Podcast: Sounds of the spies
A moving box containing thousands of photographs of Langeland's coastline and infrastructure – taken by East German spies with the aim of invading Langeland if the Cold War had turned hot. Hear museum director Peer Henrik Hansen talk about it and how badly things could have gone.
What does “Cold War” mean?
From 1945 to 1989, the world was divided by a so-called “Iron Curtain” into two large ideologically, politically and socially diverse blocs, with democracies in Western Europe and communist, socialist countries in Eastern Europe. The great fear was the use of nuclear weapons, which were produced in enormous quantities during the Cold War. Enough to destroy the planet several times over.
A cork in the bottle
Why is Langeland interesting in this context? Because it is strategically well located if you want to close off the Baltic Sea – as a safety valve between East and West – a “cork in the bottle” – from which ships could be fired upon. That is why Langelandsfortet is located where it is.
Worth a visit
At the Cold War Museum Langelandsfortet on South Langeland, you can get much closer to the West's surveillance of its opponents from the East and find out more about the traces left by East German spies on Langeland.