Radio Free Europe and the Pursuit of Democracy: My War Within the Cold War

334 Pages·1997·7.396 MB·English

by  George R. Urban

RADIO FREE EUROPE AND THE PURSUIT OF DEMOCRACY

GEORGE R. URBAN
Radio Free Europe
and the Pursuit of
Democracy
My War Within the Cold War
Yale University Press
New Haven & London
Published with assistance from the Louis Stem Memorial Fund,
Copyright 0 1997 by Yate University.
Ail rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including ¡¡lustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 end 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and
except by reviewers ter the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Designed by lames i. Johnson and set in Aster Roman and Syntax types by Tseng Informatioft
Systems, Durham, North Carolina.
Printed in the United States of America by VàH-BaUou Press, Binghamton, New York.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Urban, George R., 1921-
Radio Free Europe and the pursuit of democracy : My war within the cold war /
George R. Urban,
p. cm.
indudes bibliographical references and index.
¡S8N 0-300-06921-9 (doth: alk. paper)
1. Radio in propaganda—History—20th century. 2. Radio Free Europe—History—20th
century 3. international broadcasting—History—20th century. 4. Coid War—History
I. Title.
HE0697.8.U73 1997
384.54*094—dc21 97-20926
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Coundl on Library Resources.
1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This volume is dedicated to those of my friends and former col­
leagues in Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, and the European
Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation whose names do
not appear here but who spent their working lives—largely un­
known to the Western public—in the pursuit of a more just and
humane order in Central Europe and on the territories of the
former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction 1
ONE Preparations 12
TWO The Contest of Ideas 25
THREE High Communism 37
FOUR Second Conductors 46
FIVE Reluctant Americans 59
SIX The Soft Approach to Communism 74
SEVEN Before the Implosion 88
EIGHT The National Interest 112
NINE Jealousies in the Region 123
TEN Draining the Poison out of the System 137
ELEVEN Misapprehensions 153
TWELVE Dialogues 165
THIRTEEN Companions 178
FOURTEEN 1956 Reconsidered 211
Appendix A: stasi and the Carlos Group 249
Appendix B: A Selection of Policy Guidances, 1984-1985 256
Appendix C: Excerpts from a Radio Free Europe Review, 1956 281
Notes 293
Index 315

Preface
Before inviting the reader to delve into the unquiet waters of interna­
tional broadcasting during the Cold War, I must say a word about the
structure of Western foreign broadcasting between the end of World
War II and 1994, when Radio Free Europe, the flagship of the Western
effort, began to be drastically reduced in preparation for being elimi­
nated altogether.
TWo kinds of broadcasting in the national languages of Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union existed and to some extent still
exist in the Western world. The first sort comprised stations represent­
ing the national interests and cultures of Western governments and
societies: the British Broadcasting Corporation’s European Service,
the Voice of America, and at different times, French Radio, Vatican
Radio, Deutsche Welle, and various smaller stations. Their purpose
was to pursue national diplomacy by other means, and their brief was
to "project" their nations. Naturally, their broadcasters took a sympa­
thetic interest in the fortunes of the people they were addressing, but
their mission was essentially confined to capturing the respect and
goodwill of their audiences on behalf of French, American, British, or
German national interests in foreign policy, trade, and culture.
The second sort, which had an entirely different purpose, included
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. These were American-sponsored
but distinctly Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Romanian, Bul­
garian, or Ukrainian national radio stations—"surrogate" in the sense
that their broadcasters identified fully with the interests, culture, his­
tory, and religion of the nations under Soviet or Soviet-inspired rule.
Speaking in the first person plural, they articulated the kind of opin­
ions that free media would have done had a free press, radio, and tele-
X PREFACE
vision existed under the Soviet dispensation and were in effect national
“home” services speaking from abroad.
The two “surrogate Radios“—Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
—began broadcasting in 1951-52 from Munich, with U.S. government
funding but without editorial supervision by any government depart­
ment, despite their connection with the Central Intelligence Agency up
until 1971.
My own association with Radio Free Europe falls into four phases.
Between 1960 and 1965 I was a middle-ranking executive in one of
the research departments and then head of the Radio University pro­
grammes; between 1970 and 1982 I served as a political writer and
consultant with my base in Britain; between 1983 and 19861 was the
director of Radio Free Europe; and between 1986 and 1991,1 resumed
working as a consultant from my retirement in Britain. Several of my
publications originated in Radio Free Europe broadcasts during the
period between 1970 and 1993. Interspersed with these activities were
visiting fellowships in Soviet and East European Studies at Harvard
University, Indiana University, and the University of Southern Cali­
fornia.
This book does not purport to be a history of Radio Free Europe,
much less a history of Western foreign broadcasting since World
War H. It is confined to the story and issues connected with my work
for the Radio, and especially the climate in which my colleagues and I
operated on the eve of the demise of the Soviet system and empire.
Acknowledgements
For invaluable practical assistance I am indebted to Richard H. Cum­
mings, A. Russell Poole, Karel Kasparek, and Petronella Gaal, formerly
of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. My manuscript editor, Susan
Abel, and Jonathan Brent, director of the series Annals of Commu­
nism, both of Yale University Press, were most helpful in subjecting
my text to a meticulously detailed scrutiny.
I have incurred a debt to Devon Gaffney Cross for solidarity and
advice.
My particular thanks are due to Frank Shakespeare for friendship
and encouragement.