“The topics run the gamut from political and intelligence topics, but also propaganda, military, and so forth. But in the process of reviewing thousands of documents from State, the Defense Department, the Intelligence Community, and even NATO archives, the underlying stories that demonstrated the human spirit in the shadow of major world events were eventually revealed to us,” he added.

The declassified documents showcase the struggle for freedom from specifically 1961 to 1989, and include vignettes highlighting the visits to Berlin of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as the personal tragedies and triumphs of key individuals who, for example, either escaped or helped others to escape the oppressive Soviet-dominated East Berlin. According to Dr. Harrison, the documents also demonstrate the use of propaganda and the media by both sides as part of a continuing psychological war.