Green Waves: John Lennon: Beaming the Beatles to Poland and Hungary, Wigs in Warsaw, and Window on the World ©

  

 

Green Waves: John Lennon: Beaming the Beatles to Poland and Hungary, Wigs in Warsaw, and Window on the World 

 

The Beatles John Lennon died December 8, 1980. A little-known Cold War story about him and the Beatles occurred in 1964, when "A recent hour-long Radio Free Europe broadcast to Poland featured interviews with the Beatles. On February 6, 1964, RFE in Munich sent the following telex message to RFE in New York:“Following information received from Poland about extraordinary popularity of the famous British team "Beatles", we are preparing special program of "Green Wave" on this subject. As you may know they will appear in Carnegie Hall on February 12th. Could you please ... send us extensive reportage on performance with as many sounds as possible. We would like to have sounds from the hall, recordings of the M.C. recording of one of their songs, interviews with listeners, press reactions and in interview with the Beatles. It is possible that the Beatles will also appear at Madison Square Garden. If so, we would like to have a reportage.”

"Green Wave" (Zielona Fala) was the name of the music programs broadcast by RFE's Polish Broadcast Department. The program's name was later changed to "Black on White."

Sometime later, journalist Tom A. Cullen, Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), wrote in his nationally syndicated article "Radio Free Europe at 14: Window of Words on World" that appeared in various U.S. newspapers, including the Washington Post, that appeared in May and June 1964:

“The response was overwhelming. Young Poles wrote in demanding more. According to the latest reports, Beatle wigs are now the rage in Warsaw. But light entertainment such as the Beatles is only a small part of RFE's total output. The bulk of its programs are made up of straight news, political comment, cultural and religious talks.”

 

The publicity photograph's caption read: "Beatle John Lennon gets some help with Polish from RFE editors Stanislaw Julicki and Joesph Ptaczek." The interview took place in London in a special train used for the filming of the Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night." Stanislaw Julicki was the RFE broadcast name of Henryk Rozpedowski. 

Cullen concluded his article by quoting from a letter from a "Czech girl who is 22, I live in a small town. I was not allowed to go to university...Your broadcasts are my only window on the world.

In 1988, the "John Lennon Peace Club" (Mirovy Klub John Lennon --MJKL) was formed in Prague, Czechoslovakia to, "Work for world peace generally, human rights in Czechoslovakia specifically, and to encourage independent cultural activity."

 

The influence of John Lennon and his music in then Czechoslovakia in the Cold War also is demonstrated In Kampa Park, Prague, where there was a wall with various drawing and paintings paying tribute to John Lennon after his death. Persons from all over the world would pay tribute to him when visiting Prague by signing the wall, writing poems or copies of lyrics from Beatles' songs, lighting candles, and by placing flowers against the wall. It has been repainted over the years with new images of John Lennon and appeals for peace in the world.

 

Hungary was another country to which RFE broadcast Beatles music. Code names were used in place of real names to protect those who sent letters to Radio Free Europe For example, during the 1968 Radio Free Europe Fund campaign in the United States, one radio announcement was a letter from Hungary to be read by a "girl" with this text: "I enjoy listening to the Monkees and the Stones, but the Beatles are still my favorites. Why don't you play more Beatle records? My Friends and I would like it. My code is 'He left me and he is now going out with another girl.’ 

 

CIA and Defectors from USSR, Part One: Project CAMANTILLA: The American Friends of Russian Freedom ©

CIA and Defectors from USSR, Part One: Project CAMANTILLA: The American Friends of Russian Freedom

 

AFRF was set up in 1951 by Reader’s Digest senior editor Eugene Lyons, Albert (Bert) Jolis, and William (Bill Casey). Lyons also was the first president of the American Committee for the Liberation from Bolshevism responsible for Radio Liberation, later Radio Liberty. Jolis was a successful diamond merchant, and Casey was a future CIA Director in the President Reagan administration. According the biography of Casey. Frank R. Barnett directed The New York AFRF office in 1951 and later described AFRF: “The idea was to get Red Army personnel in Berlin and Vienna to desert, to get them papers, find them jobs, resettle them in the West and make propaganda hay out of their defections.”

 

AFRF was primarily supported as a voluntary agency under the U.S. Escapee Program (USEP) directed by the U.S. Department of State that was formed in March 1952.  USEP had two objectives: “(1) to supplement the basic shelter and sustenance provided by refugees by voluntary relief agencies and the countries first giving them asylum and (2) to assist in permanent resettlement of escapees in free countries.” Reportedly, there were over twenty voluntary agencies in the USEP program, including AFRF.

 

In a 1955 Memorandum from the Acting Chief of the International Organization Division to the CIA’s Deputy Director (Plans), AFRF was described as

 

[Active in Europe in assisting, feeding, rehabilitation, and resettling new refugees from the USSR, including the two barracks in Munich…The AFRF receives funds for its European activities from…USEP, and has frequently requested additional support from the Agency (CIA), the American Committee for Liberation from Bolshevism, and from private foundations. 

 

In May 1952, Mr. Dulles (Director CIA) requested that the American Committee contribute subsidization it had been granting since June of 191 to AFRF…the subisidy continued until February 1953. 

 

It is our view that no further funds should be granted the AFRF by the Agency directly or through the American Committee. The AFRF is a regular recipient of USEP funds and can and should be overtly supported. It is out understanding that such welfare activities, although beneficial to our covert programs, are not to be covertly supported.

 

In addition to operations in Munich, AFRF also had a field operation in Brussels.

 

How AFRF worked with CIA is detained in a 1964, project renewal exchange messages between CIA East European Division at CIA headquarters to Germany.

 

Headquarters' functions have been and are limited to three routine support activities: 

 

·      our subsidy is routinely channeled to the New York Office through Finance on a quarterly basis; 

·      CAMANTLLLA accountings are routinely forwarded through KUVEST to Finance; and 

·      the Desk maintains occasional contact with the New York Office for administrative and support purposes. In our view, these facts characterize CAMANTILLA as being primarily a field type Project. 

 

The Chief CSB, Frankfurt sent a memo to the Chief East European Division in CIA headquarters for the renewal of the resettlement programs in Frankfurt for fiscal year 1964 that gives gave a detailed description of the activities of AFRF:

 

HARVARD would like to submit the following facts and comments pertaining to the part currently played by CAMANTILLA in connection with the resettlement of KUBARK (CIA) agents and defectors.

 

CAMANTILLA has become more and more the “outside arm” of HARVARD performing those resettlement and rehabilitation tasks, which would be extremely difficult for a KUBARK organization under official cover to handle. By referring to CAMANTILLA as the “outside arm” of HARVARD we mean to convey the fact that CAMANTILLA does not resettle some cases, while HARVARD performs the identical functions for others. While certain particularly sensitive cases may be handled exclusively by the HARVARD case officer, most resettlements are accomplished through the joint efforts of both organizations. 

 

Certain functions, e.g., the setting up of job interviews with West German employers – contacts and correspondence with local housing, medical, educational and welfare organizations – the sponsoring of individuals for immigration to the U.S., etc., can be far more effectively accomplished by a private refugees organization bearing none of the stigma of ODIBEX ** or ODIBEX intelligence. Official stature, on the other hand, facilitates other aspects of resettlement activity. The complimentary relationship between HARVARD and CAMANTILLA (one official and one non-official) provides the highly desirable degree of control and flexibility needed to cope with the often complex problems encountered in rehabilitation work.

 

Of the 62 resettlement cases with which the two HARVARD case officers were involved during the period 1 July 1962 through 30 June 1963, CAMANTILLA provides varying degrees of assistance—in many instances the major portion .. with the resettlement of 41. These 41 cases actually represent 60 individuals when wives and children – many of whom also required employment, schooling and housing .. are added in CAMANTILLA provided help in integrating 25 of these cases into the local economy. 14 were assisted to immigrate to the U.S., one to Canada, and one to South Korea. 11 of these cases immigrating to the U.S. were met by CAMANTILLA’s New York representative and given various types of help, including employment counseling and placement. The breakdown by nationality of the CAMANTILLA assisted cases is as follows:

 

Bulgaria          9

Czech              8

Russian           5

Polish              5

Hungarian      5

Romanian       2

Estonian         1

Albania           1

Lithuanian      1

German           1

Chinese           1

Korean            1

Ukranian        1

 

Without the benefit of CAMANTILLA’s unofficial cover status our resettlement efforts would lose much of their “human welfare warmth” which we fee has contributed much to the success of the defector program.  If the resettlement function is ever placed solely in the hands on an official cover organization, it is likely that resettlement could degenerate to the expedient of a mere monetary “pay off” rather than the providing of sympathetic attention to individuals problems. 

 

Should the USEP program, as some time in the future, be abolished, we recommend that serious thought be given to the possibility of retaining CAMANTILLA (or a similar counterpart) as a “privately endowed” institution. Even though its funding may be only thinly disguised, it is felt that such an organization is essential to the continuance of a useful resettlement program.

 

 

Monsignor Bela Varga ©

Monsignor Bela Varga

 

 

The first Radio Free Europe program to Hungary took place on August 4, 1950, when Monsignor Bela Varga, advised the listeners: 

 

To attempt no futile uprisings at this time. Pending the day of liberation, which will permit them to use their strength effectively, … the free world knows and feels that their own battle is their battle. It is no longer in different or neutral. It is wholeheartedly allied to us in this great crusade, which is being waged for world freedom.

 

1951 advertisement “A Plea to All Americans of All Faiths.” Short statements from each accompanied their photographs and the Freedom Gram:

Monsignor Bela Varga:

Having lived and fought against the Godless terror of the Communists
behind the Iron Curtain, I know how they use the weapons of hate
and lies and torture to gain control of the hearts and minds of men. Over Radio Free Europe, on which I am privileged to broadcast to my imprisoned countrymen, the spirit of hope and freedom is kept alive. Through the Crusade for Freedom all Americans can support the campaign of Truth against Communism,

The prevailing print media theme in the 1958 Crusade advertising was “FREEDOM IS NOT FREE! Your dollars are needed to keep RADIO FREE EUROPE on the air.” One 1958 Crusade campaign newspaper and magazine advertisement contained the phrase, “Don’t Let Freedom be CUT OFF THE AIR”! This one showed a cable to a Radio Free Europe microphone being cut by a pair of pliers. The text read, in part, “Can you imagine it: A policeman’s wary eye following you wherever you go...your neighbor’s ear anxiously pressed to your door, listening for the slightest slip of your tongue...a loud speaker ‘serenading’ you all day with warnings, instructions, propaganda lies?” 

 “He Knows Freedom is Not Free! Do you?” read another advertisement, which showed a photograph of a man, identified as Bela Varga, with a tear drop under his left eye. Monsignor Bela Varga was previously identified as one religious leader, who was quoted in the Advertising Council’s 1952-1953 Crusade campaign.  The advertisement also had three small photographs that showed “broadcasting tubes wear out fast...help us buy more”, one of a technician in Munch with, “Your truth dollars pay the salaries of dozens of technicians like him,” and a third which showed antenna towers with, “Your dollar pays for one minute of broadcasting time.” The same photograph and similar text was used in the February 1958 issue of Readers Digest.

The Advertising Council sent out a master campaign kit in 1958 to “Crusaders all over the country” to help them understand how the Ad Council information could best be put to use. Bob Keim, Account Executive of the Advertising Council announced that the kits would achieve three results:

1. Familiarizes the public with the fact that this year’s campaign is underway, 

2. Explains the campaign’s purpose and nature, and 

3. Appeals for truth dollars in support of Radio Free Europe.13 

The kit detailed the mailing activities of the Advertising Council that resulted in more than “$5,000,000 in donated space and time”.

Newspaper: ads sent to 1,651 dailies and 4,500 weeklies Business papers: business ads were sent to 736 business papers

House magazines: mailed to 3,000 house magazines.
Radio: mailed to all radio stations, including two sets of spot announcements Television: five filmed commercials and written spot announcements to all program directors.