365 Days of Facts

Today Francis Gary Powers exchanged in Berlin because the United States agreed to release Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a convicted Soviet spy.

The Soviet Union released the captured American U2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers along with United States student Frederic Pryor, for Rudolph Abel, in a well-publicized spy swap at the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin. The bridge sits between Wannsee and Potsdam.

Hollywood: Francis Gary Powers Exchanged For Abel In Bridge Of Spies

The exchange for Francis Gary Powers is told in the 2015 movie Bridge of Spies starring Tom Hanks. The movie is told primarily from the perspective of Rudolph Abel’s attorney, James P. Donovan, played by Hanks.