Declassified Government Photos That Show a Different Side of History

Once upon a time, the only way humans were able to record historic events was through cave paintings and carving on clay. This evolved into writing on paper and eventually, we were able to record the visible world with a photographic camera.

Nowadays, anyone can capture a vital part of history with a just a click of their smartphone camera.

But over the last decades, the U.S. government has used photography to keep track of their experiments, mysterious findings, UFOs, international criminals, and missions that used to be top secret. So get ready to question everything you thought you understood about famous moments in history.

The U.S. Government’s Stash of Declassified Photos

It wasn’t too long ago that a significant series of photos and documents were considered classified by the U.S. government. In most cases, only top officials had access to these images.

But a lot of the reasons why these photos were kept secret no longer exist, so the government passed the Freedom of Information act which made once top secret photos public.

This Base Was Ready for the Cold War

The American public in general became intrigued when the CIA declassified photos that showed all kinds of long-held secrets, including a former classified military base built for the Cold War to help government and military officials stay on top of the enemy’s nuclear and intelligence operations.

The 1972 Moon Landing

The last mission to the moon was done successfully by Apollo 17 in 1972. Astronauts Schmitt, Evans and Cernan returned to Earth on December 19, 1972, after their 12-day mission. This photo shows one of the astronauts walking on the lunar surface.

Operation High Jump

Operation High Jump was a classified military research facility that was supposed to get built in the Arctic by order of the U.S. government. The facility was going to make it easier to spy on the Russians. Unfortunately, U.S. navy ships couldn’t navigate through the icebergs in the frigid area.