Berlin, Germany, is a destination for any traveler interested in history. Its foundation begins in the fourteenth century, when it was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew rapidly in the following centuries and formed the basis of the German Empire in eighteen seventy one. The German Empire would survive until it was defeated in nineteen eighteen in World
War One. Around this time, Berlin also became a major world city, known for its leadership roles in everything from science, government, the arts, and beyond. This cultural emergence was marked by the Weimar Republic the inter war period between Germany's defeat in World War One and Hitler's rise to power. During the Weimar years, Berlin was fertile ground for intellectuals, artists,
and innovators across many fields, including many Jewish Scots. But with the rise of Nazism and Hitler's ascent in nineteen thirty three, many of these prominent people fled Germany for the United Kingdom and the United States. Thus began the Second World War, and Berlin was a critical battleground, heavily bombed during the intervening years until it finally capitulated in nineteen forty five. By then up to a third of Berlin had been destroyed, and the country as well as
the city, was split in half. West Berlin was controlled by the Allied forces of the UK, France and the United States, whereas East Berlin was the prize of the Soviet Union. There were many battles, strikes, and air raids before they settled into a tense but agreeable standoff. Now in nineteen sixty one, it is a city and a people divided, with two different souls, a rich history and an uncertain future.
Mina tormin untaren v. Now we cannot descent into bel and Germany's Templehof airport. Please close your trade tables and bring your seats into the upright position. Please remain seated with your seat built fastened until we arrive safely at the gate. It's been a pleasure having you on board today.
Honey, you're squeezing my hand a little tight. Are you all right? You're not becoming a nervous flyer, are you?
Oh?
It's not dead, then, what is it?
Flying into Tempelhoff always freaks me out. A former nazierport surrounded by a communist country.
None of it is a good place to be.
You don't have to worry about being near communist territories anymore. You're a US citizen now. Remember I know I married you for a reason.
It's just that I escaped the communist dictatorship once. I really don't want to do it again.
You won't have to. JFK has made it clear the US isn't leaving the area. If Templehoff was safe enough for the Berlin Airlift, it's safe enough for US.
I suppose you're right.
I am, and it's a little late anyway. Tempelhoff Airport was the first airport in Berlin. It was built on what was originally knights Templar land in medieval Berlin, from which it gets its name. It first opened in nineteen oh nine, when French aviator Armand Zipfel made the first flight demonstration at Tempelhoff, followed by Orville Wright later that
same year. During the Nazi era, the airport was expanded and its halls and adjoining buildings were intended to become the gateway to Europe and a symbol of Hitler's world capital Germania. It is still known as one of the largest built entities worldwide, and its central location just minutes from the Berlin city center, led it to quickly become one of the world's busiest airports. That is until it closed during World War II and only reopened to civil
aviation in April nineteen forty five. But just a few years later, in June nineteen forty eight, Soviet authorities, claiming technical difficulties, halted all traffic by land and by water into or out of the Western controlled sectors of Berlin. The only remaining access routes into the city were three twenty mile wide air corridors across the Soviet zone of occupation. Faced with the choice of abandoning the city or attempting to supply its inhabitants with the necessities of life by air,
the Western Powers chose the latter course. Thus began the Berlin Airlift, in which thousands of US and UK aircrafts carried tons of food, coal, and other essential supplies into the city through the airport. As the Cold War continued, Tempelhoff remained the main terminal for American military transport aircrafts accessing West Berlin.
The one thing I like about this is how close it is to the city it should only be a five minute taxi riter to the Kimpinski.
We could always take the scenic route. The architecture of this airport is really something.
Grab your bags, Darling, let's go, Maxnell.
The Kempinski Hotel sits on Kerferstendam Street known as Kudam for short, which is the crown jewel of capitalism in West Berlin, a street filled with fine dining, luxury shopping and the finest hotels, a bright, colorful spectacle to contrast with the drab and colorless Soviet East. First established in eighteen ninety seven as a restaurant, the Kampinski quickly became a beacon of taste and hospitality, keeping pace with the
trends in fashion and design that define each era. It housed famous parties and performances, and in nineteen fifty two it became the first new luxury hotel in the city. Right away it was the place to be for Berlin's fashion forward residence. Heads of state, celebrities and Nobel Prize winners like Albert Einstein, Ava Gardner, John Wayne, Alfred Hitchcock, John F. Kennedy and Sophia Learn, along with many others, were drawn to the exclusive hotel in Berlin, Golton talk.
How may I help you, mister and missus Vodor checking in Yes.
Of course, fun moment.
If you'll bring your bags to your room and four doors.
This envelope arrived for you, and this package for you door donkishen Oh, it's heavy.
Must be the galleys for the London Book and revised prousor Monte Carlo.
I know you're eager to take a look.
I'm also eager for a drink. You want to go to the bar and help me proof read?
Why don't you head there and get started. I should check my messages.
Ah order you a scotch and mere schnapps.
Another encrypted message, Hello.
Jeane, welcome to Germany. Hope this message finds you well. As you may now know, the Soviet's best forger, known as code named doctor Jevago, is willing to defect to the USA and reveal the identities of all the Soviet spies he has forged passports for as they use Berlin to slip into the West with other Germans and refugees. It may also interest you to know Jevago was a close friend of your father during the war. In fact, they disappeared together and if anyone knows where Pathfinder is,
it would be him. Your mission is to enter East Berlin under cover as a travel writer. You will be doing a chapter on East Berlin and the press, credentials and visas have already been arranged. Once you are on the other side of the wall, you'll meet up with Shivago as well as his nephew and escort them across the border back to the west. Savago has already forged them the proper passports and paperwork, and they have a friend at the checkpoint, so it will be a smooth transaction.
You will just be there for additional cover. Rebecca has your visa and we'll be in contact as to a meeting point. She will then escort you with her travel photographer credentials. Take care.
Is everything all right?
Yes? But I don't want you to worry.
Oh no, what is it?
Martin wants me to do a chapter on East Berlin.
You're not serious.
He thinks it will sell copies set us apart.
Will they even let you through the checkpoint?
Martin arranged visas to allow a tour. I don't like it, I know, but it will only be a few hours. And probably just a bunch of propaganda, them showing me what they want us to see.
I suppose if margin arranged it, it should be fine.
But it will be fine, I promise.
If you say so, here's your Scotch.
Plus, you will be far too busy with all these pages to even notice I'm gone.
Hmm.
I'm so sorry to interrupt, but you must be busy photos.
Indeed we are, Ah.
I am Marie Unga, my family are the proprietors of this hotel, and we are very honored to have you as our guest.
You're too kind, A pleasure to meet you.
I always take your books whenever I travel. Can I assume you're working on a new belly In edition that we are well. I so hope I can look forward to see inclusion of Ze Kampinski.
Of course, we are very happy to finally stay here. This hotel is everything I expected and more.
Make sures you paton the nose your drinks around the house.
Oh you really don't have to insist. Thank you very much, Yes, thank you.
Ah.
I see our associate Rebecca in the lobby, and I believe she has something for me. Will you, ladies excuse me a moment of course, be right back.
That is your associate.
She's our new photographer. We are in the process of expanding our business.
Much like Zikompinski. If you don't continue to grow, you die. It is the reality of business.
I suppose.
I'm still getting used to it, not just being Gene and me, But there is so much more to do.
We need the extra support.
She's quite young no America, yes.
But very talented.
She worked full time magazine and now she travels on the job with Geen. Well, I've moved upstairs to the editor's office, well hotel room for now, but eventually we will be settled in one place.
You must be a very smart business woman and a very generous wife.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean.
Rebecca is young and beautiful. I had to be nervous if she were alone with my husband so often.
Oh, it's not like that.
American girls, in particular, with their new burth control and sexual liberation, they are.
Not to be trusted. But Jeane is.
I'm sorry. I'm sure you're right.
And they are never alone for more than a few hours anyway, of.
Course, my apologies, but I actually must get going already. Rebecca has our visas and made all the arrangements with Martin. She just came by to pick me up. I see, Marie, it was lovely to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality, My pleasure by Darling Jean. Be safe, of course, I'll be back before you know it. Ready, Yes, where exactly where are we going?
We'll cross in the East Berlin at Banhof friedrich Strasser.
It's just across town.
Let's make it quick. I'd love to be back to take lass at the dinner.
We better get going then, Hello, Chairman Albrecht speaking er Rulbert, this is KGBI spetz Naz Alpha.
We have received intel from verified sources inside US intelligence that doctor Jivago maybe in their threatened only move. The loss of this asset could compromise thetententeities of hundreds of agents and missions. Jeevago is too important a resource to fall into the hands of the enemy. We strongly suggest immediate protection and transfer, or, if all else fails.
Elimination understood, Commandant, I will send my best men to secure an asset.
It's almost as if the vibrancy of West Berlin is to compensate for the utter drabness of East Berlin. A dark gray place where the citizen's disposition matches the stern architecture. The border can be crossed legally only through a limited number of air, road, rail and river routes. Travelers to and from Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Czechoslovakia can pass fairly easily through East Germany, but access rights for non Germans
are otherwise very restricted. If you are thinking of entering, you must submit an itinerary to the East German State Tourist Office up to nine weeks in advance, pay booking fees, and register with the local police on arrival. You may purchase fuel only from specially approved petrol stations and must spend a prescribed minimum of money each day. You are also required to stay in state owned inter hotels, which
do not come cheap. If you feel intent on seeing East Berlin and have the foresight to plan ahead and the cash to spend, do not expect a warm welcome or inspiring cuisine awaiting you on the other side. With this approach to hospitality, it's no surprise the East has not become a bustling hub of tourist activity. Step forward, state your name, Eugene Fodor. I'm a travel writer, and this is my associate and photographer, Rebecca Ralston. Bus is
your business. I own a guidebook company and we're here to show the world why they should visit East Berlin. Of course, here you are.
We are so excited to see East Berlin. Our readers are going to feel so special. Do you mind if I take your picture?
I've always had a thing for men in uniform, smile.
Or not, very handsome.
Doncashin your visas are good for five hours. If you do not exit East Berlin before they expire, you will be vested. We promise not to cause any trouble.
You may go through. Welcome to East Berlin. Quite serious around here, aren't they.
This station is where tens of thousands of East Germans have been affecting West. It's mostly the young and educated, a perfect loophole in their closed borders. It also happens to be the perfect place for spies to cross on both sides.
So now that we're through, where are we going?
We're meeting Jivago in his print shop at Hakkashov.
It's in Mitta.
Oh great, We're only a few blocks away exactly. The Hakshehofa is the renowned complex of courtyards spread around the Shoenenfiatal Quarter, located outside the city walls for centuries. It was renamed the barn Quarter at the end of the seventeenth century, when barnes were removed from the city center and moved here. The fortunes of the area began to change at the beginning of the twentieth century when large numbers of Jews from Eastern Europe settled here, giving rise
to major changes. Shops and businesses began to open, turning the area into a hive of activity. Opening onto Rosenthalestrase is a complex of eight interconnected courtyards and originally built as a market in nineteen oh seven by the architect Kurt Bard. The main entrance is at number forty, a building with a splendid Art nouveau facade, takes you into the first courtyard, featuring buildings with walls covered in colored tiles. From here you can explore the other courtyards, which form
a microcosm of the city. The Hakashehoffa is also a monument for Berlin's Jewish community because in nineteen thirty nine it belonged to a Jewish businessman and was home to the Jewish school until the owner was compelled to sell it to the Nazis and the school was evicted and demolished.
Villukomen, that's all right, allowed these customers.
You may take your break.
Sofie Punkah.
You must be Eugene. You was a spitting image of your father, and you must be Cormi Zivago for now, you're early.
We didn't want to be.
My nephew is still at school. I didn't want to keep him home out of fear it might raise suspicion. He should be back within the hour.
That should be fine. We have five hours until our time is up.
We'll be ready to go right away. You have the paperwork, Yes, the leasas are forged. We are US citizens here to visit a dying relative at the jerry Dale Hospital. Good.
Then I can give you these passports.
I didn't know you were hiding those. I didn't want to worry you, thayanks, but I already made some.
See for yourself.
These are very impressive, as good as the real thing, maybe better.
Yes, I am good at How about we pick up my nephew from school and go from there. No point waiting around longer than needed.
That works for us.
Let me just get my coat.
I think we've got trouble.
What is it.
Police?
They aren't marked as police car.
It's Cristasi Easter, German's secret police.
Well, whoever they are. They're blocking the exits and entering the hof.
Heavy back door. Follow me.
They're covering the back too. Which way do we go?
We should separate? It's me them on?
No, this way we can lose them in the Marketwn they're still after us.
Aramsis stall is the tram.
Shit, they're at the entrance.
They'll have to hold on, jump here and hold on. I was close and they're clearly on to us. We should go back to the checkpoint and cross back to the west immediately.
No.
I won't desert my nephew.
But your life is in danger. Eh.
It's both of us or either of us.
Okay, I know a place we can go. It's an old CIA safehouse. It's not far.
Is there someone there who can help us?
No, but we can hide there until we get a plan. B.
What about our visas?
We still have a few hours left. Let's hope we don't need more.
Is the ass boit chairman Olbricht for General Secretary.
Khrushchev dah one moment, Yes, gut and target.
Cruise, Chef, I regret to inform you that doctor Shivoko has gone missing. The suspectim may be in US hands.
How is this possible?
He must be in our position at all costs.
We believe he has yet to cross the Vest, but unfortunately, with the current border security in Berlin, I cannot assure you that I can prevent his escape. We have already lost hundreds of thousands of our best, unprightest to the Vest, and we are most assuredly lose him as well unless something drastic he's done.
What do you suggest, Comrade, We shut it down, all of it. I will order guards double the ditch post.
That isn't enough. We need to build a wall. It's the only way to guarantee no one can leave. Not a soul can slip through, not Sivago and no citizen of the GDR.
That is quite drastic. It would bring a strong reaction.
We can't concern ourselves this international perception. Only East German survival. Young Kennedy already told you that the US would take no action if a permanent barrier were built.
Full shoot as hand, but the talking actions are very different things.
The time to build a voll is now, and we must act fast before it is too late.
The do it, shut it down, whatever it takes.
Not the coziest of places, You're sure no one will find us here.
This is one of the most secret safe houses we have. It's not the compinski, but we can breathe easy.
I'm terribly sorry for the trouble I seem to have gotten you into.
What's important is we get you out safe. Tell me about your nephew.
Here is his photo. His school isn't far from my shop. He gets out in a minute now, But today he knows to wait at the school and he won't head back to the shop alone. Good.
No one should be looking for him yet. I'll go get him and bring him here.
Is that safe?
He looks like he could be my brother. I doubt anyone will raise an eye.
Give him this note so he trusts you.
Thanks.
I won't be long, Jean. Come lock the door behind me. Keep a close eye on Jivago and set the alarm on your watch. If I'm not back in an hour, take him to cross the border before your visas expire. What about you, I'll find a way to get back myself if you get caught, or if it ever becomes a question if you or him save yourself?
Understood, understood. So it is just us for the moment.
Do you mind if I put that record play into use?
Be my guest.
I can't get over how much you resemble your father hum I.
Heard that often growing up. When did you and him first meet?
We served together in counterintelligence at the end of the war and became fast friends. It started as we got to know one another. We shared a profound love of art and the profound loss of family. Beside me. The only member of mine who survives the Nazis was my nephew, just a baby at the time. You see, this is why I cannot leave him. We are all the other has. The Soviets helped save me and him, which is why I've worked for them all this time.
You're Jewish.
Yes, my family thrived here in this very neighborhood during the Weimar Republic, but you wouldn't recognize it from what you see to day. It was alive with youthful activity, explosive sexual freedoms, art, liberal ideas.
It's been called the Babylon of the twenties.
I suppose it was provocative, cabaret shows, excessive drug use, knights of hedonistic partying, open and same sex relationships. There were many strong women in the movement as well, with performers such as Marlene Dietrich and the Nita Berber becoming icons.
It was also the.
Decade of giants such as Breckt de Nichevood.
Sounds like an amazing time.
The city was alive in ways you couldn't imagine, but then the Nazis took power. My family's gallery was closed, my parents arrested, and I was forced to work for the fascist pigs, catalogings at art thefts as they murdered and pillaged their way through Europe.
That's horrible, I'm sorry.
By day I was forced to work for them, but by night I used the material to forge papers for other Jews to escape.
Oh why didn't you escape yourself?
Well, doo, I had no home or family left, but by staying I had a purpose. And then the Soviets came to liberate us. They saved me, and they saved my nephew. He was just a baby then, but he was all I had. That's why I can't leave him. I'll never leave him behind.
That's how you started working for the Soviets.
I felt I owed them at first for saving us, but they used me, just like the Nazis made me their chief forger in Berlin, creating fake passports so their KGB agents can travel freely.
Then why leave now? Why risk it all?
My nephew is becoming a man, a brilliant man with a bright future. But there's no future for him here, and I cannot continue to create fake passports for horrible people.
I'm sure your nephew is safe with Rebecca.
He reminds me of you, actually me. You barely know me, but your father spoke about you all the time. How brilliant you were from a young age, How you could read the globe like you could read the alphabet. How in America you are free to realize that potential to build your dreams. There are no dreams here, only harsh reality.
You know, you may end up just working for another governing power, better than the Nazis or Soviets, but a master just the same.
I am prepared to do whatever it takes and to help the Americans however I can, if it means my nephew gets the life and the future he deserves, and I will help you too if you get us across, help me with what you want to find your father?
Do you not.
You know where he is?
Well? I might know how to find him. What's that sound?
Yes?
Have they found us?
Army trucks are moving in. The soldiers are carrying bricks and spades, not rifles.
Do you think feel safe? Should we flee?
Stay away from the windows. We'll wait until Rebecca returns. What is that my watch alarm? It's nothing if you're.
Sitting ducks in here? If they found us, perhaps Rebecca of us caught and revealed a location.
No, no, let me think.
It's me open up.
Just in time, too, Jean, this is my nephew. It's glad you made it, but we should leave now. Our vices are about to expire.
It's too late for that.
No, we still have time.
If we hurt, it doesn't The Soviets and Stazi have stopped all the trains, shut down the checkpoints, and are setting up barbed wire barricades in the streets. It's a total lockdown.
It sounds like more than just setting up a few barricades.
It's much more than that. Gene. They're building a wall.
Phodor's Guide to Espionage is created by Lars Jacobson, written by Lars Jacobson and Sabrina Jaglain, and directed by Sabrina Jaglin, Produced by Lars Jacobson and Sabrina Jagulin, and executive produced
by Noel Brown for iHeartRadio. Fodor's Guide to Espionage stars Ethan Korn as Eugene Fodor, Lelia Symington as Vlasta Fodor, and Jackie Emerson as Rebecca Ralston, with additional performances by Chase Mullins, George Rivera, Matt Linton, Dylan McCollum, Gade Greenspan, Chris Cappel, Duncan Kaladine Dana Melanie, Alex Gumbadi, Noam Thomaschoff, Katrina Aaron, and Simon Jagulain. Sound design and editing by Chris Childs. Original theme song by Jack Blavelt and Chris Childs,
with additional scoring by Chris Childs. Sound engineering by Chris sek Sodor's Guide to Espionage is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts