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Workers release hydrogen balloons carrying Free Europe Press literature from a location near the iron curtain

This exhibit celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Radio Free Europe's first full schedule of broadcasting to Czechoslovakia in 1951. Four additional radio services quickly followed: to Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Radio Liberty began broadcasting to the Soviet Union in 1953. The purpose of the Radios was the same: to provide a free press for the Soviet Union and countries of Eastern Europe where the media were controlled by totalitarian governments.

For the exhibit, the Hoover Library and Archives has drawn on their stored 80,000 radio broadcasts to bring history alive. Listening stations are set up for visitors to hear sound bites from notable events from history, such as

  • John Steinbeck remembering John F. Kennedy
  • Appeals made to other nations at the UN while Soviet tanks invaded Prague
  • Ronald Reagan's broadcast to the Soviets after they shot down a Korean jet liner

In addition, photographs, papers, and other documents that reveal how the RFE/RL was able to reach its listeners despite the efforts made to disrupt their broadcasts, from jamming transmissions to murder, are on display. See this slideshow related to the exhibit.

Despite jamming, acts of terrorism, and opposition by some members of Congress, the Radios remained on the air. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many suggested that the Radios' mission had been successfully completed and that funding should be stopped. Others claimed that a responsible voice broadcasting to countries in which the institutions of democracy were still in their infancy required the continuation of the Radios; Congress agreed and continued funding but at a reduced level.

In 1993, Vaclav Havel, who appreciated the role of RFE/RL as well as the ironies of history, invited the Radios to relocate from Munich to Prague. They currently broadcast from the building of the former communist parliament. Corporate headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Explaining Israel The Jewish State, the Middle East, and America
Explaining Israel: The Jewish State, The Middle East, And America
Join Hoover Senior Fellow Peter Berkowitz for the launch of his new book Explaining Israel: The Jewish State, the Middle East, and America at the… Hoover Institution in DC
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
The Digital Fourth Amendment
The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) hosts The Digital Fourth Amendment with Orin Kerr and Eugene Volokh on October 1, 2025, from…
Thursday, October 2, 2025
Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy
Book Talk With Francis J. Gavin: "Thinking Historically: A Guide To Statecraft & Strategy"
The Hoover History Lab invites you to Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy, a book talk with the author, Francis J. Gavin on … Shultz Auditorium, George P. Shultz Building
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