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The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter
has completed the design for its building to be located in
Hillcrest Park, but it has yet to get approval from the city
of Waukesha and to raise the funds for it. The museum would
be located near these remnants of the Nike missile radar
site located off of Davidson Road in Waukesha.
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WAUKESHA - Fans of James Bond will learn what it really means to
be a spy when they hear former United States Army Intelligence
political operative Werner Juretzko speak during the opening of a U2
spy plane exhibit on Saturday.
"People are always intrigued with James Bond and
spying," Juretzko said, adding that his experiences differ from
those of 007’s.
Juretzko, from Illinois, will open The Cold War Museum-Midwest
Chapter’s U2 spy plane exhibit at the New Berlin Public Library on
Saturday. As a former prisoner of the KGB and Stasi, East Germany
Ministry for State Security, Juretzko has in-depth knowledge of the
Cold War.
The piece of a U2 spy plane exhibit centers on the international
U2 incident of May 1, 1960, and the subsequent imprisonment of U.S.
pilot Francis Gary Powers.
The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter is continuing to work on a
permanent home in Hillcrest Park in Waukesha, near what is often
called Missile Park and was home to one of eight Nike missile
batteries in southeastern Wisconsin during the Cold War.
Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter Chairman Chris Sturdevant said
the plan for a permanent building is on track and that the designs
for the building have been completed. Next, the museum needs to have
those plans approved by the city of Waukesha and begin raising
funds.
Sturdevant said the museum plans to expand a building that is
already on the site for a cost of about $350,000. Overall, he said
he thinks the museum’s fundraising goal will be $500,000 to cover
the expansion and other costs, such as maintenance and hidden costs.
Sturdevant said the museum might seek approval for its building
plans sometime this year.
Meanwhile, The Cold War Museum-Midwest Chapter continues to
sponsor exhibits and talks.
"It’s a world-class exhibit," Sturdevant said of the
U2 spy plane exhibit.
He said the exhibit will include a piece of the plane, a flight
suit, reconnaissance photos and information on the life of Powers,
including his training with the CIA, prison time and through his
death in the 1970s.
"It’s a really tragic piece in a sense, but it’s an
important part of history," Sturdevant said.
When the exhibit is closed April 29, Powers’ son, Gary Powers
Jr., will give a presentation.
Juretzko, originally from Germany, will give a presentation
Saturday on the topic "Espionage: A Weapon during the Cold
War," which will detail his time being brutally interrogated in
prison and his release to the United States in 1961 after serving
six years for military espionage.
"First of all, for the appreciation, So they can appreciate
living in freedom. Just think if the other side won - we were pretty
close at times," Juretzko said of why people should learn about
the Cold War.