RFE (Radio Free Europe) Studies and Background Information on Soviet and Communist Orbit Affairs

Munich: Radio Free Europe, 1956. First Edition. . Hardcover. Very Good. 4to. Typescript material in 18 uniform bound volumes from September 1956 to January 1963. Perhaps the last chance to get hold of some of the original material. Funded primarily by Congress through the CIA until 1972, the NCFE maintained a public identity as a private corporation of freedom-loving American citizens. A separate organization, the Crusade for Freedom, was formed in 1950 to promote the NCFE and to raise money for its activities. Radio Free Europe was one of the activities of the National Committee for a Free Europe. RFE initiated broadcasting on July 4, 1950, the first 30 minutes of news, information, and political analysis was sent to Czechoslovakia, to be followed later that year by programs to Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Bulgaria. RFE emerged from the events and criticisms of 1956 a more professional news-gathering, analyzing, and broadcasting service. News broadcasts focused on hard news with commentaries and features identified as such, and morale was high.