WASHINGTON, D.C.- The International Spy Museum, a new museum exploring the craft, practice, history, and contemporary role of espionage, opens today. The International Spy Museum is the first public museum in the United States solely dedicated to espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on an all-but-invisible profession that has shaped history and continues to have a significant impact on world events.

The International Spy Museum will feature the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever placed on public display. Many of these objects will be seen for the first time outside of the intelligence community. These artifacts will be used to illuminate the work of famous spies and pivotal espionage actions as well as help bring to life the strategies and techniques of the men and women behind some of the most secretive espionage missions in world history. Artifacts 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

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

"Through the Wall" Camera, a Czech camera used by the East German Stasi to photograph through walls: representative of the tools used in clandestine photography

Escape Boots, designed for British pilots in WWII: part of an exhibit describing the various escape and evasion techniques

In development for more than seven years, the Museum has drawn upon the knowledge of leading experts and practitioners in the intelligence community. The International Spy Museum’s Advisory Board of Directors and Advisory Council include, among others:

Judge William Webster: former director of the FBI and CIA

Major General Oleg Kalugin: former Chief of KGB Foreign Counterintelligence

Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy (Ret.) U.S. Army: former Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence for the U.S. Army

Congressman Louis Stokes: former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee

Antonio Joseph Mendez: former Chief of Disguise for the CIA

Jonna Hiestand Mendez: former Chief of Disguise and technical services officer for the CIA

David Kahn: leading expert in the history of cryptology and a former visiting historian for the NSA

Keith Melton: renowned author and technical advisor to U.S. intelligence services; maintains one of the world’s largest private collections of espionage-related artifacts

Christopher Andrew: Chair of the British Intelligence Study Group and Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Chair of the Faculty of History, and President of Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University, England

The mission of the International Spy Museum is to educate the public about espionage in an engaging way and to provide a context that fosters understanding of its important role in and impact on current and historic events. The Museum focuses on human intelligence and reveals the role spies have played in world events throughout history. It is committed to the apolitical presentation of the history of espionage in order to provide visitors with nonbiased, accurate information.

“In a democracy it is especially important for the public to have a more realistic understanding of the intelligence business so we can appreciate its role in our society and impact upon major world events,” stated Milton Maltz, founder of the International Spy Museum and chairman of The Malrite Company. “Spying is an integral part of political and social landscapes across the globe, and how it is practiced affects each of us individually, shaping the kind of society and world we live in.”

The International Spy Museum’s exhibits will present the tradecraft of espionage through the stories of individuals and their missions, tools, and techniques. The Museum will feature artifacts used by or for intelligence services around the world and supports them with historic photographs and information that provide a context of time and place. Interactive displays, film, and video address the strategies and practices of the profession. Exhibits include:

School for Spies: This section provides orientation into the world of espionage and describes the skills essential to a spy. It explores the different motivations that lead people into the profession, how they are recruited and trained, and describes the spy’s most common operating styles and areas of expertise.

Over 200 espionage devices illustrate the various technical aspects of espionage. Interactive exhibits present such aspects of spying as observation and analysis, threat analysis, overhead surveillance, disguise and identification, audio surveillance, and clandestine photography.

The Secret History of History: This series of galleries chronicles the history of spying from biblical times to the early 20th century. It explores such phenomena as the institutionalization of spying in the early years of the Soviet Union and traces the rise of espionage technology, such as spy photography. It also reveals the role that women have played in espionage, highlighting the legendary, yet unsuccessful, Mata Hari, as well as lesser-known but more accomplished female spies. Other well-known historical figures are unmasked as spymasters or spies, such as George Washington and author Daniel Defoe (father of the British Secret Service).

Spies Among Us: Through a series of exhibits, films, and videos, this section examines espionage through both World Wars, showcasing real-life spy stories. The role of code-making and code-breaking operations is explored through various exhibits, including: the Enigma cipher machine; the Navajo Codetalkers, whose native language provided an unbreakable code for the Allied Forces during World War II; and the very beginnings of computer technology. Interactive exhibits teach various ways to create, break, and hide coded messages. An exhibit on celebrity spies includes: singer Josephine Baker, who worked for the French Resistance; noted Chef, Julia Child; and actress Marlene Dietrich, who recorded pop songs for the OSS that were broadcast to German soldiers as American propaganda.

The section covering World War II also details the intelligence blunders surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor, the use of misinformation and propaganda throughout the war, and the sabotage and subversion employed by spies working behind enemy lines in France. Other issues addressed include the pivotal role of allied intelligence in successful D-Day deceptions and the American development and loss of the secrets of the atomic bomb.

War of the Spies: The Cold War, a period characterized by mistrust and suspicion, is explored in this section. Post-war Berlin is used as the backdrop for extensive exhibits detailing the Berlin Tunnel, a massive CIA and British wiretap of telephone lines between East Berlin’s Soviet military headquarters and Moscow; and the Stasi, the most effective internal security force and external intelligence gathering organization in the world.

The development of sophisticated espionage technologies such as spy planes and satellites as well as the use of microtechnology in listening and tracking devices is also presented. The McCarthy hearings, the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Red Scare are examined, reflecting a time in the United States when seemingly no one was above suspicion and spies were sought after in nearly every neighborhood.

The impact of espionage on popular culture and the myth and mystique of the spy that it engendered are also explored. The fiction and romance of the spy provided an escape from the paranoia and tension of the Cold War where the public could vicariously triumph over evil. Mythic spies and agencies from the movies, television and literature –ranging from James Bond to Maxwell Smart to Austin Powers — are featured alongside the consumer products and games they inspired.

All is Not What It Seems: The final section of the Museum addresses espionage in the 21st century. The Museum’s Operations Center, staffed by espionage specialists, tracks current events in the fast breaking world of international espionage. At various times, temporary exhibits on current espionage-related issues will also be displayed.

“The public perception of espionage has been largely shaped by Hollywood, which filled the vacuum of real information that is unavoidably central to the profession,” noted Dennis Barrie, president of the advisory board of the International Spy Museum. “The Museum fills that vacuum with the truth of espionage, illustrating that the stories behind real-life spies are more interesting than fiction.” Mr. Barrie was the founding director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland and associate director of the Archives of American Art Smithsonian Institution.

A Spy’s City
America’s capital city is rich with real-life espionage stories, where spies have walked the halls of foreign embassies and intelligence agencies since the city was born. The Museum is located at 800 F Street, NW, adjacent to FBI headquarters and housed in a block of five buildings that include the historic Atlas and LeDroit buildings. Interestingly, the Atlas Building housed the former headquarters for the fourth district of the U.S. Communist Party from 1941 to 1948. Under the oversight of the Historic Preservation Review Board, the building facades have been meticulously restored to maintain the character of the streetscape and a majority of the interior spaces have been preserved as they were originally configured.