Atras de escena de los espías en BND

El nuevo centro de visitantes del BND en Berlín, anunciado por su presidente Bruno Kahl, tiene la intención de aumentar la aceptación y fomentar la comprensión, proporcionando información sobre las tareas, métodos y control del BND.
Dagmar Busch, coordinadora de los servicios de inteligencia alemanes en la Cancillería, resaltó la necesidad de presencia en el ámbito público, afirmando que demasiada reticencia puede hacerlos 'invisibles'.
Bruno Kahl anunció que pronto los visitantes individuales podrán acceder al centro sin registrarse previamente.
En 2019, se inauguró el centro de visitantes y el BND ya ha recibido a cientos de miles de visitantes, con alrededor de 14.000 en el último año solo.
La nueva abierta inclusiva incluye un 'Club BND' y una Estación de Medios Sociales en el centro de visitantes para mayor participación y interacción.
A pesar de la nueva abierta, hay reglas estrictas de fotografiado y de teléfonos móviles en la exposición, controladas por 'información clasificada'.

Servicios secretos - detrás de escena de los espías within BND

The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) visitor center in Berlin is becoming more accessible to the public, with the aim of increasing acceptance and understanding of its work through greater transparency. BND President Bruno Kahl made this announcement during the expansion's opening on Friday.

Kahl stated, "Transparency, which we naturally also hope will yield a supplement of legitimacy, trust," is essential for the BND. The goal is to alleviate objections against the BND, foster understanding for its mission and methods, and present itself as a "competent, performance-strong, and reliable service provider for the Federal Government."

Coordinator of Intelligence Services: Too Much Reticence Makes Us Invisible

Dagmar Busch, coordinator of German intelligence services in the Chancellery, spoke about the tension between secrecy and presence in the public sphere: "Too much reticence and modesty harms us, makes us invisible." In the fight for budget funds, "invisibility and reticence are not always the best way."

The visitor center was inaugurated in November 2019. So far, only groups with at least 20 people have been able to enter, requiring registration. Since the opening of the visitor center five years ago, several tens of thousands of citizens have been informed about tasks, topics, jurisdictions, methods, and control of the BND. Last year alone, there were around 14,000 visitors. The center is also part of the personnel recruitment of the BND - the service competes with financially powerful private companies in the search for specialists.

Priority Number One: Secrecy

For a Secret Service, whose spies prefer to work in the dark, and whose highest priorities are security and secrecy, the new openness is a challenge. The approximately two million euro visitor center is located at a corner of the massive BND headquarters in the heart of the capital. The complex is hermetically sealed, even employees only get to their workplaces through a scan of their veins.

For the parallel operation of the center with registered groups and spontaneous curious visitors, the secret services had to adapt their security concept. The entrance was relocated. For the control of visitors, there are now two security corridors with the latest technology instead of one. The BND even gave its visitor center its own house number: Chausseestraße 99a.

Nuclear Centrifuge, Backpack from Kabul, Damaged Tank Lid from Bucha

At the multimedia and interactive exhibition, which covers 400 square meters over two floors, topics such as terrorism, illegal migration, proliferation - the uncontrolled spread of mass destruction weapons-, the relationship between transparency and secrecy, and information gathering are covered.

In the exhibition, a gas ultracentrifuge for uranium enrichment, used, for example, in Iran for nuclear weapons production, can be seen. How the BND obtained the rare exhibit: Classified Information. An original backpack of a BND employee and an improvised explosive device from Afghanistan are also displayed.

Backpack of a BND employee from Kabul, Damaged Tank Lid from Bucha

Signs of the Russian attack on Ukraine can also be seen most recently: The BND displays the tank lid of a civilian vehicle from the Kiev suburb of Butcha - with bullet holes. This exhibit stands symbolically for the massacre that the Russians committed in that place at the time.

IS Coins from looted gold and silver reserves

Since the wedding of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) in 2014, unusual exhibits have also been on display. The latest addition to the exhibition is a silver coin of the IS currency, which was minted by the terrorists. It is likely that the militia was able to produce coins from gold, silver, or copper using plundered reserves of national banks and cultural heritage.

The IS declared a 'caliphate' in wide parts of Iraq and the neighboring civil war country Syria in the summer of 2014 and controlled the areas for years. Meanwhile, the extremists have lost their ruling territory. IS cells are still active in both countries.

New Openness: BND Club and Social Media Station

For the new openness, the service has set up a 'BND Club' with a Social Media Station in the visitor center for increased engagement and interaction. There are also two vending machines where you can get souvenirs like a mug with BND logo.

However, the transparency of the spies has limits. Strict photographing ban still applies in the exhibition. Visitors are asked to turn off their mobile phones or at least put them in flight mode. How this is controlled? Classified information.