In 1973, the Chilean military, backed by the CIA and U.S. Government, violently crushed the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende, long time leader of the progressive left. Thousands were killed and disappeared, thousands more arrested and tortured. The documentary includes a number of speakers who were in Chile at the time such as Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman, and Isabel Allende, journalist and family member of Salvador Allende. These are alongside historical audio recordings of Salvador Allende, Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon and other leaders of the time.

The first of these programmes focuses on the background and events of the coup itself. The second concentrates on what happened during the ensuing decades of military rule before the re-achievement of democracy in 1989. The focus and purpose of the documentaries is to raise awareness of such historical events in order to learn from them, and not repeat mistakes of the past. There is also an optimistic look at how to help younger generations to understand history.

Both parts of the documentary itself are available on The Showcase. Also see http://www.freedomarchives.org for more information. This audio recording lasts 30 seconds.