Voices of Freedom Western Interference?: 60 Years of Radio Free Europe

In the clashes between West and East in the Cold War, broadcasters took on a new meaning: unlike traditional print media, radio waves were able to penetrate the Iron Curtain. In May 1951, the American Radio Free Europe (RFE) began broadcasting in Munich. It employed emigrants who, with their programs for their home countries, provided alternative coverage of the country’s political and social situation as well as Western culture. While the socialist states tried to prevent the reception of RFE, for many people in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, the station was one of the few alternative sources of information for decades. Although RFE thus has great significance for the (re) establishment of democracy in Eastern Europe, the history of the station has hardly been explored so far. The contributions in this volume approach the topic from different perspectives. They shed light on the political background and analyze the changing journalistic practice, program content and the reception of the programs. The volume thus presents the current state of research on the subject. It includes contributions by established scientists and younger researchers from Europe and the USA, and memories of contemporary witnesses complete the volume.