Office of the Historian

762A.00/6–0353: Despatch

No. 710
The Embassy in Germany to the Department of State

[Extract]

top secret
No. 3831
Bonn, June 3, 1953.

. . . . . . .

Soviet Zone and East Berlin

. . . . . . .

3. Informing Soviet Zone population of world events.

a.
Subsidies were given to the publisher of a West German technical journal, banned from the Soviet Zone, to facilitate the continued distribution of this magazine to Soviet Zone subscribers. This [Page 1579] magazine keeps Soviet Zone scientists informed about the progress and philosophy of Western science and fills a void in this field which would otherwise be filled by Communist propaganda organs.
b.
Assistance was given to a Frankfurt publisher to facilitate free-of-charge distribution each month, to select residents of the Soviet Zone of Germany, of 2,500 copies of a liberal, pro-Western, political monthly. The magazine helps maintain continuing contact with the population of the Soviet Zone as a means of keeping alive the spark of democratic tradition, the will to resist totalitarianism, and the hope of eventual liberation, which exist among peoples of East Germany. During the period of assistance, special issues were brought out on such subjects as “The West Calls the East,” “East-West Relations,” “Parties, interest groups, and Government,” and “The Constitutional, Political and Administrative Make-up of the Future United Europe.”
c.
Operational costs for the electrical news sign at Potsdamer Platz, West Berlin, were covered by Policy Staff during the period July 1 to September 30, 1952.

Reference is also made to Federal Republic, 2 c and e and 6 b.

4. Maintain Soviet Zone/East Berlin hope for unified democratic Germany in European Community.

Reference is made to Federal Republic, 6 b; Soviet Zone and East Berlin, 3 b.

5. Weaken Soviet-Communist confidence in their ability to maintain or strengthen their position in Soviet Zone/East Berlin, or to use this area as a firm base for operations against the Federal Republic or West Berlin.

Reference is made to Federal Republic, 6 a, d, g, i, and m; Berlin, 1 a and 2 a; and Soviet Zone and East Berlin, 1 a and b.