The U.S. Diplomacy Center, Bureau of Public Affairs, is dedicated to increasing public awareness of diplomacy and the work of American diplomats. Commemorating the twenty year anniversary of the Berlin Wall was a natural choice for the U.S. Diplomacy Center, as its demise was a peaceful resolution to a conflict fraught with tension and potential violence.

The international diplomacy of world leaders played a significant role in the demise of the Berlin Wall, the end of communism and the immediacy of German unity, topics all receiving wide coverage on the Internet. This exhibit draws upon a different, and less well covered, aspect of diplomacy, the experiences of U.S. diplomats serving in Germany, from the time of the Wall’s construction to its demolition, revealing their untold stories and contributions to the diplomatic process.

This behind-the-scenes narrative is told using oral histories given by the diplomats themselves. This collection of oral histories, called Frontline Diplomacy, is a unique treasure collected by the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST). Charles Stuart Kennedy of ADST has been interviewing retired diplomats for more than two decades. Voices of U.S. Diplomacy and the Berlin Wall marks the first time these oral histories have been featured as the centerpiece of a museum exhibition.

• Tyler Ham, THamTech, LLC

• Charles Stuart Kennedy, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
• Office of Electronic Information, Department of State: Chris M. MacDonald, Web Specialist; Angelette D. Wilkins, Program Assistant
• Office of Broadcasting Services, Department of State: Michael J. Murphy, Director; George F. McNamara, Audio Producer; Dean Kimmel, Audio Technician
• Melissa Jane Taylor, Office of the Historian, Department of State
• Martin J. Manning, International Information Programs, Department of State
• Ambassador James D. Bindenagel, Deputy Chief of Mission, East Berlin, 1988-1990
• Ambassador Harold J. Gilmore, U.S. Minister, West Berlin, 1987-1990
• G. Jonathan Greenwald, Political Counselor, East Berlin, 1987-1990
• Allison Heiser, USDC Intern
• Sarah Stubblefield, USDC Intern
• Morgan Kulla, Foreign Service Officer, Retired
• Bernd von Muenchow-Pohl, German Information Center USA
• Jack N. Mohr, Art & Design, Santa Barbara, CA
• Carlyn Davis Casting and Production Services

• All oral histories in this exhibit courtesy of the Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training available online through the Library of Congress
• Visual Collections, Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University, CA
• Audiovisual Archives, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, Boston, MA
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA
• Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
• National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD
• CNN Image Source
• FILM Archives Inc.
• All Stock

• Killer Tracks

• John Dow
• Charles Stuart Kennedy
• Eve Konstantine

• Priscilla Linn

This exhibition has compressed the oral history texts with permission from the Association of Diplomatic Studies and Training.

Position titles of diplomats featured in this exhibition usually reflect their title during the time they were working in German affairs. Many continued on to become ambassadors and other positions of higher rank.