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World First Espionage Museum To Open In Washington D.C.
By
Dina Rashed, IOL Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON,
July 10 (IslamOnline) - The first museum dedicated solely to spy
work and arts of intelligence will open its door to the public in
Washington D.C. on July 19th. The museum features the world’s
largest permanent collection of artifacts, real devices used by
professional spies during the most conflicting times of the World Wars
and the Cold War.
The
over 200 pieces of device will include Enigma, the legendary WWII
German cipher machine, one of the many artifacts illustrating some of
history’s most pivotal code making and breaking operations.
Another
is the shoe transmitter, a Soviet listening device hidden inside the
heel of a target’s shoe; an example of the many eavesdropping
devices developed by intelligence services.
The
museum has used the experience of high level officials from the CIA
and the once famous KGB. Its advisory board include, among others:
Judge William Webster, former director of the FBI and CIA and Major
General Oleg Kalugin, former Chief of KGB Foreign Counterintelligence.
The
museum provides the story of the other side of diplomacy, the back
side of communication and the devices that helped make some historic
decisions, according to Kalugin.
The
different exhibits of the museum will tell the stories of the famous
spies, their techniques and tools while providing information about
the time and place where they used the original devices presented.
Interactive displays, historic photos and films, and videos will also
be used to show the strategies and practices of the profession.
One
exhibit called Spy School will give a crash course to visitors on how
to master the art of covered identity, increase their awareness and
observation skills of what goes around them. Also providing
information on how the real spies were chosen and then trained for
assignments.
In
the War of Spies, a Cold War exhibit, the events in the streets of the
German city of Berlin where most of the important espionage
assignments were carried out, come back to life. The exhibit examines
the McCarthy era and the House Un-American Activities Committee in the
United States and how in that period of distrust towards foreigners
and Americans alike, the search for spies dominated the country. The
exhibit also displays the story of the famous Aldrich Ames, who sold
CIA secrets to the Soviet for years and was finally captured in the
mid 90s.
The
International Spy Museum, located at 800 F Street, NW, adjacent to FBI
headquarters, took seven years of preparation and a $ 38 million of
funding.
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