Francis Gary Powers

My Father, the Spy

Francis Gary Powers Jr., son of the legendary U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was famously shot down in 1960 by the Soviet Air Defense while on a spying mission, is visiting Berlin.

“Bridge of Spies” was not only a very successful film by Steven Spielberg, it also characterized one of Berlin’s espionage hotspots. The Glienicke Bridge, where pedestrians blissfully walk across the Spree today, was once the scene of some of the most spectacular agent exchanges in the history of the Cold War. This particular role of the Glienicke Bridge began in 1962, when Francis Gary Powers was traded for the KGB spy Rudolf Abel. It was Hollywood-style material that both fascinates and moves us even today.

This fascination also extends to the protagonist’s descendants. Francis Gary Powers Jr. has made it his purpose to preserve the memory of this moving moment of the Cold war and present it to the next generation. It began with his Cold War Museum in Virginia and continues in the German Spy Museum.

 

Participans
Francis Gary Powers Jr., Son of Francis Gary Powers

 

Free of Charge