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Voices of Hope: The Story of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (2)

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President-elect John F. Kennedy
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President-elect John F. Kennedy, always an enthusiastic supporter of RFE, sends Christmas wishes to Eastern Europe via the radio in December 1960. Courtesy of RFE/RL Inc.

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studio
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Czech and Slovak broadcasters record a radio-play with U.S. army personnel participating. RFE/RL, Inc. Records, Hoover Institution Archives.

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bell
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The Crusade for Freedom was incorporated to raise funds and promote Radio Free Europe. It took as its symbol a bell resembling the American liberty bell decorated with a frieze of five figures representing the five races of mankind passing the torch of freedom. An inscription quoted Abraham Lincoln: That this world under God shall have a new birth of freedom. The 10-ton bell arrived from the British foundry of Gillett and Johnston, Ltd. to a ticker tape parade in New York City, then proceeded to twenty-one American cities. People in every state were encouraged to sign Freedom Scrolls and contribute money to RFE. More than sixteen million Americans responded; contributions the first year amounted to $1,317,000. The bell then traveled to West Berlin, where it was permanently installed on United Nations Day, October 24, 1950. Although the Crusade for Freedom never raised enough money to actually fund RFE-the CIA subsidized both radios until 1972-its advertising slogans such as "Help Truth Fight Communism," along with parades, public forums, and other events, served to mobilize support for America's cold war policies. RFE/RL, Inc. Records, Hoover Institution Archives.

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antenna
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RFE built the largest shortwave facility in the world in Gloria, Portugal, consisting of eight RCA 50-kilowatt and four GE 100-kilowatt transmitters. The people of Gloria were trained as technicians, and and their village was improved. Years later, when Portuguese president Salazar's dictatorship was overturned, RFE was able to keep and renew its license because of the good relationship it had established, as well as the jobs it provided for the local people. RFE/RL, Inc. Records, Hoover Institution Archives.

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balloon-operation
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A small balanced basket, like a scale, was suspended from a large polyethylene balloon with leaflets on one side and dry ice on the other. When the dry ice melted, the scale became unbalanced, and the leaflets would fall. Eventually radio signals were transmitted to trigger the balloons to release their loads. RFE/RL corporate records, Box 89, Folder 5, Hoover Institution Archives.

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hungarian_revolution
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The year 1956 became a pivotal one for Radio Free Europe as well as the entire communist bloc, beginning with Nikita Krushchev's speech to the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which detailed Stalin's crimes. Liberal leaders in Poland and Hungary interpreted the speech as a vindication of their views and a sanction for change from the highest possible authority. RFE's Hungarian broadcasting was held responsible for encouraging Hungarian resistance, and investigations were initiated by the United Nations, the West German government, a U.S. congressional subcommittee, and the Council of Europe. Although RFE was cleared of provoking the uprising, it was criticized for giving the impression that Western aid was forthcoming. In addition, the West German report also mentioned its tone, irresponsible statements, gratuitous advice, and errors in political judgment. RFE emerged from the events and criticisms of 1956 a more professional news-gathering, analyzing, and broadcasting service. Tadeusz Stachnik Papers, Hoover Institution Archives.

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bomb
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On February 21, 1981, a tremendous explosion rocked the RFE/RL headquarters in Munich, causing $2 million in damage and some injuries but no deaths. Stasi files opened after 1989 indicated that the bombing was carried out by a group of international terrorists under the direction of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, and paid for by Nicolae Ceausescu, president of Romania. Courtesy of RFE/RL Inc.

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solzhenitzen
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Both Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty became vehicles for disseminating samizdat-self-published literature considered seditious by the Soviet government and other communist regimes. The writings of Boris Pasternak, Joseph Brodsky, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Milovan Djilas, Andrei Siniavskii, Andrei Sakharov, and others were read on the radio. In addition, Radio Liberty officially collected and processed samizdat, creating the Samizdat Archive in Munich. The RFE Polish Service serialized the text of Solzhenitsyn's three-volume Gulag Archipelago and presented it in its entirety on the radio in fifteen-minute segments. In a letter to Solzhenitsyn, Director Zygmunt Michalowski said, "It was our intention to reveal to the Polish people the communion of suffering which all the peoples subjected to communist rule have been sharing in varying degrees." Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn speeches and writings, 76033-10.A-V, Hoover Institution Archives

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lech-walesa
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Unable to leave Poland, for fear of expatriation, Lech Walesa listens to a live Radio Free Europe broadcast from Olso where he has just been awarded the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of human rights and his organization and role in Solidarity. Courtesy of RFE/RL Inc.

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