Fake Photo: Germany “Swastika Building”

A photo allegedly shows a “disturbing” floor plan of Germany’s new secret service headquarters which resembles a swastika when viewed from above. Is this real or fake?

The photo is altered.

Let’s first take a look at what is being claimed. The tweet from 2014 below, for example, read, “What was the architect thinking? Disturbing floor plan of Germany’s new secret service HQs.” A link to a NY Times article was included, although that didn’t work.

The photo above shows what appears to be a swastika on each side of the building when viewed from above. The image, however, was altered from the original, which can be seen below.

In the original photo, the “swastikas” in the fake photo above are gone. The building in question is the new Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service, or BND) headquarters in Chausseestrasse in Berlin. You can see it for yourself on Google maps, as seen below, or view the building’s website here.

Bottom Line

A German intelligence building does not resemble a swastika when viewed from above. A photo which allegedly shows this has been altered, and the New York Times did not publish an article making this claim.

Updated August 13, 2015
Originally published February 2014