1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
IranIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections

The Shadow World of Germany’s Spies - Part 1 & 2

August 22, 2016

For 60 years, Germany’s intelligence agency, the BND, worked in the shadows, and would have continued that way if American whistleblower Edward Snowden hadn’t changed everything.

https://p.dw.com/p/1JQzD

The BND employs thousands of officials with false names and false passports to obtain secrets about foreign states and information that should be read in every newspaper. How does the Islamic State operate? What are Vladimir Putin's plans? What threat will Germany face next? BND agents need to advise the German Chancellery on all these issues and more. They work for the Defense and Foreign Ministries amongst others. The BND is the German government’s sixth sense.

09.08.2016 DW Doku BND PRESSE 04
In armored vehicles and carrying machine guns: German agents on a dangerous mission in northern IraqImage: SWR

Out of Control

But the BND is experiencing a deep crisis of confidence. One wiretapping scandal after another has rocked the service. Nothing and no one seems to be safe from the spies’ prying: German citizens’ emails and telephone calls have been monitored without cause. BND agents have helped their US counterparts to spy on companies in Germany, tapped Hillary Clinton and Kofi Annan’s phones and even kept German diplomats under surveillance. The service has gotten out of hand.

Gerhard Schindler BND Präsident
Former BND Director Schindler wanted to make the intelligence services more transparent and was fired.Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Carstensen

Spymaster Fired

Now BND Director Gerhard Schindler has had to step down. Was he sacked because of the BND’s mistakes or because they became known? At least Schindler was the first BND president to admit that his ministry had overstepped the mark. In an exclusive interview for this film, Schindler said: “I believe the current widespread discussion about the Federal Intelligence Service, about its powers and its limits, is long overdue (...) I think that effective oversight won’t harm us – it will be to our benefit.”

09.08.2016 DW Doku BND PRESSE 01
The BND’s new home in Berlin: one of the central atria in the final stages of constructionImage: SWR

How Far Can Intelligence Services Go?

Was Schindler fired for his candor? Rainald Becker and Christian H. Schulz had the opportunity to speak him again after his departure from the agency. They also interviewed the head of the Chancellor’s office, Peter Altmaier. The film focuses on the following issues: Who can restrain this espionage operation with its vast eavesdropping capacity and hunger for data? What does the BND actually do? And what is its role in shaping policy and where should it draw the line?

A coproduction of Ventana-Film Berlin and SWR, RBB and DW, in cooperation with ARTE

Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1

DW

SAT 20.08.2016 – 19:15 UTC
SUN 21.08.2016 – 01:15 UTC
SUN 21.08.2016 – 07:15 UTC
SUN 21.08.2016 – 15:15 UTC
MON 22.08.2016 – 05:15 UTC
MON 29.08.2016 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 04.09.2016 – 03:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Amerika)

SUN 21.08.2016 – 09:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

Part 2

DW

SAT 27.08.2016 – 19:15 UTC
SUN 28.08.2016 – 01:15 UTC
SUN 28.08.2016 – 07:15 UTC
SUN 28.08.2016 – 15:15 UTC
MON 29.08.2016 – 05:15 UTC
MON 05.09.2016 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 11.09.2016 – 03:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Amerika)

SUN 28.08.2016 – 09:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3