The Iron Curtain isn't Soundproof

Even though the Crusade for Freedom officially ended in 1960, free media advertising by the Advertising Council for Radio Free Europe fund raising continued afterwards. One campaign slogan used by the Advertising Council 1964-1966 was, "The Iron Curtain isn't Soundproof."

The goal of the Radio Free Europe Fund campaign in 1964 was 12 million dollars. Public contributions were to be sent to a post office box in Mr. Vernon, New York. The text of one magazine advertisement included these words:

Try as they will, the Communists can't keep out the voice of Radio Free Europe. Nor can they prevent us hearing what they themselves tell -- and don't tell -- to their captive peoples ... It analyzes what they give out as news, and notes the lies, distortions and omissions ... In effect, RFE has become both their local newspapers, opposition press that nobody can stop them reading -- with their ears. Radio Free Europe is a private American enterprise, supported by voluntary subscriptions."

The 13th annual nationwide fund-raising campaign to support RFE began in January 1965. The stated campaign goal was again 12 million dollars. The national chairman was Crawford Hallock Greenewalt, board chairman of Du Pont Company. Corporate contributions from 59 major industry classifications was the focus of the Radio Free Europe Fund state chairman. Funds were also solicited from general public. 

A 1965 magazine advertisement had a photograph that showed strands of barbed wire with the rhetorical question: "How do you get the truth through?" The answer in the advertisement was:

The Iron Curtain isn't soundproof ... Radio Free Europe is a bridge between two blocks: the captive and the free. Most important: Radio Free Europe -- because it exists and continues to exist -- helps millions hold onto the will for freedom and the drive for freedom ... Whatever you can contribute will mean a great deal to a good many people behind the Iron Curtain.

The theme continued into 1966, including a newspaper and magaziine advertisement with a photograph of a young girl standing behind strands of barbed wire. The caption read: "She can't come to you for the truth but you can reach her."  The text began with: "The truth can become a precious thing to a young mind in a closed country." The advertisement continued with a letter from a "young woman" in "Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia:

            Dear Friends.

I began listening to your broadcasts when I was a small child.

Today I am 22.

And for most of what I know about the world, I have to thank Radio Free Europe.

The text concluded with, “Radio Free Europe gets the truth through ... And because of it, a great many young, and older people alike, have a great many reasons to go on living. The Iron Curtain isn't soundproof.”

A 1965 one-minute television advertisement for Radio Free Europe was entitled "The Iron Curtain isn't Soundproof" and can be viewed below:

Sofia Conference and Exhibition on Radio Free Europe

There was a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria on Friday, 11 November 2011, as part of the celebration of Radio Free Europe's first Bulgarian language news program broadcast from Munich, which took place on 17 October 1951. Some ex-RFE Bulgarian Service staffers gave short presentations about their experiences at RFE.

Additionally, an exhibition "The Ether War" opened the same day at the Museum of the Ministry of Interior and contains a wealth of information and photographs and documents not only of the Bulgarian Service of Radio Free Europe but also showing some of the other services affected by the "Ether War." Included also were photos and information about the Free Europe Press balloon/leaflet programs, espionage cases and propaganda attacks affecting RFE, and the bomb attack in February 1981. The exhibition runs to the end of the year.

Personalities and details of the Crusade for Freedom in the USA in the 1950s also were prominently displayed:

Gilda Koeves (Karoly) was one of the first employees of the Bulgarian Service news section in Munich in 1951. Gilda later was popular not only in Bulgaria for her music and cultural programs, but also in other countries behind the Iron Curtain, where RFE could be heard. For RFE, she interviewed Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Ray Charles, among other music legends. At left, she is seen in the 1970s interviewing famed singer Tom Jones, who coincidentally gave a concert for the first in time in Bulgaria on 18 November 2011 in Sofia.  

Below is a quick look into the exhibition area.

The conference and exhibition were organized by Bulgaria’s State Archive Agency, the Secret Files Commission, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Sofia University, the Cold War Research Group Bulgaria, and the National Polytechnic Museum.