(typewriter clunking) (bell chimes) - [Sharon] I'm Sharon Cameron.

And this is Bluebird.

Bluebird tells the story of Eva, a German immigrant coming to New York city in 1946.

And she's bringing with her the secret of project Bluebird.

And that is a secret that neither the Americans nor the Soviets should ever have.

- And it's based on a true story.

Can you tell us a little bit about the story?

- It's really based on two pieces of forgotten American history.

The first is Powell House a multi-religious, multi-racial program being run by Quaker volunteers.

The second piece of forgotten history is project Bluebird, a secret CIA program, but gone just after the end of World War II.

And the purpose of this program was to conduct inhumane and really horrific medical experiments on unconsenting victims for the purpose of mind control.

And they wanted to create the perfect spies and assassins.

It was coming straight from the records of the concentration camps.

I listened to the stories and memories of German teenagers who had grown up in the world of the Third Reich, who knew no other world than Hitler.

And what happened to them when Germany was defeated and they woke up and really realized that they were on the wrong side of history.

And it was a profound moment for these teenage girls.

And the way this was handled was either to atone, to change or to deny.

I think human beings, we have an incredible capacity for change, and I think that's something we forget in our very polarized world.

- [Ellison] For more of my conversation with Sharon Cameron, please visit awordonwords.org.

I'm J.T.Ellison, keep reading.

- [Sharon] Bluebird is a shameful part of our history.

And I think it's something that deserves to be talked about and remembered.

We shouldn't sweep that under the rug.