throughout the 80’s. Still the most surreal period of my life so far. Interesting doc. Cheers. 🙏🏼

[erichstocker]

Actually until 1955 Vienna had the same situation. It was divided by the victorious powers. I remember because when I was in Vienna my grandmother lived in the Russian zone and when we visited her, we obviously did also. In Hallein we lived in the American zone.Also, Niederösterreich was Russian and Vienna is in that center. So, it was a similar if smaller situation as Germany.

[dykvhkl]

Little side fact:
2016 a vietnamese manager and politician who flew to germany, got kidnapped by vietnamese secret agents in broad daylight in Berlin. He was flown to Vietnam where he admitted his guilt. Germany just realized what happened after he was on vietnamese national TV. Because of GDR and Vietnams great relationship in the past the vietnamese secret service got trained by the Stasi and is still using alot of their spying methods today, which if you consider the mentioned story seem to be still working.

[ArnoldVeeman]

I just watched this documentary on Berlin and it brought back so many memories for me. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Berlin multiple times for performances in the East, including at B-Flat and Haus der Sinne. The stories I heard while there were sometimes weird and even scary, but always deeply emotional. There were a few moments that I will never forget.

First was my visit to Hohenshönhausen. It was a sobering experience that left me with a deeper understanding of the city's history. Second was the moment when I expressed my sympathy for a friend in East Berlin after seeing the movie "Das Leben der Anderen." She smiled briefly but then started to cry, saying that things were much worse than the movie portrayed.

I also spoke with Uwe, the owner of Haus der Sinne, who shared that during his youth, leaving the city was forbidden. Now, many people can't leave because of financial constraints. Finally, I met someone who claimed to have served alongside Honecker. He showed me around East Berlin and was a wealth of information. We even went on a date at Hostaria del Monte Croce, a wonderful trattoria, but I couldn't help but feel on edge due to all the signaling going on around him.

All these experiences gave me a glimpse into the complexities of Berlin. It's a city that I would love to live in if I ever get the chance. Berlin's youth culture is still very much alive and visible, but it's important to remember the city's darker history too. My brother, a journalist, once told me that young people love Berlin because it allowed them to escape conscription. I can see why - it's a truly unique and fascinating place.

[BigDaddy-ypmi]

I'm a huge espionage fan. It's VERY hard to come up with new material. But, you guys did it. My only complaint is that is not an hour long.

[srccde]

4:50 The Ministry of State Security and the Stasi were literally one and the same. 'Stasi' is just an abbreviation for 'Staatsicherheit' (as in Ministerium für Staatssicherheit).

[Mememeep]

A friend of us was a border guard of DDR. He told us that he is always afraid that his patrol mate will try to escape DDR and shoot him dead during the process.

[Zoom_]

Why Berlin documentary.

This was quite fascinating. I’ve always been intrigued with the spy world.

Our neighbors are from Germany (they’re now U.S. citizens). The husband was from East Germany but spied for West Germany (where his wife is from). It’s incredibly enthralling to listen to his recounts and stories of spying.

Thank you for sharing this documentary on YouTube.

🌴☀️🌴

[omarhamid]

Brilliant work. This channel always publishes the highest quality whilst being so entertaining 👏☺️👍

[CuttySobz]

The satisfaction on the faces of the soviet spies makes me sick.

[locosychocrazy]

My favorite spy thriller is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Both the book and movie are great. A Most Wanted Man (the movie) is really good. I 'm going to start reading The Little Drummer Girl by Le Carre. Also, big fan of the Mission Impossible movies.

[ulrikeotzen]

In May 1989, we (from Hamburg, Germany) spent our Abifahrt (Highschool Graduation Trip) in West Berlin.
Mandatory D-Mark to Ost Mark exchange, the metro that did not stop at the East-Berlin stations, closed Brandenburger Tor from the east, empty shopping windows, individual passport control at Friedrichstraße (that was the scariest part!)

I am so proud and grateful for all the East Germans.They were brave enough to take to the streets. They all broke the wall.

[Eye_of_a_Texan]

It stands to reason that it's still a hot bed. Even after all this time, the American bases in Germany and Japan are the largest foreign ones that I know of. It stands to reason that large military bases will have intelligence assets for counter intelligence if nothing else. Developing already secure locations into a hub for intelligence reports just makes logistical sense. Since foreign governments know that the assets are there... of course they're going to try occasional, if not constant, probes and covert ops. Large cities are great cover for spies. It's really difficult for new neighbors to blend in with the locals in a rural setting. Berlin is one of the largest cities in Germany, therefore it will have spies. I'm sure the 5-10 largest cities in the US have foreign covert agents somewhere.

[Raitraube]

Great research. Worth watching till the end, I truly enjoyed every minute. Thank you!

[jrtstrategicapital]

Great documentary! I recall traveling through it all during the 60s, 70s and 80s…we all carried coins in case we had to use a public phone! It’s all rather comical now with our cell phones but strangely eerie during the Cold War.