NSA Teufelsberg - Berlin.

[saul_son]

Looking back this was one of my favourite sites of the trip, despite it terrifying me whilst I was there. One of the reason's for this is that it resembles one of the old US "Texas Towers".

Teufelsberg is an artificial hill in Berlin's Grunewald Forest in the Former British Sector, the hill was created out of the rubble of the heavily damaged West Berlin by the Allies. Originally there was a Nazi era, Albert Speer designed, Technical School at the site. This Technical School proved to much hassle to the British trying to demolish it, so they buried it and made a hill instead. Teufelsberg means 'Devils Mountain' in German.

The listening station was built when a Mobile Allied Listening Unit drove up the hill and found that reception, and therefore interception, of Soviet and DDR military communications markedly better. The US NSA(National Security Agency) eventually took over the running of the Allied built facility, with the exception of building 1455 which was operated by the British Army. It remained in use until the reunification of Germany in 1990, with the British Antenna being removed in 1992.

I'd really like to revisit this place as I didn't take many photographs, but I did shoot some Super-8, which I need to get sorted.

Anyway, images:

 

[Foxylady]

Interesting stuff, Saul. Love that first photo.
Thanks for the link about Texas Towers...I haven't heard of these before and hardly know anything about listening posts so that's a nice piece of history.
Cheers.

 

[wolfism]

Nice mate, these have far more atmosphere than the usual tourist shots I've seen from Teufelsberg. Out of interest, what you do with the Super-8 footage – do you transfer it to video, or pick off stills from it?

 

[Lusker]

Nice pics but dam that spot is trashed

 

[zimbob]

Originally there was a Nazi era, Albert Speer designed, Technical School at the site. This Technical School proved to much hassle to the British trying to demolish it, so they buried it and made a hill instead.

*packs spade and books flight*


Nicely shot, looking good

 

[saul_son]

Nice mate, these have far more atmosphere than the usual tourist shots I've seen from Teufelsberg. Out of interest, what you do with the Super-8 footage – do you transfer it to video, or pick off stills from it?

Cheers mate.

I'm gonna get the Super-8 processed and put on DVD so I can edit it with Premiere or something, then put a video up somewhere. It's the first time I've shot it and it's an expensive affair!

I'll probably scan various frames on my neg scanner to get some higher quality stills too.

 

[Pincheck]

nice pictures mate one of the guys i work with does professional wedding videos/dvds, sure he uses dazzle for his super 8 footage to pc transfer

 

[godzilla73]

Great pics Saul Son- seems to be so much of this brilliant cold war stuff in Germany that they are only now getting round to showing people.

 

[Urban-Warrior]

Excellent pics dude.. its amazing how you can just walk into a once highly secure place now its lying there forgotten about.. would love to see this for myself one day before its gone forever

 

[Lightbuoy]

Wow! -Brilliant stuff!

Thanks ol' man