The Home Front
BOHN, WILLIAM E.
THE HOME FRONT By William E. Bohn The Voice' Scores Cold War Victory Some editors and columnists are so sure that the Russians are smarter than we are that they are about ready to pull down the...
...Some of the writers are still east of the great dividing line but send their messages out by way of a friend who is on a visit to West Berlin...
...Three-fourths of the Voice's broadcasts are beamed to Communist countries or countries under the control of the Communists...
...Some represent the escapees...
...I don't think I ever anywhere saw a group of people working together with more goodwill and effectiveness...
...The agency uses every available method of communication to carry out the instruction of the President that it inform "all peoples throughout the world" of the policies and objectives of the U.S...
...At information centers scattered over Europe, Asia and Africa, we have libraries, lecture rooms and motion-picture facilities...
...Partly for economy and partly for political effect, some of the best men on the staff were discharged...
...It is these letters which give me my greatest thrill...
...As I talked with the various men at the desks where broadcasts to the various countries are prepared, I had a feeling that the old spirit has been recaptured...
...The one thing which Communism cannot stand is the truth...
...And in this sector we are winning...
...Our messages are listened to and have influence for two reasons: People in the Communist countries are losing faith in the propaganda of their governments, and our broadcasters limit themselves to a factual presentation of news and life as it is lived in the West...
...The listener in some corner of Russia or Hungary hears a man speaking in his own dialect and telling a simple and straightforward story...
...Information Agency as an independent outfit...
...I advise all of my readers to visit this agency when they are in Washington...
...Every month 1,500 or 2,000 people risk their lives in order to breathe free air...
...On August 1, 1953, President Eisenhower created the U.S...
...Wherever possible, television broadcasts are being sent out...
...I paid a visit to the Voice of America and came away mightily cheered up...
...In many cases, the first thing they do is write a letter to the Voice to bear witness to the encouragement which has been given to them by the American broadcasts...
...Government, and that it counter the distortions of hostile propaganda...
...Sitting in that room and talking to those broadcasters, a man feels that he is in immediate contact with a hot sector of the cold war...
...The Voice began operations in New York on February 24, 1942, and remained in New York until 1953...
...The fact that we are getting through and are being listened to is proved by the frantic efforts of the Russians to jam our broadcasts...
...When I sat in the office of the German contingent the other day and read some of these letters, it was hard to blink back the tears...
...Into countries like Russia and India the broadcasts are sent in the various dialects spoken in different districts...
...Others resigned in disgust...
...It gradually built up a first-class group of technicians...
...The Voice was moved to Washington as part of the new setup...
...It is said that they spend more money trying to keep us out than we spend getting in...
...I know most about the effect which these activities are having in East Germany...
...Its more than 75 daily programs go through a network of 85 transmitters...
...Here is a Government outfit which is well run and in which the employees are giving everything they have...
...You will find it inspiring...
...In those days I often dropped in to see what was going on...
...Now I can report with great pleasure that the Information Agency and, especially, the Voice have made a wonderful comeback...
...Although all of our writers and broadcasters are Americans, many of them are escapees from the countries to which they are speaking...
...From the beginning, I have visited the German desk every time I have had a chance...
...Well, I have just recently met with some men and women working for the United States of America who, even though operating under all of the disadvantages of democracy, are slowly winning the war on one front where we are supposed to be losing...
...First I joined a guided tour to hear what is handed out, then I went from studio to studio and talked with employees about their work and about the state of affairs in the organization...
...THE HOME FRONT By William E. Bohn The Voice' Scores Cold War Victory Some editors and columnists are so sure that the Russians are smarter than we are that they are about ready to pull down the old flag and surrender the world to the Soviets...
...That is, we are telling our story in this intimate, immediate way in the countries where we are admitted and allowed to operate...
...I have listened to the broadcasts and have read some of the letters which come pouring in...
...The total result was a sad diminution in the spirit and efficiency of the organization...
...Last week, for the first time in a number of years, I went through the offices and broadcasting studios of the Voice on the second floor of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare...
...We are told in one of the agency's pamphlets that "from 18 especially designed studios and other modern facilities—the Voice broadcasts around the clock and around the globe in 43 languages...
Vol. 41 • May 1958 • No. 21
