Glienicke Bridge: In the world of film, a symbol of division and unification

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Glienicke Bridge: In the world of film, a symbol of division and unification

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Three agent exchanges have made it famous: the Glienicke Bridge - also known as the "Bridge of Spies". The imposing structure over the Havel connects the two cities of Potsdam and Berlin. But that wasn't always the case: until the fall of the Wall on 9 November 1989, there was no getting through here, as the border between East and West ran right through this very spot. And it was only permeable at very specific moments.

The 2015 American feature film "Bridge of Spies", directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of the spectacular exchange of agents on 10 February 1962, when CIA spy and Air Force pilot Francis Gary Powers and KGB agent Rudolf Ivanovich Abel switched sides on the border bridge. It is the true story of lawyer James Donovan, played by Tom Hanks, who finds himself in the middle of the Cold War on the almost impossible mission of negotiating the release of a US pilot captured in Russia.

The UFA production "Unter den Brücken" from 1944 is completely different. Made in the last days of the "Third Reich", the film shows the actress Hildegard Knef in one of her first roles. In the black-and-white film, the Glienicke Bridge plays one of the leading roles in a story about love and friendship.

The ZDF comedy "Kundschafter des Friedens", on the other hand, is in the style of "Oceans 11". The 2016 production stars Henry Hübchen as a former GDR spy and Jürgen Prochnow as a Western agent. This film was also shot in Brandenburg on the Glienicke Bridge, which can be seen in the final scene.

Even today, the different green colours of the bridge bear witness to its divided history, which is also commemorated by a metal plate on the former border line in the middle.

Mehr Informationen zum Film-Highlight „Bridge of Spies – Der Unterhändler" im Blog (in German only).

Bridge of Spies - The Negotiator

Genre: Drama, History, Thriller

Description: During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court and help the CIA exchange the spy for Soviet-captured American U2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Country of production: USA, Germany

Distributor/broadcaster: 20th Century Fox Germany GmbH

Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Burghart Klaußner

Trailer: Link zu YouTube

Under the Bridges

Genre: Comedy Drama Romance

Description: Two skippers fall in love with the same woman.

Director: Helmut Käutner

Country of production: Germany

Distributor/broadcaster: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung

Cast: Hannelore Schroth, Carl Raddatz, Gustav Knuth, Hildegard Knef

Scouts for Peace

Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller

Description: Jochen Falk and two other former Stasi agents embark on a dangerous mission to rescue the kidnapped president of Katchistan. But it soon becomes clear that Falk is pursuing his own goals.

Director: Robert Talheim

Country of production: Germany

Distributor/broadcaster: Majestic Filmverleih

Cast: Henry Hübchen, Antje Traute, Martin Gwisdeck, Winfried Glatzeder

Trailer: Link zu YouTube

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Glienicke Bridge: In the world of film, a symbol of division and unification

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