BND visitor center in Berlin: Spontaneous insights into the secret service

BND visitor center in Berlin: Spontaneous insights into the secret service

Federal Intelligence Service opens its gates for everyone

Berlin - The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) will rely on more transparency and will also open its visitor center for spontaneous visitors in the future. This new concept was officially announced by BND President Bruno Kahl at the opening of the expansion of the visitor center in Berlin.

insight into the intelligence work

Since the inauguration in November 2019, the visitor center was only accessible to groups of 20 or more people after prior registration. This restriction is now eliminated to address a wider audience and increase acceptance for the work of the secret service. According to Kahl, this openness is to reduce reservations and a better understanding of the tasks and methods of the BND. Last year alone, around 14,000 people visited the center.

security measures adapted

The new openness poses special challenges for the secret service, since security and secrecy still have the highest priority in the BND. Therefore, extensive safety precautions were taken, including a new input position and modern control technology, comparable to those at airports. The visitor center in the hermetically sealed complex is located on Chausseestraße 99a.

exhibition with rare exhibits

The multimedia and interactive exhibition of the visitor center extends to 400 square meters. Topics such as terrorism, illegal migration and proliferation are treated. The exhibits include a gas ultra-concentrifuge for uranium enrichment, an original explosive vest from Afghanistan and recently a backpack of a BND employee who was involved in the seizure of the Taliban in Kabul, and a shattered tank cover from Butcha, which is reminiscent of the massacre.

historical exhibits of the Islamic State

The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) is also represented by rare exhibits. A silver coin of the IS currency, made from looted gold and silver stands, offers insights into the financing structures of the extremists. In 2014, IS had shaped large parts of Iraq and Syria under control and its own currency.

secret service coordinator Busch about transparency

Dagmar Busch, the coordinator of the federal government's news services in the Chancellery, emphasizes that too much restraint could harm and that invisibility is not always the best way, especially in the fight for household funds and public acceptance. Transparency and presence in public are therefore more important than ever.

New features: BND club and social media

In the course of the new openness, a BND club was set up in the visitor center with a social media station. Visitors can now also purchase fan articles such as cups with BND printing on two machines. Despite these new offers, the transparency of the spies remains limited: photography is strictly forbidden, mobile phones are to be switched into flight mode at least.

conclusion and outlook

With the opening of its visitor center, the BND takes a big step towards the public and tries to strengthen its role as a competent and reliable service provider of the federal government. It remains to be seen how this transparent approach will influence the perception and trust of the population in the secret service in the long term.

- Nag