Secrets Revealed
International Spy Museum Opens in Washington, D.C.

Listen to a report from Bob Edwards

The KGB used small, lightweight F21 cameras for various methods of clandestine photography, including concealing the camera behind coat buttons. The museum says this method of concealment is still in use today. Photo courtesy the International Spy Museum See a photo gallery of more of the museum's collections.

"Friday morning, July 19th, five spies will do what no secret agent has ever done before... Attract a crowd!" The International Spy Museum, on today's opening ceremony

Agent: a person unofficially employed by an intelligence service. Learn spy lingo with this glossary of terms!

July 19, 2002 -- The people behind the International Spy Museum have decided to reveal some trade secrets. The first museum dedicated to international espionage opens in Washington, D.C., today. Exhibits reveal a wealth of materials and methods, some dating to Biblical times, some far more modern.

Morning Edition host Bob Edwards toured the museum and spoke with director Peter Earnest -- a former CIA agent and a self-described "spymaster." Many members of the museum's Advisory Board of Directors and Advisory Council have intelligence backgrounds, including former directors of the FBI, the CIA, and even the KGB.

In addition to revealing secrets of the past, the museum focuses on how spies affected history, especially during the Cold War. "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," said Milton Maltz, founder of the museum.

From cameras that can peer through walls to cyanide cannisters hidden in newspapers, the museum houses a range of tools and tricks. But Earnest says equipment takes an agent only so far. "I think the spy's most helpful tool is the brain," he says. The tools are not magic, he says -- what's important is how you use them. "It's how creative you are, how imaginative you are, how aggressive you are" that makes a difference.

The five buildings occupied by the museum have a spy connection of their own: the museum is next to FBI headquarters in downtown Washington. One of the five -- the Atlas Building -- housed one of the former headquarters of the U.S. Communist Party from 1941 to 1948.

Unlike the Smithsonian museums just a few blocks away, this one charges admission. Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. It opens to the public today. Don't be disappointed that there is no secret entrance.


In Depth

Listen as Karen Grigsby Bates of the Tavis Smiley Show interviews museum founder Milton Maltzthe. Friday, July 19.

Talk of the Nation hosts former spies to discuss the opening of the museum. Monday, July 15.

Clandestine Women: See coverage of a National Women's History Museum exhibit on women in espionage.

The Spy Who Served Me: See coverage of espionage from the 'White House' of Jefferson Davis.

In From the Cold War, 'Spy vs. Spy': in honor of the 40th anniversary of the MAD Magazine cartoon.

 Browse for other NPR stories about spies.

Other Resources

• The International Spy Museum includes information about upcoming exhibits

• The CIA Museum.

• The Office of Strategic Services (OSS): America's First Intelligence Agency.

• The National Cryptologic Museum.

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