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[[File:IG-Farben-Haus.jpg|thumb|The [[IG Farben Building|I.G. Farben building]] served as the headquarters of the [[CIA]] in Germany during the [[Cold War]]]]
'''American espionage in Germany''' was significantly intensified during the [[World War II|Second World War]] and duringthe following [[occupation of Germany]]. As the [[Iron Curtain]] ran through the middle of [[Germany]] during the [[Cold War]], the[[divided countryGermany]] was an important center of US espionage activities. US intelligence monitored the politics of the [[Federal Republic of Germany (1949-1990)|Federal Republic of Germany]] as well as conducting espionage and propaganda against the [[Eastern Bloc]]. The CIA and other American secret services worked closely with the West German [[Federal Intelligence Service|BND]], which was a close ally of the United States. Even after [[German reunification]], a significant American intelligence presence in Germany remained. In July 2013, the [[2010s global surveillance disclosures|global surveillance and espionage affair]] revealed that the American [[National Security Agency|NSA]] had eavesdropped on and spied on almost all top German politicians, including Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web/German|url=https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/politik-inland/lauschangriff-auf-320-wichtige-deutsche-34798676.bild.html|titel=Neue NSA-Enthüllungen - Lausch angriff auf 320 wichtige Deutsche|werk=Bild|datum=2014-02-22|zugriff=2024-07-05|sprache=de}}</ref> The revelations also brought to light that the CIA had informants in politics and the security services of Germany.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web/German|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/medien-mehr-als-ein-dutzend-spione-in-ministerien-13042586.html|titel=Medien: Mehr als ein Dutzend Spione in Ministerien|datum=2014-07-13|zugriff=2024-07-05|sprache=de}}</ref>
 
According to estimates from 2010, around 120 CIA agents were working in Germany, often disguised as diplomats. They were mainly active in the [[Embassy of the United States, Berlin|American embassy]] in [[Berlin]] and the consulates in [[Munich]] and [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]]. For a long time, the CIA headquarters in Frankfurt was located in the [[IG Farben Building|I.G. Farben building]], which was occupied by the US in World War II.<ref>{{Cite web/German|autor=Hans Leyendecker|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/us-geheimdienst-cia-undercover-in-der-bundesrepublik-1.157473|titel=Undercover in der Bundesrepublik|werk=Süddeutsche Zeitung|datum=2010-05-17|zugriff=2024-07-05|sprache=de}}</ref> According to revelations [[WikiLeaks]] platform in 2017, there is a secret hacker unit called [[Vault 7]] in the [[Consulate General of the United States, Frankfurt|US consulate in Frankfurt]], which is responsible for [[Europe]], the [[Near East|Middle East]] and [[Africa]]. [[Wiesbaden]] is home to the [[United States Army|US Army]]'s [[Consolidated Intelligence Center]], which was built in 2015 and is also to be used by the NSA. The espionage center is located near the traffic-intensive [[DE-CIX]] internet hub.<ref>{{Cite web/German|url=https://archive.ph/xLZex|titel=Wiesbadener Kurier - Wiesbaden: Weiter Unklarheit über NSA-Abhörzentr…|datum=2013-07-20|zugriff=2024-07-05}}</ref> The US bases in the country are [[Extraterritoriality|extraterritorial]] and are therefore subject to US law.<ref>{{Cite web/German|autor=Gert L. Polli|url=https://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/219976|titel=US-Spionage auf deutschem Boden ist vollkommen legal|zugriff=2024-07-09|sprache=de-DE}}</ref>
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