FRANCIS GARY POWERS & FREDERIC PRYOR EXCHANGED FOR RUDOLF ABEL
Berlin (JFK+50) Fifty-six years ago, February 10, 1962, the United States and Soviet Union exchanged prisoners convicted of espionage. The exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge here in Berlin known as "the bridge of spies."
American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers* along with American student Frederic Pryor were exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel.**
The Glienicke Bridge, which spans the Havel River & connects the cities of Potsdam & Berlin, has been described as one of the few places where the USSR & US could make prisoner exchanges without involving third parties.
*Francis Gary Powers (1929-1977) born in Jenkins, Kentucky, was a graduate of Milligan College. He was commissioned in the USAF as a 2nd Lt. & recruited by the CIA. FGP, who was shot down by a Soviet MiG on May 1, 1960, was convicted of espionage & sentenced to 10 years in prison.
**Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (1903-1971), born in the UK to ethnic Germans from Russia, served in the Red Army & the KGB. RIA arrived in the US in Nov 1948 where he would pose as an artist & photographer. He was arrested in June 1957 by the FBI, found guilty of espionage & sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Berlin (JFK+50) Fifty-six years ago, February 10, 1962, the United States and Soviet Union exchanged prisoners convicted of espionage. The exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge here in Berlin known as "the bridge of spies."
American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers* along with American student Frederic Pryor were exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel.**
The Glienicke Bridge, which spans the Havel River & connects the cities of Potsdam & Berlin, has been described as one of the few places where the USSR & US could make prisoner exchanges without involving third parties.
*Francis Gary Powers (1929-1977) born in Jenkins, Kentucky, was a graduate of Milligan College. He was commissioned in the USAF as a 2nd Lt. & recruited by the CIA. FGP, who was shot down by a Soviet MiG on May 1, 1960, was convicted of espionage & sentenced to 10 years in prison.
**Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (1903-1971), born in the UK to ethnic Germans from Russia, served in the Red Army & the KGB. RIA arrived in the US in Nov 1948 where he would pose as an artist & photographer. He was arrested in June 1957 by the FBI, found guilty of espionage & sentenced to 45 years in prison.
The Glienicke Bridge
Spanning the Havel River
Photo by Lienhard Schulz (2005)
