Inside Stay Behind Networks: The Cold War's Sleeper Cells Hidden Across Europe

During the Cold War, secret networks of ordinary civilians were recruited and trained across Europe to conduct espionage, sabotage, and resistance operations in the event of a Soviet invasion. In this special Team House episode, Jack speaks with three experts: Swedish intelligence historian Johan Wennström, who examines Sweden’s clandestine resistance network; Italian scholar Niccolò Petrelli, who explores Operation Gladio, its CIA connections, and allegations of links to political extremism and terrorism; and retired U.S. Army officer Kevin Stringer, who investigates Switzerland’s secret P-26 organization. Together, they uncover the history of Europe's stay-behind networks, separate documented operations from conspiracy theories, and examine their relevance to modern conflicts like the war in Ukraine.

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Find Niccolo here: https://it.linkedin.com/in/niccol%C3%B2-petrelli-strategist666

Find Kevin here: https://drkevinstringer.com/

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00:00 Start
06:55 Sweden's Secret Resistance Network | Johan Wennström
13:23 How Sweden Built Its Cold War Resistance
18:46 Recruiting Civilians for a Soviet Invasion
25:41 Evacuating the Royal Family and Government
29:10 Secret Training, Dead Drops and Sleeper Cells
34:48 The Conspiracies and Secret Government Authorization
46:55 Italy's Operation Gladio | Niccolò Petrelli
48:20 The CIA, OSS and Origins of Gladio
58:10 CIA and Italian Intelligence: Conflicting Objectives
1:03:38 The CIA's Proposed Phoenix Program in Italy
1:05:51 Gladio Recruitment and Neo-Fascist Connections
1:14:29 Was Operation Gladio Ever Activated?
1:21:50 US Military Intelligence and Italy's Terrorist Bombings
1:32:09 Lessons from Gladio and the War in Ukraine
1:44:20 Switzerland's P-26 Network | Kevin Stringer
1:55:34 The Origins of Switzerland's Secret Resistance
1:57:54 Recruiting Ordinary Citizens as Secret Agents
2:07:29 How Switzerland's Secret Network Was Exposed
2:11:30 Modern Lessons from Cold War Resistance Networks

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