Behind Stalin's Iron Curtain: Incredible photos that were lost for more than half a century reveal daily life in 1950s Soviet Union

Major Martin Manhoff served as an assistant army attache at the US Embassy in Moscow for two years
He was a prolific photographer, capturing everything from Stalinist skyscrapers to an elephant at the zoo
Manhoff was deported after just two years amid accusations of espionage that were circulated in a newspaper
He died in 2005, and the collection was uncovered after his wife passed away in Washington state in 2014

A US Army Major who filmed Josef Stalin's funeral procession in 1953 left behind an incredible trove of color photographs showing life behind the Iron Curtain.
Major Martin Manhoff photographed everything from the construction of Stalinist skyscrapers to an elephant at the zoo while he served as an assistant army attache at the US Embassy in Moscow for two years.
Manhoff was deported for espionage in 1954, and the images he took were stored in a former auto body shop next to his home in Washington until both he and his wife Jan died.
When relative enlisted Seattle-based historian Douglas Smith to go through their belongings, he was amazed to find reels of 16 millimeter film, along with color slides and negatives, which were published onRadio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The collection will now be donated to the University of Washington.

During his two years in the Soviet Union, Manhoff traveled widely in Moscow, Leningrad, Murmansk, and Yalta.
And while he captured the only known independent footage of Stalin's funeral procession, most of Manhoff's photographs show people seemingly unaware that their trip to the bank or the grocery store was being documented.
Manhoff 'captured this everyday quality, both in his photographs and his movies,' Smith says. 'It gives it a human quality that is missing from any other depiction.'
Smith, who spent months organizing the material and digitizing them, said: 'After his wife's death, I was asked to visit the Manhoff home this past summer and see whether Martin had left behind anything of value. I was amazed at what I discovered.

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Major Martin Manhoff, who filmed Josef Stalin's funeral procession in 1953 left behind an incredible trove of color photographs showing life behind the Iron Curtain. Pictured, Manezhnaya Square

Manhoff was a prolific photographer while he was serving as an assistant army attache at the US Embassy in Moscow from 1952 to 1954. Pictured, street cleaners in front of the GUM department store in the Red Square

Manhoff was deported for espionage in 1954, and the reels of 16 millimeter film, along with color slides and negatives, were stored in a former auto body shop next to his home in Washington for more than 60 years. Pictured, Manezhnaya Square

While he captured the only known independent footage of Stalin's funeral procession, most of Manhoff's photographs show people seemingly unaware that their lives were being documented. Pictured, Pushkinskaya Square

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