Hot books in the Cold War : the CIA-funded secret book distribution program behind the Iron Curtain

596 Pages·2013·14.59 MB·English

by  Alfred A Reisch

alfred a.
r By opening minds, the imaginative book program helped to break down the walls behind This study reveals the hidden story of the se-
which the communist regimes were entrenched. reisch cret book distribution program to Eastern Eu-
o
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Former U.S. National Security Advisor
rope financed by the CIA during the Cold
h
That over ten million books and periodicals were successfully mailed to East European War. At its height between 1957 and 1970,
t
countries as an important part of the West’s psychological warfare against Communist the book program was one of the least known
u ideology is a Cold War operation very little known. Thousands upon thousands of edu-
but one of the most effective methods of pene-
cated East Europeans, among them members of my family and friends, had their views
a trating the Iron Curtain. It reached thousands
fundamentally changed by the arrival of forward-looking literary, cultural, and scientific
products. The Secret Book Distribution Program powerfully contributed to the peaceful of intellectuals and professionals in the Soviet
e
transformation of Eastern Europe in and after 1989. Bloc, acquainting them with analyses of West-
h István Deák, Emeritus Professor of History, Columbia University ern economies, trade unionism, social science,
Alfred A. Reisch is a political scientist, spe-
t A well-documented pioneering analysis of the “book program” that complemented West- human rights, modern capitalism, Western
cializing in international relations, diplomatic
ern broadcasts and provided Western literature to East Europeans and Russians during the socialism etc. Reisch conducted thorough re-
and Cold War history, foreign, military, nation-
t Cold War. Highly recommended for anyone interested in U.S. Cold War foreign policy. search on the key personalities involved in the
al security, and minority affairs. After earning
A. Ross Johnson, Woodrow Wilson Center
u program, especially the two key figures: S. S.
an M.A. at the University of Geneva in Swit-
o zerland, and a Ph.D. in Political Science at Co- The secret book distribution program to Eastern Europe funded by the CIA during the Walker, who initiated the idea of a “mailing
lumbia University in New York in 1970, Dr. Cold War gave hope and courage to thousands of intellectuals and other dissidents. It project,” and G. C. Minden, who developed it
b
helped to cultivate the seeds of opposition and contributed to the eventual triumph of
Reisch taught at Manhattan College in New into one of the most effective political and psy-
a reason over dogmatism. Alfred Reisch’s book fills in an important gap in our under-
York and at the School of Foreign Service of
chological tools of the Cold War.
standing of how the United States effectively used the “soft power” of information not
Georgetown University in Washington. From
only to promote democracy but to contribute to the collapse of European communism.
1977 to 1981, he was Associate Professor and
The word indeed proved mightier than the sword. The book includes chapters on the vagaries of
Course Director for Western Europe/NATO
Janusz Bugajski, policy analyst, writer, and lecturer based in the United States censorship and interception of books by com-
and Eastern Europe/Warsaw Pact at the US In-
telligence College in Washington, D.C. From Scholars of the Cold War and Public Diplomacy, as well as the general public, should munist authorities based on personal letters
welcome publication of this book which is the first detailed account of a previously lit- and accounts from recipients of Western ma-
1982 to 1995, he was Head of the Hungarian
tle-known cultural program of the United States that helped to win the Cold War. Writ-
Research and Evaluation Section of Radio Free terial. It stands as a testimony in honor of the
ten by an insider who worked on the program at the time, it relates how Western books
Europe in Munich and authored over 100 an- handful of imaginative, and determined indi-
breached the Iron Curtain.
alytical studies on Hungary and Central Eu- the cia-funded secret western viduals who helped to free half of Europe from
Yale Richmond, Foreign Service, Retired
rope. Since his return to Hungary in 1995, he
the book distribution program behind mental bondage, and planted many of the
has been a member of the Hungarian Atlan- The CIA-funded book program strengthened the positive forces of nationalism and
cia-funded seeds that germinated when communism col-
tic Council and of the Hungarian Foreign Pol- helped maintain the spirit of independence which ultimately overcame the foreign-im- the iron curtain
secret lapsed and the Soviet bloc disintegrated.
posed regimes. Alfred Reisch’s groundbreaking work sheds light on this little known ef-
icy Association. From 2002 to 2010, he was
western book
fort. History shows that those who print and distribute books work for progress and en-
Professor of International Relations and Dip- alfred a. reisch
distribution
lightenment, while those who burn books will also burn people.
lomatic History at the University of Econom-
program
Thomas Polgar, retired CIA official
ics of Izmir, Turkey. From 1983 to this day, he
behind
has been a regular guest lecturer at the NATO
the iron
School in Oberammergau, Germany. Central European University Press curtain
ISBN 978-615-5225-23-9
90000 > Budapest – New York
Sales and information: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ceupress.com

D e s i g n e d b y S e b a s t i a n S t a c h o w s k i 9 786155 225239
Hot Books in tHe Cold War
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i5 Cold War.indb 2 2013.03.04. 13:37
Hot Books
in tHe
Cold War
The CIA-Funded Secret Western Book
Distribution Program Behind
the Iron Curtain
A A. r
lfred eisch
Central european University Press
Budapest–new York
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© 2013 by alfred a. reisch
Published in 2013 by
Central European University Press
an imprint of the
Central european University limited liability Company
nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary
Tel: [phone] or 327-3000
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ceupress.com
224 West 57th street, new York nY 10019, Usa
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, without the permission
of the Publisher.
isBn 978-615-5225-23-9
librAry of congress cAtAloging-in-PublicAtion dAtA
reisch, alfred a. (alfred alexander), 1931-
Hot books in the Cold War : the West’s Cia-funded secret book distribution
program behind the iron Curtain / alfred a. reisch.
pages cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn 978-6155225239
1. Books and reading—europe, eastern—History—20th century. 2. Books and
reading—Communist countries—History—20th century. 3. Book distribution
programs. 4. Publishers and publishing—Political aspects. 5. Censorship—eu-
rope, eastern—History—20th century. 6. Censorship—Communist countries—
History—20th century. 7. Propaganda, anti-communist. 8. Propaganda, inter-
national. 9. Cold War. i. title.
Z1003.5.e92r45 2013
028.70947’0904—dc23
2012048142
Printed in Hungary by
akaprint kft., Budapest
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To Sam Walker, George Minden
and all the dedicated men and women
who broke down the cultural
Iron Curtain
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table of Contents
introduction by Mark kramer ................................... ix
acknowledgements ............................................. 1
Foreword ...................................................... 3
Chapter 1
origins, objectives, and launching of the Book Project Under
sam Walker .................................................... 7
Chapter 2
titles, Contents, numbers, targets, and aims of the Mailings .... 23
Chapter 3
the Man in the Grey suit. George C. Minden and his Concept
of Cultural and ideological Competition ......................... 39
Chapter 4
the new York Book Center. Books, Books, and More Books… ... 55
Chapter 5
the Book Project reaches new Heights. the Golden age of the
1960s .......................................................... 73
Chapter 6
Western and Émigré Books and Periodicals Published with Covert
support ........................................................ 87
Chapter 7
new opportunities through east-West Contacts ................. 103
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viii Table of Contents
Chapter 8
the early 1970s. the international advisory Council .............. 113
Chapter 9
a lasting enemy ................................................ 125
Part i: the Censors 1956 to 1968 .............................. 125
Part ii: the Censors 1969 to 1973 ............................. 179
Chapter 10
the Communist regimes on the defensive: Criticisms, Warnings,
and attacks ..................................................... 207
Chapter 11
the Person-to-Person distribution Program: a direct Way to reach east
europeans. the early Polish Program 1958–1959 .................. 233
Chapter 12
another Vehicle for reaching the People of eastern europe: the Person-
to-Person distribution Program and Personalized Mailings ............ 255
Chapter 13
the Most important Book distribution Point: Vienna .............. 295
Chapter 14
letters from Poland, the Crucial Country .......................... 309
Chapter 15
letters from Czechoslovakia Before and after 1968 ................. 347
Chapter 16
letters from Hungary Under Goulash Communism ................ 399
Chapter 17
letters from romania Under the Ceauşescu regime ................ 439
Chapter 18
letters from Bulgaria despite Very strict Censorship ............... 481
Chapter 19
the last seventeen Years: international literary Centre, ltd., east europe,
and the Ussr ................................................... 505
ConClusion
the impact of the Book distribution Project and its Contribution
to the ideological Victory of the West .............................. 521
Bibliography .................................................... 527
subject index ................................................... 537
index of names ................................................. 544
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introduCtion
Book distribution as Political
Warfare
Mark Kramer
throughout the Cold War, the United states and the soviet Union
waged “political warfare” against each other and their respective allies.
this form of interaction, unlike the global military standoff between
the two sides, was intended by each superpower to affect the percep-
tions, attitudes, motives, and—ultimately—political behavior of the
other side’s organizations, groups, individuals, and government offi-
cials.1 the aim of the operations was to overcome (or at least diminish)
the opposition of those who were most hostile, to gain the allegiance
of those who were neutral or uncommitted (i.e., to “win their hearts
and minds”), to reinforce the loyalty of supporters, and, in wartime, to
erode the enemy’s will to fight.
Political warfare long predated the Cold War, but it was never
more widely or intensively practiced than during the five decades from
1941 to 1991. Bilateral cultural exchanges; soviet financial assistance
to foreign Communist parties; U.s. funding for pro-democratic groups
and labor unions in foreign countries; disinformation and propaganda
campaigns conducted by the soviet state security Committee (kGB);
the covert dissemination of anti-Communist leaflets and publica-
1 For a survey of literature on this topic as of 2002, see kenneth a. osgood,
“Hearts and Minds: the Unconventional Cold War – review essay,”
Journal of Cold War Studies 4, no. 2 (spring 2002): 85–107. numerous other
important studies have appeared since then, including osgood’s own book,
Total Cold War: Eisenhower’s Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad
(lawrence, ks: University of kansas Press, 2006).
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