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Spy City

Berlin was a simmering hotbed of espionage in 1961 with backstabbing American, British, French and Russian spies criss-crossing the city’s four occupied zones. AMC+ has a slick new series Spy City which eavesdrops on the action. Find out more about the show, its eclectic cast and what really happened when the Berlin Wall divided Germany’s east and west.

BERLIN SPIES

Shadow Games

The real-life spy game in Berlin is the subject of Shadow Games - the inside story of an elite, clandestine unit - Special Forces Berlin - which subsequently found itself at the center of the Tehran Hostage Crisis. Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby gets the inside scoop direct from former operative James Stejskal. How would you handle the mission?

SECURITY CHECK

Chatting to the NSA

Two European artists decided that if spies really are listening, they should have something interesting to listen to. Christoph Wachter and Mathias Jud created an art installation on top of the Swiss embassy in Berlin with a high-tech aerial system, then invited citizens to speak directly to any US National Security Agency or British GCHQ eavesdroppers who might be listening in. Some 15,000 people did, with remarkable results.

NSA CHATTER

Operation Mincemeat

Netflix has bought the North American rights to Colin Firth’s big-budget thriller Operation Mincemeat after Covid-19 delayed its big-screen debut. The movie tells the true story of a British plot to convince Hitler that Allies were attacking Greece - a deception involving forged documents that Britain hoped would end up on the desk of Germany’s Führer in Berlin. Operation Mincemeat changed WWII - but what was the real-life counterintelligence operation?

READ MORE

Streaming Berlin

From Deutschland to Berlin Station, The Same Sky and Spy City, Germany is teeming with spy thrillers and ‘secret squirrels’. SPYSCAPE rounds up the top movies and bing-worthy series you won’t want to miss.

WHAT'S ON?

Between the lines

The tumultuous history of Germany’s capital has inspired writers from John le Carré and Len Deighton to David Downing’s John Russell novels and Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series. If you are hunting for a special gift, you’ve come to the right place. SPYSCAPE’s shop has some of the world’s finest first edition novels and Berlin-based tales for your reading pleasure.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

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