Through The "iron Curtain": The U.s. Cold War Propaganda Of The Soviet Union And Eastern Europe Countries (1945-1963)

This dissertation is a study on the Cold War propaganda of USA towards Soviet-East Europe nations in 1945-63, especially on its development, content and effects. This study based on such a fact, that with the unfold of the Cold War, how to influence international opinion gradually became the new center of international relations. In the Cold War, all powers of the world, especially the United States, realized the importance of propaganda and other psychological activities as the same as political, economic and military elements, and used propaganda to reach their diplomatic ends by all means. In USA, not only those traditional propaganda means, such as broadcast, publications and posts and so on, still served the aims of US government, but also all aspects of the relationships of US with Soviet Union and other communist countries in eastern Europe became the new arenas of "the struggle for mental and heart". This study will explore that how propaganda was exploited by U.S. government as the fourth arms of its diplomatic policies in its aggressive "liberation" policy and "pierce the curtain" program. This strategic shift of US diplomatic policy led US government exploit all kinds of propaganda deadly for its aims. Armed with more indirect, concealed, and multi-type means, US propaganda not only extended its influence to the heads of these communist countries, but also affected the public opinion of these countries. This thesis will approach this topic by the close observation on the changes of US government's national security strategy, on the rise and fall of related propaganda agencies, and on the specific propaganda actions of USA.From this view, according to declassified documents, this study will conclude that a trilogy, beginning, development, and culmination, of American propaganda towards Soviet Union and Easter European countries can be clarified from the wake of Second World War to Kennedy Administration. And in every phase, this study will focus on the change ofUS administration's national security strategy, the evolution of related agencies charged foreign propaganda, and the concrete propaganda activities of US government launched against Soviet Bloc. The main points of the first chapter, 'The Beginning of Cold War Propaganda of US Government (1945-52)', were the renaissance of foreign propaganda of US government, and its transformation into Cold War propaganda with the development of Cold War. The second chapter titled 'The Development of Cold War Propaganda of US Government (1953-56), with the focus on the organizational restructure of related governmental agencies and the overall 'Peace Evolution' propaganda campaign toward Soviet Bloc launched by Eisenhower Administration under the direction of 'New Look' national security policies. In the third chapter, The Climax of Cold War Propaganda of US Government (1957-63), this study will describe the way that Eisenhower Administration 'beyond curtain' through the US-USSR agreement of cultural and educational exchangement and national exhibition in Moscow, and the process that Kennedy Administration promoted the role of foreign propaganda in foreign policy making with the proposal of 'Peace Coexistence' against Soviet Union. With the historical description of the real process of US government's foreign propagand strategy, related governmental organs, and propaganda activities, this study attempt to reveal the important role of Cold War propaganda in the whole Cold War strategy of US government, and the great impacts of this propaganda on the evolution of national security organs, the formation of national security policies, and so on.