Investigation of Communist propaganda in the United States. Hearing

JUliUi^sii?;!

HARVARD COLLEGE
LIBRARY

VEflRI

GIFT OF THE

GOVERNMENT
OF THE UNITED STATES

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN
THE UNITED STATES— PART 1

(Foreign Propaganda — Entry and Dissemination)

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON UN-AMEMCAN ACTIVITIES
HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES

EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JUNE 13, 1956

Printed for the use of the Committee on Un-American Activities

(INCLUDING INDEX)

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OPFICB
82728 WASHINGTON : 1956

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARIfi

DEPOSITED BY THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMEND

COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES

United States House of Representatives

FRANCIS E. WALTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
MORGAN M. MOULDER, Missouri HAROLD H. VELDE. Illinois

CLYDE DOYLE, California BERNARD W. KEARNEY, New York

JAMES B. FRAZIER, Jr., Tennessee DONALD L. JACKSON, California

EDWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana GORDON H. SCHERER, Ohio

BiCHABD Abens, Director

n

CONTENTS

PART I
June 13, 1956 :

Testimony of— Paw

Irving Fishman 4(594

Sergei Buteneff 4094

Paul Horvath 4694

Leo G. Knoll 4694

Saul J. Mindel 4694

Afternoon session 4704

Irvins Fishman (resumed) 4718

Leo G. Knoll (resumed) 4705

Paul Horvath (resumed) 4717

Saul J. Mindel (resumed) 4705

Index i

nz

Public Law 601, 79th Congress

The legislation under which the House Committee on Un-American
Activities operates is Public Law 601, 79th Congress (1946), chapter
753, 2d session, which provides :

Be it enacted t)y the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, * * *

PART 2— RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Rule X

SEC. 121, STANDING COMMITTEES

17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.

Rule XI

POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
« * 4i 4> « * «

(q) (1) Committee on Un-American Activities.

(A) Un-American Activities.

(2) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommit-
tee, is authorized to malie, from time to time, investigations of (i) the extent,
character, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States,
(ii) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propa-
ganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and attacks
the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution, and
(iii) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any neces-
sary remedial legislation.

The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-
gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.

For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such
times and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting,
has recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance
of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and
to take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued under
the signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by any
member designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any person
designated by any such chairman or member.

V

RULES ADOPTED BY THE 84TH CONGRESS
House Resolution 5, January 5, 1955

• •*•***

Rule X

STANDING COMMITTEE

1. There shall be elected by the House, at the commencement of each Congress :

• * 4> * * • •
(q) Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.

• *•****

Rule XI

POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
*******

17. Committee ou Un-American Activities.

(a) Un-American Activities.

(b) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommittee,
is authorized to make from time to time, investigations of (1) the extent, char-
acter, and objects of un-American propaganda activties in the United States,
(2) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propa-
ganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and
attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitu-
tion, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in
any necessary remedial legislation.

The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-
gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.

For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at sut-h times
and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting, has
recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance of
such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and to
take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued under the
signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by any
member designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any person
designated by any such chairman or member.

VI

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN THE
UNITED STATES— PART 1

(Foreign Propaganda — Entry and Dissemination)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 1956

United States House of Representatives,

Subcommittee of the
Committee on Un-American Activities,

Washington^ D. G.
public hearing

A subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities con-
vened, pursuant to recess in the caucus room of the House Office
Building, Hon. Morgan M. Moulder (chairman of the subcommittee)
presiding.

Committee members present: Representatives Moulder (presiding),
Walter (appearance as noted), Doyle, Willis, Kearney, and Scherer.

Staff members present : Richard xVrens, director.

Mr. Moulder. The record will show that the subcommittee, com-
posed of Representatives Clyde Doyle, of California; Gordon H.
Scherer, of Ohio; Bernard W. Kearney, of New York; and myself,
Morgan M. Moulder, of Missouri, has been duly appointed by the
chairman of the full committee to conduct the proceedings in the hear-
ing to be held at this time.

( Chairman Walter entered the hearing room. )

The Chairman. The committee will be in order

Are you ready to proceed Mr. Arens ?

Mr. Arens. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that the 5 wit-
nesses be sworn at the same time, and as the subject develops in which
any one of these gentlemen is peculiarly equipped to answer, he will
identify himself and give the answer, since each of these 5 gentlemen is
here on the same general subject matter ; namely, the literature, letters,
publications, and various types of propaganda coming into the United
States which seek to enlist people to return behind the Iron Curtain.

I respectfully suggest that you gentlemen all stand.

The Chairman. Will you raise your right hands, please ?

Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will
be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?

Mr. MiNDEL. I do.

Mr. Knoll. I do.

Mr. FisHMAN. I do.

Mr. BuTENEFF. I do.

Mr. HoRVATH. I do.

4693

4694 H^^ESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

TESTIMONY OP IRVING FISHMAN, SERGEI BUTENEIT, AND PAUL
HORVATH, OF THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS, TREASURY DEPART-
MENT; LEO G. KNOLL, DEPUTY SOLICITOR, POST OFFICE DEPART-
MENT; AND SAUL J. MINDEL, ATTORNEY, OFFICE OF THE
SOLICITOR, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT

Mr. Arens. May I respectfully suggest that each gentleman, begin-
ning on my left, briejfly identify himself by name and occupation ?

Mr. MiNDEL. Saul J. Mindel, attorney, Office of the Solicitor, Post
Office Department.

Mr. Knoll. Leo G. Knoll, Deputy Solicitor, Post Office Department
of the United States.

Mr. FisHMAN. Irving Fishman, Deputy Collector of the United
States Customs, Treasury Department.

Mr. BuTENEFF. Sergei Buteneff, legislative assistant to the merchan-
dise section of the Bureau of Customs, Treasury Department.

Mr. HoRVATH. Paul Horvath, clerk-translator. Bureau of Customs.

Mr. Arens. We will have a series of questions beginning with Mr.
Fishman, but I respectfully suggest as we come to an issue on which
any of you gentlemen have information, because of your respective
assignments in the several governmental agencies, that you, for the
record, identify yourselves and proceed to make your observations or
supply the information.

First of all, Mr. Fishman, will you kindly give us just a word re-
specting your official status in the United States Customs Bureau ?

Mr. Fishman. I am Deputy Collector of Customs. My official as-
signment is at the port in New York. However, I am in charge of a
special project dealing with the control of political propaganda for the
entire country.

I should like, Mr. Chairman, if I may, to make a brief statement
indicating our position or at least the basis for our having this infor-
mation for you. I should also like you to have for examination some
of the translations made from the material which we will discuss here
today.

Mr. Arens. The material which you have just handed me to trans-
mit to the committee consists of translations of certain letters and it
is not the magazine and public material which we are going to discuss
later.

Mr. Fishman. Some of it consists of letters from individuals to in-
dividuals, and some of it consists of letters published in newspapers
and magazines which are freely circulated here.

Mr. Arens. Have you a statement that you wanted to read, intro-
ductory wise ?

Mr. Fishman. By way of general observation I should like to
advise the committee of the background of our operation.

Almost 5 years ago, as a result of an increasing awareness of the
rapidly mounting volume of Communist propaganda reaching the
United States from the Soviet bloc countries, the Treasury Depart-
ment through its Bureau of Customs joined forces with the Post Office
Department in order to combat the situation with such means as were
available under the existing law and regulations.

Both agencies, after consultation with the Justice Department, took
the position that unsolicited political propaganda materials sent from

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4695

the Soviet bloc countries into the United States by the mails and by
means other than the mails and intended for dissemination in the
United States may be in violation of the Foreign Agents Kegistration
Act of 1938, as amended.

This position was believed further strengthened by the Attorney
General's opinion of December 10, 1040 — cited as 39 Opinions Attor-
ney General 535 — wherein it was held that the sending of propa-
ganda to the United States by an unregistered agent of a foreign prin-
cipal in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act amounts to
a violation of a penal statute as provided for in section 957 of title 18,
United States Code, and that under section 1717 of title 18, United
States Code, the Postmaster General may bar such propaganda from
the mails.

The Department of Justice further expressed the opinion that
propaganda material arriving in the United States from abroad other-
wise than through the mails may be seized as an importation con-
trary to law under section 545 of title 18, U. S. Code. The Justice
Department indicated that its opinion was based on rule 50 promul-
gated pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

In substance, this rule provides that persons not within the United
States who use interstate or foreign commerce within the United
States to disseminate political propaganda shall be regarded as act-
ing within the United States and therefore subject to the act.

Three control units were therefore established

The Chairman. May I interrupt at that point ? Does not the rule
further provide that material so disseminated may be confiscated?

Mr. FisiiMAN. That is right. It is subject to seizure if arriving by
means other than the mails and it may be declared nonmailable by
the Post Office Department if it comes in tlie mail.

Three control units were therefore established. The first in New
York City, the second in San Francisco, Calif., and the third in
Chicago, 111. These control units are manned by competent translator
analysts wdio evaluate the material and furnish opinions to Customs
and the Post Office Department as to its admissibility under the ex-
isting law. The Commissioner of Customs has assigned me to super-
vise this entire operation.

In dealing with the problem of the wide distribution of all forms
of political propaganda into the United States, we became aware,
about a year ago, of a new approach in this field, namely, the appeal
to citizens whose origin was in the Soviet bloc countries to return
to the homeland. This general program has most recently been
referred to in a statement issued by the White House on May 24,
1956.

This program began under the guise of various committees, as, for
example, a committee for the protection of persons who are re-
turning home as a result of amnesty, or A Committee for the Re-
turn to the Homeland. This type of invitation first originated in
Czechoslovakia and in East Germany and then spread so that it is
now sent here in almost all languages.

It attempts to induce former nationals of the satellite countries,
as well as displaced persons and immigrants from other Slavic na-
tions, to return to their homeland. This program has been on the
increase. Current weekly and monthly publications contain editorials,

82728— 56— pt. 1 2

4696 risrvESTiGATiON of communist propaganda in u. s.

articles, and letters from individuals in the Soviet Union and other
bloc countries directed to people residing in the United States sug-
gesting that they return to their native land.

In certain instances letters of grateful appreciation for help in
repatriation are printed from former displaced persons. This type
of letter generally describes in most glowing terms the living and
working conditions in the Soviet bloc countries as contrasted with
the alleged miserable existence in the capitalistic countries.

In other instances this type of propaganda is directed against the
United States. We have noted references to the relaxation of bars
against the admission of displaced persons into the United States as
an underhanded move to prevent the repatriation program. The
United States has been accused in this propaganda of using displaced
persons as spies and saboteurs for activities a^gainst the Soviet Union.

In other articles repatriates are promised amnesty even if they had
in the past committed crimes against their countries provided they
will redeem themselves through honest service to their motherland.

Promises of good jobs, fine living quarters, food and wearing apparel
as well as free transportation are made. Excellent educational facil-
ities for children are also mentioned.

The Chairman. How is the transportation provided ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. By subsidy in most cases, and by repayment aft^r
they arrive, and so on and so forth.

We have considered such material as political propaganda as that
term is defined in section 1 ( j ) of the Foreign Agents Eegistration Act
and that the sending thereof, unsolicited, into the United States for
dissemination was in violation of that act.

To point up the growth of this program we might mention that our
records show that we detained approximately 18,000 individually ad-
dressed items in April and early May of this year in New York City
alone, and that we now have under examination about 10,000 articles
received in late May and early June.

It is not the function of our agency to comment on the effect of this
method of propaganda on the people to whom it is sent. I would, how-
ever, like to state that we have had many complaints from addressees
who have received this material. Many such complaints have been sent
to Members of the House and Senate. The tenor of these complaints
are that the recipients do not wish to have this material and in some
cases the addressees are frankly scared since their whereabouts in this
country has become known. These people unfortunately do not know
that this is part of a general program and that thousands of similar
letters have been sent, the names often obtained from telephone direc-
tories and fraternal organization listings.

A good deal of the material herein referred to appears in the second-
and third-class mails. However, a greater percentage thereof is be-
lieved to be in the first-class mail, but in view of necessary legal restric-
tions in the postal law and regulations governing the handling of first-
class mail, a matter which can more adequately be explained by the
Post Office representative here present, our control units are hampered
and they are unable to withhold this material except under certain cir-
cumstances where an addressee has been asked to waive the privacy
of the seal and to permit the examination of the envelope or parcel.
We should like to assure the committee, however, that we are doing all
that we can to cope with this problem.

INVESTIGATION OF COjMIVIUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4697

Mr. Abens. Are these letters individually addressed ?

Mr. FisHMAN. It is a combination of both letters individually ad-
dressed and also magazines and newspapers, specifically directed to
this homeland program.

Mr. Arens. Is this from one port of entry in the United States?
Over what period of time ?

Mr. FisHMAN. All of April and early May.

Mr. Ajrens. How many ports of entry are there through which this
material or these letters are channeling ?

Mr. FisHMAN. There are 45 ports of entry. We try to control or
direct with the cooperation of the Post Office people, to direct this
material through the 3 control units, 1 as I mentioned in San Fran-
cisco and 1 in Chicago. But we do not have all of the statistics. We
do have in the course of examination right at this moment, approxi-
mately 10,000 pieces which came in in the latter part of May, and
early June.

Mr. Aeens. We will go into the exhibits shortly. From the stand-
point of developing volume, tell us what is the volume of foreign polit-
ical propaganda hitting the United States, all varieties from behind
the Iron Curtain, Communist political propaganda.

]Mr. FiSHMAN. In 1955, through the port of New York we had for
examination, 1,917,000 packages of mail suspected of containing politi-
cal propaganda. At the port of San Francisco we examined approxi-
mately 406,000, and in Chicago, about 238,000.

That is a combination, all told, of about 2.5 million parcels contain-
ing printed materials suspected of containing political propaganda.

The Chairman. Over what period ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. Over the period of 1955.

Mr. Arens. How many individual publications would be contained
in a parcel ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We estimated that in New York, for example, in tliis
1,900,000 packages there were 3,365,000 individual publications.

Mr. Arens. Is that for only one port of entry ?

Mr. FisHMAN. Yes, sir.

]Mr. Arens. "VMiat is your estimate as to the individual parcels of
Communist political propaganda which came into the United States
last year ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We would say about 2,300,000 packages, and pos-
sibly, judging by our figures here, somewhere around 5 million pieces
of printed matter.

Mr. Arens. What percentage of that was in the foreign language ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We judge about 50 percent of that was, I suppose.

Mr. Arens. To whom was it destined ?

IVIr. FiSHMAN. A good portion of this is addressed to registered
agents, or agents registered with the Department of Justice, who may
legally import this information for dissemination. Much of it, how-
ever, is addressed unsolicited as is most of this homeland material to
people whose names were picked out of telephone directories, and or-
ganization directories, and so on.

Mr. Arens. What percentage of this material you have just been
describing goes through the consuls and embassies, Iron Curtain con-
suls and embassies ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We do not keep any figures on that, but they con-
tinually receive a good deal of commercial shipments of printed
material.

4698 INVEvSTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

Mr. Arens. Under the provisions of the Foreign xlgents Registra-
tion Act, Mr. Fishman, as I understood you to say, the agent in the
United States of a foreign principal, who disseminates political propa-
ganda, must not only register with the Department of Justice but he
must likewise cause to be imposed on the propaganda, a stamp indicat-
ing that it is Communist political propaganda.

Mr. Fishman. That is my understanding.

Mr. Arens. Have you in the course of your experience, in the Cus-
toms Bureau, ever seen a single piece of political propaganda so
labeled?

Mr. Fishman. I never have.

Mr. Arens. How long have you been in the Bureau of Customs?

Mr. Fishman. I have been in the Customs for 29 years, but I have
been handling this work for 5 years and I have never seen an item
stamped. I have heard of rare instances where such articles were
stamped when they were sent to other people.

Mr. Arens. Is it safe to assume from what you have said that there
is a wholesale distribution in the United States of Communist political
propaganda originating abroad which is not labeled as such in accord-
ance with the specifications of the Foreign Agents Registration Act ?

Mr. Fishman. That is my personal opinion.

Mr. Arens. If you please, Mr. Fishman, may we begin with the
specifications on this item about which you gentlemen are invited to-
day to testify ; namely, the campaign to induce American citizens to
procure American passports for the purpose of returning to the Soviet
dominated bloc of countries.

Mr. Fishman. We can refer only to translations of this material. I
have the original material, plus the translations. Sprinkled through-
out all of these translations are references to the desirability of return-
ing home.

I can turn to almost any page here and read some of this material.
Here is a letter signed by Major General M^karlof which appeared
in the Return to the Homeland, issue No. 16, May 1956, which consists
of the official statement of the Committee for the Return to the
Homeland.

Mr. Willis. What is the name of the committee ?

Mr. Fishman. The Committee for the Return to the Homeland,
that is the title of the committee. This newspaper is published by this
committee. It is just a brief reference to it. It says.

From communications of various ofRcial authorities and from the press, the
following information is available for those interested :

Soviet citizens living abroad and wishing to retiu'n to the homeland should
apply to the U. S. S. R. embassy, consulate or mission in the country in which
they reside. Those persons living in East Germany may apply to the Return to
the Homeland Committee in Biering Strasse 65, Berlin. Persons presently resid-
ing in countries where diplomatic relations with the U. S. S. R. do not exist
should apply to the U. S. S. R. Embassy located in the country nearest to them.

They will receive the necessary documents, free transportation, tickets, where
necessary, and material assistance will be provided such as 10 rubles a day per
person for food and other traveling expenses. Every repatriated person will re-
ceive a right-to-travel certificate which must be exchanged for a passport at the
local police headquarters at final destinations.

Members of a family who are subjects of a foreign government will be provided
with permits to reside as aliens, with rights to apply for U. S. S. R. citizenship.

Children of returnees are immediately sent to school according to the law of
compulsory education. According to the directives of the amnesty law, it is the
duty of the Soviet working peoples deputies to place returned citizens on a job

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4699

and provide them with a place to live. Returned citizens are entitled to all rights
and privileges granted by the constitution of the U. S. S. R.

Mr. Arens. From what countries have these letters and this mate-
rial been coming ?

Mr. FisHMAN. From most of the Soviet bloc countries. This one
particularly was sent from East Germany.

Mr. Arens. Are we getting material from Red China ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. Yes; we have. We have gotten material from Red
China dealing specifically with the students who were here and who
have returned home and who are now writing to the remaining stu-
dents, giving them a long statement about the advantages of coming
back, and giving them some pretty clear instructions on how to come
back, and what he should know, what he should bring back from the
United States and how to get by customs and so on.

Mr. Arens. In what volume are the letters coming from Red China ?

Mr. FisHMAN. These come through our San Francisco office, and we
do not have all of the statistics, but we have seen a considerable amount.
I have the original Chinese text, and the translation.

Mr. Arens. Can you give us a summary of what is in the translation ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. For example, here is a paragraph :

"There is no freedom of thinking under the Communist I'arty," is the prop-
agandizing platform of the United States Government to the people, and it is
also one of the most important concerns of the Chinese students. As a matter
of fact, the present condition shows that the people everywhere in China have
plenty of freedom. The churches in every large city are still there, and there
is no difference between the life of the religious people and that of the others.
Excluding those of the wicked landowners and the bureaucratic capitalists, the
private wealth and property received absolutely no damage. No one will inquire
how much money you have in the bank. Everything is controlled by oneself, if
one does not lend money out for large profit or permit anything which will
destroy the social order. There is nothing that has no freedom. Only those who
oppress the public will have no freedom whatsoever.

Mr. Arens. Who are the senders of these letters from Red China ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We have a list of some 40-odd students who have just
gotten back.

JNIr. Arens. Mr. Buteneff, I understand you are a translator in the
Customs Bureau, is that correct?

_ Mr. Buteneff. That is one of my duties but actually, I am super-
vising the translation work.

Mr. Arens. Have you, in the many years of your service been very
close to some of the refugee organizations such as the Tolstoy Foun-
dation ?

Mr. Buteneff. That is correct.

Mr. Arens. On the basis of vour background and experience, not
only as a translator, but on the "basis of the background of your expe-
rience with the Tolstoy Foundation, would you care to give this com-
mittee an appraisal of the reason for this campaign which Mr. Fish-
man has been describing ?

Mr. Buteneff. That I could do only as my own personal opinion
and not necessarily would present the views of the Treasury Depart-
ment. I would say that the effect of this propaganda could be divided
in two. The first part would be the effect in asking the people to return
to their homeland. It would not have much effect on those people who
came here definiteh' with the decision to remain here and to live in a
free country.

4700 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

I do not think that anybody could be swayed and be told to believe
or to really think that the Anierican people are lying about the con-
ditions which are right now in the Iron Curtain countries.

Now, therefore, the effect will be absolutely nil as far as asking the
people to return.

Now, the other effect is strictly the psychological one. Psychologi-
cally, it is extremely important because those people who came here
with the idea of getting freedom and who want to be away from that
feeling of oppression, when they suddenly receive unexpectedly, a

Eublication addressed to them personally, to them it is a tremendous
low.

Here they think when they arrived in the United States they at
least are separated by the ocean from their homeland. They know
they are not going to be persecuted here. When they receive this
letter, some of them have even changed their names upon arrival to
the United States, and as I hear, they still receive these publications
under their new names.

Mr. Arens. Do you have any idea as to how the sender of the letters
procures the name, or the changed name of the recipient in the United
States?

Mr. BuTENEFF. No, sir ; that I really do not know.

Mr. Arens. What languages are you conversant with ?

Mr. BuTENEFF. I am very fluent in Russian and Polish and French,
and of course, I do understand and get along with Ukrainian, and
Bella-Russian or any other Slavic language.

Mr. Arens. May I respectfully suggest that you tell the committee
the essence of the type of material which is being received m this
country from the countries, the language of which you are translat9r?

Mr. BuTENEFF. Here, for instance, is one also from the publication
of the Committee for the Return to the Homeland, with Bella-Russian
text. It starts with an appeal, "Your relatives are looking for you.

This is actually a personal letter addressed by some relative still
beyond the Iron Curtain, and addressed to the relatives m the Western
World and they are trying to find them and address them personally.

Those who abandoned their families and homeland, think of your gray-haired
mothers who wait for you, about your wives who consider themselves widows,
about your children who grow up without fathers. Come back in order to make
them happy and to dry their tears.

This is, of course, a part of the translation which was made of this.
One has to consider the effect of such a phrase, because those people
who come here often are really very homesick. That does not mean
they would like to return there but they are constantly remembering
their homes. When suddenly they receive something like that, and
sometimes even a personal appeal from their families to return, that
really absolutely tears them apart.

Mr. Arens. Gentlemen, may I invite your attention on the general
publications in this area. I see that you have brought with you a
number of copies of magazines which I assume bear on this issue.
Mr. Fishman, will you kindly comment on that ?

Mr. Fishman. Here is a magazine which is circulated considerably
by the registered agents as a Polish trade union review, and a
complete page entitled, "The Road Back Lies Open." It talks gen-
erally about the business of trying to get home, and how to get home,
and the method of getting home.

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4701

Mr. Arens. Is it in the Polish language ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. That is in English.

Mr. Arens. Does this circulate from the United States ?

Mr, FisHMAN. In Polish generally, and a number of these publica-
tions are printed in a number of other languages.

Mr. Arexs. AVhat other languages do you have represented in these
magazines on display here ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. Here is a very popular homeland type of publica-
tion, and it is printed in the Hungarian language.

Mr. Arexs. Does it have an appeal to the recipient to return to
Hungary ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We have made references in the translations to
this type of article. I did not bring too many of these foreign lan-
guage articles. I felt that the committee would be more interested
in reading some of those which have been reprinted in English. All
of this material, including a lot of posters and beautifully inscribed
cards, are sent here for distribution. This is an advertisement of an
International seminar, which is similar to the International peace
groups. I heard those mentioned here this morning.

This Prague Newsletter which is sent to many people in the
United States has a complete article entitled, "Free Europe Reporter
Returns Home."' It talks about the Unitecl States intelligence and
a lot of other problems which a returnee may face.

ISIr. Arexs. You will recall in our conversation prior to your ap-
pearance, I asked you if you would kindly bring with you one or
two specimen mail sacks of material arriving at ports of entry, which
could for the first time be opened here to see what proportion of the
mail entering the United States from overseas has with it this type of
material, either letterwise, or in propaganda magazine fashion.

Have you done so ?

Mr. FiSHMAX. "We have brought two bags of this material which
have been submitted to us for examination.

Mr, Arexs. Vrould you bring it down to this large table, Mr.
Fishman, and open it so the committee can get an idea of how this
volume is coming into the United States ?

Mr. FisiiiviAX^. These are representative of the type of publica-
tions which we just talked about. We have kept the addressees' names
inverted since as you know, we consider that information as con-
fidential. But we can open any of these and tell you what is inside
of them.

Mr. Arexs. Is this material subject to confiscation ?

Mr. FiSHMAX. For the most part, yes. This is.

Mr. Arexs. If it is solicited, it is not subject to confiscation ?

Mr. FiSHMAX. Our feeling is that the Foreign Agents Registration
Act is a disclosure type of statute, and if the addressee has requested
it and is fully aware of the source and can evaluate it properly, we
see no objection to his having it.

Mr. Arex^s. If this material is destined to a registered agent iti the
United States of an Iron Curtain country, is it subject to confiscii.ion?

Mr. FiSHMAX. No, it goes through freely to him.

4702 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN V. S.

Mr. Arens. And he in turn can disseminate it to addressees in
this country, is that correct ?

Mr. FiSHMAN". That is correct. Of course, he is required to keep the
Department of Justice posted as to his entire operations.

Mr. Arens. Would you give a word description for our record of
the material that has just been placed on this table?

Mr. FiSHMAN. These are bundles of individually addressed articles,
some of which have been sent from East Germany. Most of this is
East Berlin material and, of course, this is material which we were
working on, depending upon the shipment we were handling. There is
some from Prague, and we have seen some from almost every coun-
try. This is from Hungary, for example. Most of the material right
before me is from East Germany.

Mr. Arens. Could you make our record as clear as possible respect-
ing the actual volume of individual pieces arriving in any one period
of time ?

Mr. FisHMAN. We estimated that some of these mail sacks we have
been handling contained somewhere around between 1,200 and 1,500
individually addressed pieces.

Mr. Arens. How many mail sacks arrive per month or for a given
period of time ?

Mr. Fishman. It is rather difficult to estimate that. We may have
as many as two or three hundred a day submitted to us.

Mr. Arens. From New York alone ?

Mr. Fishman. From the Soviet bloc countries.

Mr. Arens. And you have about some 40-odd ports of entry ?

Mr. Fishman. Yes, sir.

Mr. Arens. And you have a comparable situation out on the coast,
at San Francisco ?

Mr. Fishman. The concentration on the coast, of course, is in the
Chinese language, and we get considerable quantities there. Then, of
course, we have quite a collection of this material in our Chicago
office and the Chicago office handles the midwestern part of the United
States.

]Mr. Arens. How about the material arriving at the shores of the
United States which is not subjected to confiscation, on a basis of the
mode of its arrival ?

Mr. Fishman. We do not, as you know, invade the privacy of the
first-class seal. We have no way of knowing what comes through the
letter mail except in such instances as we have had occasion to ask
the addressee to waive the privacy of the seal, so that we can determine
this. We have, under joint regulations, the right wherever we sus-
pect that a sealed article contains dutiable merchandise or prohibited
merchandise, to ask the addressee to give us permission to look inside
the envelope.

In such cases, we have found political propaganda spread through-
out this first-class mail.

Mr. Arens. Are you permitted to examine or to confiscate material
brought in by the diplomatic route ?

Mr. Fishman. We do not examine any material that comes in the
diplomatic pouch.

INVESTIGATION OF COAOIUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4703

Mr. Arens. Are you permitted to examine material which is brought
in, in diplomatic status, but not in a diplomatic pouch or destined to
an embassy or consulate ?

Mr. FisHMAX. With rare exceptions, we do not examine that ma-
terial.

]Mr. Arexs. jNIay we return here to oui' table for more testimony
with respect to this suljject matter ?

Will the gentlemen from the Post Office, Mr. Knoll and Mr. Mindel,
kindly address yourselves to this general subject matter in your own
way and in your own words ?

jNIr. KxoLL. JNIr. Chairman, and members of the committee, on be-
half of the Post Office Department, I would like to have permission
to make a statement

The Chairmax. Surely.

Mr. KxoLL. To give our position relative to this foreign political
pi'opaganda.

The Solicitor for the Post Office Department is the legal adviser to
the Postmaster General and the entire postal service. One of the func-
tions of the Solicitor's Office is to make rulings to postmasters as to the
mailability of various matters found in the mails, and to issue in-
structions for their disposition.

This authority has been delegated to the Solicitor by the Postmaster
General. Publications that come in from abroad are examined by the
collector of customs at the port of entry, after which they are turned
over to the postmaster for the necessary treatment. In the event the
Bureau of Customs determines that a publication constitutes foreign
political propaganda, the postmaster is so informed when the collector
delivers the publication to the postal service.

The postmaster will then report the matter to the Office of the Solici-
tor, and receive instructions as to the disposition to be made of it.

The Chairmax. Why should there be any distinction between the
classes of mail ? Do you think the law should be amended so as to
make it possible to inspect first-class mail where there is reasonable
grounds to believe, or, "Wheiie a reasonably prudent person" is the
legal language, would believe the law is being violated?

Mr. KxoLL. Mr. Walter, of course, we have always, that is the Post
Office Department has had the determination to recognize the sanctity
of the first-class mail. In order to go beyond that, it would be a ques-
tion of having sufficient information relative to the information con-
tained in the sealed envelope.

The Chairman. Take this hypothetical case. Suppose there were
50 letters all coming from one place to various refugees in the United
States. Do you not think that that would justify j'our invading the
so-called sancity of the first-class mail ?

Mr. KxoLL. During our conferences recently relative to that, Mr.
Chairman, we have had occasions when packages of first-class mail
came into this country, first through the customs and then was to be
delivered to our office, amounting, in one instance, to 600 letters, with
the same type of envelopes sealed, and the same or similar handwriting,
and the same return address, and with the same postmark.

From other information which we accumulated by reason of the fact
that many of the addressees have communicated with our Department,
those addressees who received first-class mail containing foreign politi-

82728— 56— pt. 1 3

4704 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

cal propaganda, they objected to the reception of this particidar infor-
mation and sent the information to our office with a letter stating that
they do not want to receive it.

We noticed a good many of tliese letters received in our Department
from the addressees contain envelopes and writing of a similar nature
to tliose contained in the package, say, of this particular delivery of
600 envelopes.

In that instance, we had a very strong suspicion that these GOO
envelopes contained foreign political propaganda.

The Ciiair:man. Why would it not be possible to amend the law so
that in a case of that sort you could present your suspicions to a court
and obtain from a court the equivalent to a search warrant and make
out to the court a case, a prima facie case, in support of your appli-
cation to open such first-class mail ?

Mr. ]MixDEL. That may be done, Mr. Chairman, as to any mail just
as to search a private home. One may go in and obtain a warrant
from the court to make that search. However, as to this foreign mail,
we do have a way of proceeding as Mr. Fishman referred to, in that
notification may be sent to the addressees to authorize opening, and in
these particular cases, in each instance where that was done, there M'as
no hesitation upon the part of the addressee to give that authorization.

Thereafter, when the mail was opened, it proved to be what it was
suspected to be. As I believe Mr. Knoll has indicated, upon that sam-
pling, and the other marks of identification as to the overall mailing,
we applied the ruling to the group.

The Chairman. Have you any idea what percentage of mail is first
class?

Mr. MiNDEL. We do not have that, sir ; and I do not know whether
or not Mr. Fishman's office has that.

The Chairman. This is a very startling number that you gave a
while ago, 2.5 million pieces that you inspected and it would certainly
indicate to me that it is just a small percentage of such propaganda
that is coming in.

Mr. Arens. What is your estimate as to tlie percentage of this ma-
terial soliciting people to return behind the Iron Curtain which comes
in first-class mail ? Have you any way of maldng an estimate ?

Mr. Knoll. That would be very difficult to answer.

Mr. Arens. The only estimate that you can make is of the material
that comes in bulk, through customs ; is that not correct ?

Mr. Fishman. The figures that we have given you are third-class
mail.

The Chairjman. Then it is safe to assume, if there are 2.5 million
pieces of third-class mail, that over 1 million j^ieces are first-class.

^Ir. Fishman. That is correct.

The Chairisian. I think there is a rollcall in the House and we will
recess until 2 : 15 o'clock,

(Whereupon, at 12 : 20 p. m,, a recess was taken until 2 : 15 p. m., of
this same day. )

AFTERNOON SESSION— WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 1956

The Chairman. Tlie committee will be in order.
Proceed, Mr, Arens,

IN^■ESTIGATIOX OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4705

Mr. iVEENS. Before the recess, JNIr. Knoll, you were in the piocess of
making certain observations fi'om the viewpoint of the Post Office
Department. "Would you kindly proceed?

And may I suggest to the other gentlemen present as Mr. Knoll
touches upon a matter which is germane to your peculiar sense of
interest in this problem, if you would identify yourselves and make
your observations for the record.

Mr. Knoll. Of particular interest at this time is the propaganda
being disseminated from abroad — principally from East Germany—
to residents of the United States in an effort to get them to return
to their homelands behind the Iron Curtain.

The most commonly used title for such propaganda is "For Eeturn
to the Homeland." From the series of articles currently appearing in
the newspapers it is noted that many privately addressed personal
letters have been received here as a part of this Return to Homeland
campaign. The Post Office Department has received no correspond-
ence to any great extent from addressees in the United States of this
ty])e of i)ropaganda or mail, and has no information as to the scope of
such mailings.

We are not in a position to cover the entire effect or tlie scope which
first-class mail would have in this respect.

Mr. Arens. Is that because you cannot examine first-class mail or
open first-class mail ?

Mr. Knoll. That is correct.

iNIr. Arens. May I interpose this question that I meant to ask you a
little earlier: If you have reason to believe that first-class mail con-
tains scurrilous, licentious, lewd material, are you permitted under the
law to seize it or to open the mail to find out.

Mr. ]MiNDEL. Speaking of foreign mail, under the Universal Postal
Convention, and also under the customs laws, as to the treatment of
matters suspected of being of a prohibited nature, we could proceed
in the same general way as we would and have done with respect to
suspected propaganda mailings.

That is, give notice to addressees and if upon the opening it is shown
to be of a suspected character, then there are steps taken for confisca-
tion.

Mr. Arens. May I ask whether or not the propaganda material
which we have been discussing here would fall in the same general
category as this licentious material which would be subjected to
seizure ?

Mr. JMiNDEL. No. The licentious would be under the obscene and
immoral part of the statute or the statute dealing with obscene and
immoral material.

Mr. Arens. Do you have comparable laws which would be appli-
cable to Communist literature going through the mails ?

Mr. ]\IiNDEL. Not as such. In other words, there is the law that
specifies and specifically deals with obscene and immoral material.
Perhaps I am not getting your point.

Mr. Arens. Let me make an observation and see if it is correct. Do
I interpret your testimony correctly: At the present tinie you have
legislation which enables you to seize even first-class mail if you find
that that mail contains licentious material, but that you do not have
comparable statutes which permit you to seize Communist literature
going through the mails ?

4706 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

Mr. MiNDEL. No, I liave misled you, if that is the answer that I
gave. We could proceed in the same way against both types. That
is, foreign mails.

Mr. Arens. Would you kindly proceed if you please, Mr. Knoll.

Mr. Knoll. We have received reports from postmasters as to fairly
large shipments of printed Keturn to Homeland publications. These
postmasters, of course, are at the port of entry.

Since October of 1955, the reports have covered 7,514 copies of these
papers addressed to persons throughout the country which had been
turned over to the postmasters by the Bureau of Customs as foreign
political propaganda.

Appropriate instructions were issued to the postmasters for the dis-
position of these mailings, and the Post Office Department was thus
able to hamper tlic Homeland campaign at least to the extent of these
7,500 or more publications. These postmasters' reports contained the
type of publications, the names, and the list of addressees.

Of course, in some instances it referred to large blocks of publica-
tions, wdiicli means that it follows from what INIr. Fishman stated,
that these reports were sent into the Post Office Department to enable
us to proceed as far as the destruction of this material is concerned.

In an apparent effort to circumvent this treatment of its mailings,
the organization sending over the propaganda has resorted to the use
of mail prepared to resemble ordinary correspondence, hoping thereby
to escape detection by the Customs and Postal authorities of the
United States.

]Mr. Arens. Would not they also have a strong incentive, in view of
the known practice of the Post Office Department not to open first-class
mail, to send this material first class?

Mr. Knoll. That is our observation.

Mr. Arens. Could you give us any estimate as to the volume of first-
class mail in this category ?

Mr. Knoll. As I stated before, it is very difficult for us to even
give an estimate.

JNIr. Arens. It would be an unknown ({uantity, would it not ?

Mr. Knoll. Yes. Some of this mail did pass through and was de-
livered to addressees, some of whom thereupon made complaint to
the Department. When doing so, they were vigorous in their denuncia-
tion of this Communist propaganda.

The Post Office Department I would like to state emphatically, is
determined at all times to maintain the sanctity of sealed first-class
mail, and it may not open mail sent in this fashion. However, there
is authority for the Customs Service to call upon addressees of sealed
foreign mail to authorize opening when there is reason to suspect it
of containing matter prohibited for importation.

As a result of such notifications which have been sent by the post-
master as part of the joint treatment with Customs of suspected im-
portations, the addressees have agreed to the opening of a number of
these first-class mailings. It was found that they contained the same
type of Homeland publications as had been sent in large number
in the open mail.

These publications are printed in various languaeres, namely, Kus-
sian, Polish, Lithuanian, IJl^rainian, Hungarian, Estonian. T>atvian,
and Byelorussian. As already noted, most of them are entitled "For
Eeturn to the Homeland": others bear the titles of "Your Relatives

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4707

Are Looking For You," "Your Country's Calling You," and "The
Voice of Homeland."

For your immediate appraisal and consideration we have taken some
excerpts from a number of these publications and we have submitted
translations to the committee. We picked out five of those that we
thought contained significant material regarding "Homeland" pro-
paganda. They are actually quotations from the publications.

The Chairman. Let us make them a part of the record at this point,
marked "Homeland Propaganda Exhibits Nos. 1 through 5."

(The 5 documents referred to are as follows :)

HOMELAND PROPAGANDA EXHIBIT NO. 1

solicitor's office
[Translation — Homeland foreign political propaganda]

Za Vyartanue na Radzimu. No. 9. Berlin, September 1955. A weekly periodical
for Foreign Consumption. Mailed in Berlin (For tlie Return to Homeland)
in Byelorussian

(P. 1)

I AM AT HOME

For those who have returned to their Homeland their present is full of hap-
piness. A majority of those who lived abroad had suffered hunger and all kinds
of miseries and privations. Some of the displaced persons have turned into
homeless vagabonds. Very few were provided with work. Nostalgia, however,
tormented all the refugees without exception. They all longed to return home
to their own country, their own people. All the letters addressed to the com-
mittee express gratitude and joy at the possibility to return home. Letters from
those who have already returned are full of happiness. We are equal citizens
to those who never left their homeland, they say, we have employment and a
happier and brighter future is open to our children.

Following are the letters of Soviet citizens who have returned to their Home-
land:

I am guilty, said Sokolov. First thing, I surrendered to the enemy and was
a prisoner of war. Then I managed to escape, but when I was caught, the Ger-
mans recruited me for work for the Gestapo. I never betrayed anybody but I
deserve punishment for having agreed to work for them.

It was just on the eve of their departure that the Sokolovs discovered that it
was not to hard labor, but to their native town that they were being repatriated.
"Everybody called us 'comrades' ", said Sokolov, my fear has disappeared entirely.

Now we are happy. We live in Minsk. It is a beautiful town. It had been
reconstructed and improved so that one could not recognize it. New wide streets
are lined with trees.

I was very happy to learn that my father is alive and works in the same
place where he was employed before tlie war. One of my sisters is married and
the other attends the Technological Institute. My family was very happy to see
me again. I am working now and have a job which corresponds to my education
and specialty and the Town Council of Minsk provided us with an apartment
in a new house.

I advise my compatriots who are still living in foreign countries to come
home. The Homeland will receive them with open arms.

Caption : 1'. Kokhau with his family has returned from France. I am living
very well, writes P. Kokhau. I have a job and my wife stays at home and does
housework. My eldest daughter Lyuba is attending a school of bookkeeping
while the youngest girl attends classes at a high school. Younger children are
also attending schools.

The Homeland received us like its real children.

I have returned to my beloved Homeland. On the third day after my arrival,
the Government gave us a beautiful apartment in a new three-story house. My
husband works at a factory and our son has received a permit to stay in a
pioneer camp. His stay there is free of charge. Our address is: Sumy 7,
Sharkauyskaya street No. 23. Apartment 11.

4708 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

Life is very pleasant here, everybody worlis, people live in lovely comfortable
apartments and all the children go to school. It is so wonderful that it is al-
most difficult for me to believe that I am so lucky.

HOMELAND PROPAGANDA EXHIBIT NO. 2

solicitor's office
[Translation — Homeland Foreign Political Propaganda]

Za Vosvrashchcniije na Rodinn. No. 12. Berlin, October 1955. A periodical for
Foreign Consumption. Mailed in Berlin (For the Return in Homeland) in
Russian

(P. 1)

BY WORKING HONESTLY WE SHALL JUSTIFY THE TRUST OF OUR HOMELAND

The Decree of the Presidium of Supreme Council of USSR which was pub-
lished recently granted Amnesty to all the Soviet citizens who collaborated
with the occupiers during the Great Patriotic War during the period of 1941-
1945. This act of the greatest humaneness found a response of warm gratitude
from the greatest majority of our compatriots living abroad. "By honest work
we shall justify the trust of our Homeland" say those who return home from
foreign countries. "Soon we shall be home", write to us former prisoners of
war from Belgium. The decree announcing the Amnesty relieves of respon-
sibility all those who surrendered to the enemy. Now we shall hesitate no
longer. Nothing will hold us in a foreign country. Let our beloved Soviet
Government realize that no traitors, but patriots ready to sacrifice all their
forces to the Communist Construction, are about to return to their Homeland.

The day before yesterday, writes to us P. L. from West Germany, I read in
the newspaper "Izvestiya" (News) the Decree regarding the Amnesty. It
was a surprise to me. While following closely all the events taking place in
our Homeland I felt intuitively that this great humane act was going to be
materialized. It is not, however, the news about the Amnesty that made me
write this letter. It was only an additional urge. I have only one desire now:
to return to the Homeland as soon as possible, to join the ranks of honest
constructors.

Numbers of enthusiastic, sincere letters have been received recently from
Ulm, Augsburg, Munich, Hamburg, and other towns of West Germany and
Belgium. Following is one of these letters :

Glory to our Homeland, our freedom ! Yes, glory ! We have no words to
express the joy given to us by the radio broadcast we heard today. "For the
Return to Homeland" announced the Amnesty ! We belong to a group of dis-
placed persons. We want to express our warm gratitude to the Presidium
of the Supreme Council of USSR for granting us this Amnesty, for being
solicitous for us. We are unhappy men who now realize their guilt before our
Homeland.

My wife and myself, writes G. Ya., have been thinking about returning home.
I could not make up my mind because I knew that I was guilty before my
Homeland. In other words I had served in the German Army. Now, that the
Decree of Amnesty had been granted to all the Soviet citizens who collaborated
with the occupiers, my situation has changed.

There are people who write about the intrigues of dark forces. They are
using terror in order to stop the stream of people retuiniug to their Homeland.
The fellows from the Bander's group have lost their heads, says M. P. who lives
in Ulm. The Decree of the Amnesty has disoriented them entirely. They have
recourse to one weapon only: terror. They, however, are sure to fail. All these
former Hitler's officers, who today serve a foreign counter-intelligence, all
these wise guys, cannot stop the people who are anxious to get home. It is
in vain that these agents visit people in their apartments, waylay them in
the streets. We are not afraid of them. We will be able to give an answer to
their threats so that they will lose all wish to create obstacles on our way. We
received many letters of this type. Men write to us that they realize that their
Homeland needs them. A group of our compatriots from Mannheim unmasked
the spy called Fedor Sosov. Clumsy attempts to make our compatriots stay
abroad had been made in Nurenberg by Tkachev and Mel'nikov. These miserable
attempts are sure to fail. All the small tiine crooks like Bander, Pozdyakov, and
Klimov have lost all credit with the emigrants. All kinds of emigrant leaders
do all they can to retain our compatriots in foreign countries. They are ready

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4709

to bribe them with little presents like a pair of pants or sums of money owed
for the rent of an apartment. The so-called "Tolstoy Fund" is one of the
organizations financed by a Foreign Counter Intelligence.

The "American Committee" has developed a mad activity as soon as the
Amnesty was published. All the Soviet citizens, however, rejected the cobweb
of lies spinned round the refugees. These attempts are doomed to failure.

All the letters addressed to our Committee prove that the Soviet citizens
living abroad want to return to their Homeland. They want to live by honest
work. The Decree granting the Amnesty offers them a possibility to do so.

(P.3)

THE JOY OF THE RETURN

Much misery was the lot of our compatriots who found themselves in foreign
countries. The worst of all was the feeling that they were separated from their
Homeland and their People. The spiritual starvation was worse than the physical
hunger. How can Soviet men, brought up in respect for honest work and human
dignity, reconcile themselves with the stifling atmosphere of profits, selfishness,
and national hostility V It is in vain that some of our compatriots tried to adjust
themselves to the ways of the capitalistic world. It was in a humiliating struggle
for existence that they made a deal v>^ith their own conscience. They were
unhappy all the time and realized that they were gradually sinking to the
bottom, becoming dregs of society.

The President of the Council of Ministers of USSR, Comrade N. A. Bulganin
announced that it was his duty to defend the Soviet citizens who, although they
took a wrong attitude toward their Homeland at a certain time, expressed their
wish to return home and correct their ways. A large number of our compatriots
are being held in foreign countries by force or do not dare to return home
because they are being intimidated by a hostile propaganda. A large majority
of our citizens held abroad by force have no permanent work, they have no
lodgings, or means of existence. They suffer misery and terrible privations.
They are men deprived of any rights, they depend on charity.

The Announcement of our Committee called "For the Return to the Homeland"
made many refugees decide to go home, the speech made by Comrade N. A.
Bulganin and the Decree granting the Amnesty made people return to their
Homeland in large groups. These streams of refugees returning home is growing
daily. Our repatriated citizens express their feelings quite freely :

"I will not try to give account of what I suffered during the twelve years I lived
in foreign countries. All the displaced persons know that they lead a miserable
existence. I always tried to do some work (when I could find work), but I did
not feel that I was a human being. I was a displaced person, a superfluous man
whom nobody wanted. While there was no possibility to return home, my
nostalgia was deafened. When the road home was finally opened to me, I could
not rest. I could not wait for the day when I could go home. I wanted the
night spent in foreign countries to come as soon as possible. I was ready to
walk home."

TILL I SEE YOU SOON AGAIN

If you asked me what day was the happiest day in my life, the most memorable
one, i would not hesitate to tell you that it was the day of my return to the Home-
land after much wandering in foreign lands.

My second happiest day was that when I stepped over the threshold of my
home in the Tdwn of Bataysk, when I joined my mother, friends, and relatives
after a long separation.

The reception which was offered to me and my repatriated compatriots in
Leningrad was warm and friendly. Our group included people returnhig from
many remote corners of this world.

Now that I am firmly established in my Homeland, I am proud of the trust
show n to me.

I was hungry in the American zone of West Germany. I was unemployed and
exposed to numerous humiliations and insults. IMany times I could not get
employment because being a Russian I was suspected of being a "red".

I believed no libelous statements regarding my country. No matter how much
they tried to prevent my return, I decided to go back to my Homeland.

4710 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

(P. 4)

THE HOMELAND HAS FORGIVEN ME

As you see the Soviet Government has forgiven me my work with the Germans.
I am permitted to wort: side by side with other citizens and I enjoy all the
rights of a Soviet citizen.

HOMELAND PROPAGANDA EXHIBIT NO. 3

solicitor's office

[Translation — Homeland Foreign Political Propaganda]

Biuletijn Rozglosny "Krar'. No. 9. Warsaw, 11 March 1956. A weekly period-
ical for Foreign Consumption. Mailed in Warsaw. (The Resounding Bulletia
"Homeland") in Polish

(P. 1)

AMONG MY OWN PEOPLE

After years of concentration camps in Hitler's Germany I finally find myself
among my own people. I am here with my son, grandchildren, sisters, relatives^
and friends. I will never forget the way my grandson met me with flowers and
kisses. Only those mothers whose children are thousands of miles away vpill
be able to understand my feelings. Much happiness was caused by meeting
with old friends with whom I had no contact for many years.

Everybody wished me happiness and joy, everybody expressed his readiness
to help me. I suddenly realized the difference between Poles in immigration and
Poles at home. Emigrants always quarrel. The.v disagree on politics, every prob-
lem seems to be very sharp and difficult to solve. Daily needs, relations between
people, everything is difficult and complicated in emigration. In Poland it is
different. It is a new system of living and I first became aware of it in Warsaw.

Construction work is going on throughout the country. The cultural life of
Poland is in full swing. Best plays and comedies are being staged in Polish
theaters.

We are masters of our own destinies. Here we do not depend on the whim
of a landlady or landlord to whom the rent must he paid promptly. Everything
is here accessible to the people. Prices for daily necessities are coordinated with
people's wages.

Poles living abroad do not teach their children to be patriots of their counti*y.
Children of Polish emigrants cannot speak their native tongue. Polish mothers,
you are worried and disturbed about the future of your children ! You must
fight for bringing your children up as Poles, in love for their Homeland. It is
your tragedy that your children will have no nationality. It is only in Poland,
among the Polish people that you can fulfill yoiir duty of Polish mothers.

(P. 11)

FAITHFUL — TO AVHOJt?

The voice of the emigration press is very characteristic. It is worth while
to listen to it. What do I need a Catholic newspaper for, says an emigrant. My
children do not want to read Polish.

Children would not read a church newspaper. The newspaper "Faithful
Poland" is an empty sound because people within the country will always ask the
question : faithful, to whom?

People's Poland regards the Poles, who were forced out of their Homeland
by misery which used to prevail in old times, as friends and followers of the
Polish culture, as well wishers who are happy about the development of the Polish
industry.

(P. 13)

The war is over, the shooting as well as the cold one. It is time to return home.
The return of every emigrant is an important contribution to the cause of peace
throughout the world.

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4711

HOMELAND PROPAGANDA EXHIBIT NO. 4

solicitok's office

[Translation — Homeland foreign political propaganda]

Za Vozvrashcheniye na Rodiny. No. 3. Berlin, January 1956. A weekly period-
ical for foreign consumption. Mailed in Berlin (for the return to homeland)
ill Russian

(P.l)

THE PROBLEM OF DISPLACED PERSONS

The problem connected with "Displaced Persons" has been discussed for the
last nine years by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organ-
ization. It was debated at the 10th General Session last fall but as usual no
practical solution has been reached. What is the essence of this problem and
why its solution could not be reached during all this long period of time?

Large numbers of people had been driven to Germany from the Soviet Union
and East European coimtries during the Second World War. Most of these
persons had been placed in various concentration camps and many of them were
employed in forced labor. A majority of these persons had been repatriated.
Today they are enjoying their full citizens' rights. There are those, however,
who remained abroad and had been classified as "displaced persons." Groups
of them had been taken to Australia, Latin America, and the United States where
they are being used for hard work which is very poorly paid. There are some
displaced persons scattered throughout countries of Western Europe.

According to information obtained by the Supreme Commissar of the United
Nations Organization for the Refugee Problem, there are about 350,000 "not
fully assimilatetl" displaced persons of which 88,000 live in camps.

Displaced persons live in very unfavorable conditions, especially those who
are still in camps. They had been placed into barracks which are terribly
crowded. Many of them have lost capacity to work and require urgent medical
assistance.

The displaced persons enjoy no rights of any kind. They are subjected to
pressure and blackmail developed for the purpose of preventing them from
returning to their Homeland. The Soviet Union and other countries of People's
Democracy strive to enable the displaced persons to return home but they are
always frustrated by western countries which do all they can to obstruct this
plan. The displaced persons are being deliberately deprived of their rights
to return to their Homeland and they are being turned into instruments of a
dirty political game. Those who try to oppose these attempts and insist on their
right to return home are subjected to persecution and torture. Taking advantage
of the miserable position of displaced persons, some people turned them into a
source of cheap labor. They also try to recruit them as spies and diversionists
and send them for this type of activity into the Soviet Union and other countries
of People's Democracy.

Professor V. P. Vasilakiy, who decided to return home to the Soviet Union
from ^^'est Germany told us that various organization acting for alleged "assist-
ance" to the displaced persons, are in actuality branches of imperialistic counter-
intelligence organizations and that their activities are directed toward turning
displaced persons into political spies for tlie work against the Soviet Union and
other countries of People's Democracy.

The deliberate procrastination of the solution of the "displaced persons"
problem does not contribute toward a better understanding among nations. The
very title "displaced persons'' should point at the correct solution. The only
right way to solve this problem is to repatriate all the "displaced persons" on
the basis of their own free choice. Their homeland alone can grant them rights
of citizens and their homeland alone can fit them into normal conditions. The
first step in this direction should be cessation of persecution and terror directed
against those displaced persons who expressed their wish to return to their
homeland, cessation of propaganda which Is hostile to their Homeland. Dis-
placed Persons should be urged to return home.

The Soviet Government has developed certain measures in order to solve the
problems of "displaced persons". During discussions with the OflScial Dele-
gation from the German Federal Republic (West Germany) in September, the
President of the Council of Ministers of USSR N. A. Bulganin raised the ques-
tion regarding the Soviet displaced persons and their return to the Soviet Union.

4712 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

Talking about Soviet citizens retained in West Germany, he said that the Soviet
Union considers it its duty to do something to defend these citizens as well. He
expressed his hope that those who acted against their Homeland will change
their ways and that no severe reprisals will be used against them.

Taking into consideration the great successes achieved by the Soviet People
in all branches of their economy and culture and also the end of hostile relations
between the Soviet Union and Germany, and being led by the principles of humane-
ness, the Presidium of the Supi'eme Council of USSR has issued the Decree
regarding the Amnesty for all the Soviet citizens who collaborated with the
occupiers during the Great Patriotic War at the period of 1941-194.5. This
Decree which was issued on 17th September 19.55 is also extended to the Soviet
citizens who at the present moment are residing abroad. The purpose of this
Decree is to offer to these citizens a chance to return to an honest life of work
and become useful members of society. Analogous measures had been taken
in Rumania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and other countries for facilitating repatria-
tion of their citizens.

At the 10th Session of the General Assembly the Delegation of the Soviet
Union presented a project of a resolution which would charge the governments
of the countries harboring displaced persons to transfer all their cases to the
Supreme Conunissar for Refugee Problems at the United Nations Organization
who would be charged to (a) conduct among the displaced persons and refugees
the explanatory work in connection with their repatriation. All propaganda
hostile to their places of origin should be barred; (b) to provide refugees with
information regarding measures taken by the governments of their countries
with regard to their repatriation; (c) take all possible measures for providing
work for those displaced persons who are still unemployed.

The suggestion made by the Soviet Delegation was declined by the representa-
tives of the United States, Great Britain, and some other Western powers. This
fact proves that the forces which are interested in procrastination of the solution
of refugee problems are still active.

It is very unfortunate that the Supreme Commissar for Refugee Problems is
on the side of tliese forces. Speaking recently at a Press conference, he ex-
pressed himself against the suggestion of the Soviet Union regarding assistance
for repatriation of displaced persons. He said that his task consists in taking
into consideration the wishes of displaced persons but that he would refrain
from encouraging them to return home. When asked whether the "displaced
persons" were informed regarding the statement of the Soviet Government con-
cerning their return to the Homeland without any obstacles, he answered that
it was not his duty to spread information regarding statements made by the
Soviet Union or any other country.

Having declined the suggestion of the Soviet Union, the General Assembly
failed to do anything in the way of trying to solve the refugee problem, but
let it remain in the same unsolved way. This situation is highly unsatisfactory
to the countries interested in a solution of the problem as well as to the displaced
persons. The United Nations Organization has no right to stand as a disin-
terested observer while thousands of people are exposed to misery and terror
In foreign countries. They expected the United Nations Organization to take
energetic measures for making it possible for them to return home to their
families and peaceful work.

(P.l)

SOVIET CITIZENS WANT TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND

In his interview with a correspondent of the Dusseldorf newspaper "Welt
am Sonnabend" (The World on Saturday), the President of the Red Cross in
West Germany, Dr. Veitz, declared that there are Soviet, Polish, and Czech
citizens who have expressed their wish to return to their homes and their
families. This statement unmasks the lies spread by some other representatives
of Bonn on this subject.

(P. 2)

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE EUGENE GEINYUK AND HIS "CASE"

Eugene Grinyuk, married to a German girl, was afraid to return home because
he had been a member of a German military unit during the war. Believing
promises of skillful American agents, he departed to Brazil. In South America
he was not happy because it was hard to find any work and the feelings of the
native population were not friendly to foreigners. Soon Eugene realized that

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4713

there was no life for him away from his native country. He spent all the cash
he had in order to return to Europe. Being not at all sure about the reception
he would meet at the Soviet Embassy, he presented himself at the Committee in
Eastern Berlin. Here he was told that thei'e was no reason why he could
not be repatriated to the Ukraine at once. All he had to do was to pack up and
come back.

This happened on the 4th of June. On the next day his son Hartmuth ap-
peared at the Committee in order to notify us that his father was under arrest
in Western Sector of Berlin. The Soviet Committee and Consulate demanded
explanation of this measure taken against a Soviet citizen.

While detaining Grinyuk in jail, Frankfurt judges and wardens tried to
intimidate Eugene and dissuade him from returning to his native country. By
what right did they detain him in a foreign country? Was it one of the example
of the proverbial bourgeois human way of life? We should rather detine it
as an act carried out at the order given by dark forces which hate human
principles, which sow dissention and hostility among nations.

(P. 4)

POLES, CZECHS, AND HUNGARIANS RENOUNCE THE "GOLDEN WEST"

Prague: A group of 19 Czechs and Slovaks has returned to Czechoslovakia.
These persons have escaped from their country under the influence of foreign
propaganda. Today they are happy to be back home.

Budapest : The Hungarian citizens who returned to their Homeland recently,
have addressed an open letter to their compatriots abroad advising them to
return to Hungary. They pointed out that as soon as they returned, they were
given employment corresponding to their qualifications.

H03IELAND PROPAGANDA EXHIBIT NO. 5

solicitor's office
[Translation — Homeland Foreign Political Propaganda]

Za Vyartanne na Radzimu. No. 8. Berlin, September 1955. A weekly periodical
for Foreign Consumption. Mailed in Berlin (For the Return to Homeland)
in Byelorussian

(P.l)

childben eepeesent ouk future

Love to one's Homeland is a natural feeling with which every man is born. It
is difficult to live in the countries ruled by capitalists. Everything in these
countries is based on profits and exploitation of workers. Fate of children in
these countries is hopeless. How can children be happy in the countries where
the official policy consists of the inhuman idea of depopulation of the world.
Bourgeois governments state that there is not enough work and bread because
too many children are being born. They claim that it is because of the over-
population that epidemics, famines, and bloody wars take place. It is with a
stupid indifference that bourgeois statistics register the increasing mortality
among the children.

The children living in our Homeland are happy. They are loved and taken
care of. We have organized for them schools, kindergartens, pioneer camps. In
foreign countries children are pale, hungry, sick. Tuberculosis is prevalent in
capitalistic countries.

People who love their children must think of their future. They must not
permit their children to be separated from their Homeland, to grow up among
Indifferent foreigners. Do you want your children to grow up homeless? They
will be happy in their own country.

No. 7. Berlin, September 1955

To my dear brother Kurmangaliy Alikbayev :

My dear brother, Kurmangaliy. This is your sister Kulyan who is writing to
you, your wife Sarkhyt, and your old mother and father. I am now on my last
year at the Institute of Alma Ata, the Capital of Kazakhstan. Father and
mother still live in their native village, Tash-Kara-Sue. They are not working.
Our father receives the old age pension from the Collective Farm. He also

4714 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

receives pension from the Government for your younger brother Mukan who was
liilled in the war. Mother also receives a pension. Tour wife Sarkyt works in
a Collective Farm already for many years. She wants you to come back to her.
My dear Kurmangaliy, I hope that you are listening to my appeal, do not believe
to our enemies who try to put into your soul fear and doubts. Return to your
Homeland and do your best for your friends who also must come back home.
Until I see you again soon,

Your sister Kulyan Alikbayeva.

Mr. Knoll. The publications also contain editorials and articles, and
letters from individuals in the U. S. S. R. and other Soviet-bloc coun-
tries, directed to people in the United States, urging them to return
to their native land. There are also letters from former displaced per-
sons thanking the Return to Homeland Committee for aid rendered in
their repatriation. These letters and articles describe in favorable
terms the living and working conditions behind the Iron Curtain, as
contrasted with the alleged miserable existence of those who are in
the displaced- persons camps in Western Germany, or are laborers or
unemployed in the capitalistic countries.

Portions of this propaganda are directed against the United States.
According to this literature, the relaxation of admission of displaced
persons to the United States is a desperate step undertaken to prevent
the growth of a repatriation movement by the displaced persons. It
is also reflected that the aggressive United States circles desire to keep
the half-starved displaced person masses abroad as a reserve for re-
cruitment of spies and saboteurs for activities against the Soviet
Union, or as a source of cheap labor for United States mines and
factories.

This propaganda also asserts that amnesty will be granted repatri-
ated citizens of the Soviet-bloc countries who, in the past, allegedly
committed crimes against their countries by serving in the intelligence,
police force, or similar organizations during the Nazi regime, provided
that they are genuinely sorry for such actions and desire to redeem
themselves through honest work for their homeland. These people
are promised free transportation, food and clothing if they return, as
well as good living quarters and fine jobs.

It appears that the "Return to Homeland" propaganda is directed
principally to American residents from the Soviet Union and other
Soviet-bloc countries, including refugees and displaced persons. This
observation is based upon the names of the addressees as shown by
postmasters' reports and upon letters the Solicitor's Office has received
from certain addressees.

The Post Office Department has continuously cooperated and col-
laborated with the Bureau of Customs in our efforts to cope with all
types of foreign political propaganda. Since the homeland foreign
political propaganda appeared in the mails, we quite frequently con-
ferred with Customs officials relative to the passage of this propa-
ganda through the mails. The postmasters and the clerks at the ports
of entry are always on the alert for this type of propaganda, and all
of our postal facilities are functioning in this respect in accordance
with authority granted to us by law. We are also ready and willing
to assist the House Un-American Activities Committee m developing
facts or procedure pertaining to the interpretation and destruction oi
this type of foreign political propaganda.

The Chairman. I understand you have a background of experience
in Polish circles in this country, is that correct ?

Mr. Knoll. That is so.

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA EST U. S. 4715

The Chairman. Give us a word of that background.

Mr, Knoll. I have been connected with the Polish American Con-
gress, which is an organization organized in 1944 representing prac-
tically every Polish Roman Catholic church in the United States, and
every Polish fraternal society and many prominent individuals, some
members of that congress and Members of our United States Congress,
and so forth.

Mr. Arens. Mr. Knoll, in view of your knowledge of this propa-
ganda which is hitting people in the United States of ancestry traced
behind the Iron Curtain, and also your intimate association in Polish
circles in this country, what is your own personal observations on
the effect of this redef ection program on people of Polish ancestry ?

Mr. Knoll. I would say that from my observation and association
with these organizations during the past 30 or 35 years, the consensus
of opinion among the leading Americans of Polish descent is that it
has very little effect upon the people who migrated from the central
European countries prior to World War I. They have become assimi-
lated and they are now probably enjoying second, and third, and even
fourth generations of people from that part of Europe.

However, we feel that people who migrated to the United States
subsequent to World War I and prior to World War II — those who
came over here and probably were present during the time that Hitler
arose to power and also the present Soviet regime — they have difficul-
ties back in the country both in the Ukraine and in the Baltic States,
and especially in Poland and Lithuania, and they fear for those peo-
ple residing in those countries.

On the other hand, we also feel that possibly the 200,000 displaced
persons who were granted asylum in the United States by virtue of
the displaced persons law

Mr. Arens. I think that you will find it is about 400,000.

Mr. Knoll. The law I think, the quota was 305,000, and then I
think it was amended and probably that might be a better figure.
That is, the figure you gave.

I was taking it from the observation that I had some time ago. But
whatever the number is, the concern is about the displaced person,
and the effect upon these people. When they receive a letter and es-
pecially speaking from the post-office situation and experience, they
protest the reception of these letters. Their fear is not alleviated by
the fact that they have relatives, but it can also be safely assumed that
when they get these letters they worry about their position in the
United States because they have to live up to certain requirements as
displaced persons.

They have to register under the Alien Registration Act, and they
are also here by virtue of the fact that someone sponsored them in this
country and someone put a bond up for them and they have to act in
such a way that their actions are compatible with livino; in this coun-
try and they fear that by just simply receiving this information and
a letter, especially if first-class mail, it might reflect upon their
behavior in this country.

Also, they think it might have something to do with the possibility
of deporting them. That arises, we think in the minds of most of the
displaced persons, and they have as a whole, in the past 3 or 4 years,
been gradually getting into our way of life.

Mr. Kearney. I dislike to interrupt, but just pardon me for a
moment. Do I understand you to mean that these displaced persons
in this country upon the receipt of this first-class mail fear not only

4716 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

for tlieir relatives back home, but they also fear that Americans might
look with suspicion upon them?

Mr. Knoll. That is in substance correct.

Mr. Kearney. They have 2 years ?

Mr. Knoll. They have 2 years ; yes. They fear that their position
in the United States could become insecure.

The Chairman. In that connection, you might be interested in
knowing that many thousands of these people came to the United
States on papers that were fraudulent. They swore that they were
born in countries other than the places of their birth, because they
feared forcible repatriation. As a matter of fact, I have a bill in the
Senate right now, if they will act on it, that will cure that situation.

When we were writing the basic immigration law, we thought we
were making it abundantly clear that the Attorney General had the
discretionary power to regard as not being important misrepresenta-
tions as to the place of birth, or not being material. However, many
of these people, you see, greeted the Nazis as liberators. When the
Germans invaded Russia, they greeted them as liberators, and many
of them joined the German Army. I was in one of the camps in
Salzburg and I talked with some of these people. A Russian repatri-
ation team came while I was there. This Russian colonel said, "These
people have much to answer for when they get back."

They realize that.

Mr. IvNOLL. That is what the amnesty which they declare in some of
their publications is directed to, and which was supposedly passed by
the Presidium in the Soviet Union. They say all is forgiven. Espe-
cially, those who worked in the Nazi concentration camps. They
were even in the German Army. They proposed to relieve them of
any penalty or punishment by virtue of their position in the concen-
tration camps.

The Chairman. These same people are confronted with a dilemma
of going on and not being citizens, and committing perjury again as
to their place of birth when they apply for citizenship and telling the
truth and then being confronted with the possibility of deportation.

Mr. Arens. I think the record at this point ought to reflect the fact
that the Immigration and Nationality Act contains for the first
time in the history of this Nation a specific provision that no one can
be forcibly deported to a country in which it is found he would be
subjected to physical persecution.

The Chairman. We wrote that out in the inequities of the Walter-
McCarran Act.

Mr. Knoll. Tliat is not Icnown to all of these people.

Mr. Arens. Do you have information respecting advertisements in
periodicals in the United States which have gone through the mails
urging people to return to the Soviet-dominated countries ?

Mr. Knoll. I have seen advertisements, but I speak regarding
that as a personal matter. I have seen them, but I do not speak of it
in the Post Office Department.

May I continue for a moment. Along with the discussion that I
just had regarding the Displaced Persons Act, I have a letter here
which I think would be of interest to the members of the committee
from a group of displaced persons. I would like, if I may, to read
this letter, bearing date of June 8, 1956.

This letter came from a group of people in the State of New Jereey.
We have deleted the town so that there would be no reflection upon
any of these subjects in that territory. With your permission, I will
read this letter.

INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4717

It is kind of broken up as far as the English is concerned, but never-
theless, this is the context :

"We, the displaced persons, been getting by the mail Communist propaganda
here in five different languages, Estonian, Latvian, Litovenian, Ukrainian, and
Hungarian languages send here by mail from East Berlin in Germany ; this
propaganda started in 1955 all from East Berlin, first when the started with
small sheets now the mailing large printed sheets over every other month
calling us back, it is our duty be back in your own country, and it is your perma-
nent place to be in, we shorten the working hours and raise the pay 30 percent,
don't slave there the don't want you there where you are now slaving your
life out.

"We are very sorry we could not give our names and addresses in this
letter ; we are in fear of danger same as five Russian seamen been kidnaped
from liere, most of us are as citizen now, only small part old people not citizens
at present time, all we ask you kindly to stop the propaganda mail coming over
so we can live peasfuly ; we dont want their propaganda here and we dont want
to be victims.

"Enclose herewith few printed propagandas to you to see what kind mail is
coming over, this propaganda is in Estonia language, the last one received
here early in May this year."
"Respectfully yours,

"One of the Victim."

Mr. Arens. Would you make it clear what that letter is, Mr. Knoll?
I do not believe our record is absolutely clear on it.

Mr. Knoll. This letter was sent to the Post Office Department as
late as last Friday, and enclosed some of the Homeland propaganda
which I think 5 or 6 displaced persons received. This is their protest.

Mr. Arens. Before we proceed any further, may I ask Mr. Hor-
vath — who has heretofore on this record identified himself and his
occupation in the Government — do you have an intimate contact
with the Czech people in this country through the various Czech or-
ganizations ?

Mr. HoRVATH. Not so much, sir ; but going through the publications,
the Czech publications, especially this one, the Voice of Home, which
is issued by the committee for the protection of persons who, according
to this, shall return to Czechoslovakia, issued from Prague. This not
only delves into this question, hoping that all of these escapees shall
return, and they promise them everything in the world, as these other
gentlemen mentioned.

They are also very much anti-American, this particular issue, in all
other phases. I could give you an example. They twist the words of
Radio Free Europe, and they claim they are getting panicky, and their
lies are not being listened to by the people because the Czechs and the
Slovaks, as being intelligent, are undermined, and then they quote
statements from the various letters which after reading this type of
letter so many times, you can practically see that they are just children
in some respects.

Mr. Arens. Are you in a position to give the committee your reac-
tion to this Homeland program on people of the Czech nationality in
the United States?

Mr. HoRVATH. I would say anyone who was young, and by that, I
mean, let us say, a minor, under 21, would be very much affected by
this, because first of all, you must admit that the very fact that he
escaped, he would be classified as being adventurous. He knew what
he wanted to do.

However, he could be affected because again all of these things, if he
left someone behind on the other side very close to him — and these
people surely go into that very deeply and try to emphasize the fact
that they should be with their families and with their wives and chil-

47 J 8 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAG.\NDA IN U. S.

dren and so on— lie could easily be influenced and without much ado
would probably go back again and defect from our side,

Mr. Arens. You feel there is a definite prospect that the youngsters
of the Czech race in this country would be induced by this literature to
return to Czechoslovakia ?

Mr. HoRVATH. Yes, and there is another thing, that I would like to
point out. Our neighbors in Canada, although we may not be inter-
ested in this very much, but this bears on my statement, many of them
went to Canada. They were unable to come into the United States so
they went to Canada and they have friends here. So, what happens ?

The people here, in America, get this publication and they also keep
in touch with this person in Canada, who usually is a younger
person. They would perhaps send them something, some kind of a
publication bearing on this thing which these people being in Canada
are all alone, and they have no relatives, and nobody there. In other
words, it would seem an American would not send something like this
over there, but according to the statements in their newspapers they
point out cases where these people from other countries are asking
advice on what to do because they received word from America and
they even tell the names of the cities where they receive these publica-
tions, and so on.

What happens, in that way, is another reason why a thing like this
should be stopped.

Mr. FisHMAN. I think Mr. Horvath is trying to point out that a
lot of this material having been received in the United States by
people of Czechoslovakian origin, have a tendency to forward it on
to friends of theirs in Canada, and these people in Canada receiving it
from the United States, take a lot of it for granted and say, "This must
be true, it comes from the United States."

Mr. Arens. May I ask you gentlemen. Have you given thought to
any improvements that you would like to suggest either in the law or in
the procedures to undertake to cope with this situation, besides just
merely exposing it, as we are doing here today for the benefit of the
American people?

Mr. FisHMAN. If I may add my comment on that, or at least make
some explanation of it, I think one of the most significant features of
bringing the matter to the attention of the American public would be
to calm a lot of the fears which now exist among recipients of this
material.

Many of them are unaware of the fact that this is a program, that
it is part of the general propaganda program, but they think it is
something which has been singled out to be sent to them as an indi-
vidual.

We have had many complaints sent to us directly from the recipi-
ents of this material, and some of it has come to us by way of Members
of the Congress and the Senate. In almost ever}^ case, the individual
receiving this mail has asked for advice as to whether he shall move
from the city or change his name, and so on and so forth.

I think by bringing it to the attention of the public as being
part of a general program, that thousands of these things are sent
simultaneously, it would, to some extent, calm the fears of these people,
and perhaps the program itself will die of disinterest.

The Chairman. That is one of the purposes of this series of hear-
ings. We hope that the people of the United States will be made
aware of what this real situation is.

Mr. Kearney. Would not one of the mediums through which this
answer could be made, for instance, be through the Polish American

IXVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S. 4719

Congress, and your Czechoslovakian societies and other societies here
in this country ?

Mr. KxoLL. That would be a very, very strong medium, because in
these organizations they have hirge fraternal societies. For instance,
the Polish National Alliance has a publication which sends out 375,000
papers every 2 weeks. That is an organ publication here in the United
States.

Of course, I think that if they gathered enough material and kept
that in its publication and ran a plan of education so that it would
finally and ultimately reach these people, it would be very very
helpful.

It would alleviate the fears tremendously and undoubtedly keep a
good many of them from defecting.

Mr. Kearney. ]My reason for that thought of opinion was that it
might be better coming from their own people rather than, we will say,
from myself.

^.Ir. KxoLL. I might say this, Congressman, that that is true, but
at the same time I think that if it comes, to a great extent through
the American press and if they are cognizant of the fact that the
United States Congress and especially this committee is desirous of
making this known to these people, it would have a twofold eilect.

It would have a voice with authority speaking here from Congress
itself, and it would have a tremendous effect also.

Mr. Arens. And also, it is the concern of this committee in this
series of hearings that there be established proper control of pass-
ports, and it might be well, would it not, gentlemen, if the Pass-
port Office of the Department of State would be cognizant of the
exposure here today so that the Passport Office would be able to advise
people who might be applying for passports pursuant to this propa-
ganda what they might be up against ?

Mr. KxoLL. I think that that would be very effective.

Mr. Kearney. With particular reference to the section that the
chairman spoke about a while ago.

Mr. Arexs. Is there some further item you would like to bring
before the committee? We do not want to take up your time, but
if you have another item of information on this subject matter, we
would be very happy to have it.

Mr. FisHMAx. I cannot think of anything. I think in response to
the chairman's question this morning, we definitely are planning, or
at least we are attempting to apply the rule he spoke of, having ascer-
tained that several publications are part of a format of a complete
group of five or six thousand such publications, we have tried with-
in the authority we have, to apply the same rule to all of these publi-
cations, without in each case getting the privacy waived.

The Chairmax. I would never advocate winking at the law, but it
certainly seems to me if you were to proceed on that theory, there would
be no one to question the legality of what you did. Certainly, if you
opened a bundle of mail such as was exhibited here this morning, and
it developed it was propaganda material, do you suppose that the
senders of that mail would lodge a protest with the officials?

Mr. FiSHMAN. We doubt that.

The Chairmax. It seems to me, that you should not be required to
be as vigilant in observing the sanctity of a man's castle in this regard
as you would be ordinarily. We are dealing with an extraordinary
situation.

4720 INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA IN U. S.

Mr. Knoll. Could I say this, Mr. Chairman, in response to your
qiiestion as to what could be done : It is only recently that the Post
Office Department has been receiving these letters from the addressees,
and it is from these letters we received from the addressees that we are
able to observe the type of envelope, and the return address and the
postmarks and then to compare them with the type of envelopes in the
bundles we receive in large quantity in tirst-class mail.

That has only occurred within the last few months, and that is the
reason that we are getting at the idea of considering the opening of the
first-class mail in the event that we have reasonable grounds to do so
from our observations of a pattern of letters being received and opened
voluntarily by the addressee, and then sent in to us.

The Chairman. I want to take this opportunity to thank you gen-
tlemen and to say to you that in the judgment of this committee you
are rendering a great patriotic service. It is too bad that more people
do not have the opportunity that you have, to render a service. One
of our great newspapers in this country has recently published a series
of stories in this field.

It is surprising how many people have written to me about this
series of stories, wanting to know whether it is a fact and what we
intend to do about it and so on.

You are excused, with the thanks of the committee and of the
Congress.

Mr. Arens. General Kearney asked me if I would pose this question
to you gentlemen : Do you have any information respecting the ship-
ment into this country of narcotics in comiection with any of this
propaganda work ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. We have had several experiences, or a number of
experiences as a matter of fact, on the west coast.

Mr. Arens. Could you give us just a word about that ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. We found in individual bundles of magazines, for
example, hollowed out spaces into which narcotic preparations have
been concealed.

Mr. Arens. Coming from Red China ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. Coming from China, through Hong Kong. We have
made several dozen seizures, and we think that we may have been
able to elf ectually stop the attempt.

Mr. Arens. May I ask you. Do you have any information respecting
attempted shakedowns, from the standpoint of money, or blackmail
of American citizens of foreign ancestry ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. That was particularly true of the Chinese a number
of months ago.

Mr. Arens, Could you give us an incident or two of that ?

Mr. FiSHMAN. Again, on the west coast there were many instances
of letters being sent asking that money be forwarded to China through
Hong Kong, and otherwise, if not relatives w-ould be harmed and
imprisoned, and so on and so forth.

We had quite a lot of that at one time, but it has also quieted down.
We have attempted wherever we possibly could to confiscate that mail
for examination through the San Francisco unit, and we have detected
quite a bit of it.

The Chairman, Thank you very much, gentlemen, and we certainly
appreciate your cooperation.

(The hearing on the investigation of the entry and dissemination
of foreign propaganda in the United States was recessed subject to
the call of the Chair.)

INDEX

Individuals

Page

Buteneff, Sergei 4694,4699-4700 (testimony)

Fishuiau, Irving 4694—4704 (testimony) ; 4718-4720 (testimony)

Horvatli, Paul 4694,4717-4718 (testimony)

KuoU, Leo G 4694, 4703-4717 (testimony) ; 4719-4720 (testimony)

Makarlof, Major General 4698

Mindel, Saul J 4694, 4704-4706 (testimony)

Organizations

Committee For The Return To The Homeland 4695, 4698, 4700

Polish American Congress 4715, 4718, 4719

Polish National Alliance 4719

United States Government :

Justice Department 4695, 4698

Post Office Department 4694, 4703, 4706

Treasury Department 4694

Customs, iiUreau of 4694, 4695

Publications

For Return to the Homeland 4706

Prague Newsletter 4701

Voice of Home (Prague) 4717

Voice of Homeland, The 4707

Your Country's Calling You 4707

Your Relatives Are Looking For You 4706, 4707

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