Political Warfare in Helsinki: American Covert Strategy and the Union of Free Eastern European Sportsmen

Abstract

When a group of East European exiles named the Union of Free Eastern European Sportsmen (UFEES) attempted to enter stateless athletes into the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, they executed a deliberate anti-communist manoeuvre. Perhaps more significantly, the UFEES was secretly funded by the U.S. government, a fact which serves to demonstrate the remarkable range of ways in which Washington was able to fund and work with private organisations and individuals in a ‘state-private network’ known only to those who were permitted access to it. This clandestine strategy of ‘political warfare’ was used to wage the Cold War at home and abroad, part of a veritable crusade against the perceived enemy of Soviet-style communism. Academics and contemporary onlookers have tended to view Helsinki as a forum for the Soviet Union's relentless campaign of propaganda which disparaged the West and elevated the Marxism of the East. This article endeavours to paint a different picture of the Helsinki Games, and argues that the U.S. government was also directing its covert political warfare apparatus towards the events in Finland.

Keywords::

• political warfare
• propaganda
• Olympic Games

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the IOC and the International Society of Olympic Historians for grants which contributed to the research for this paper. The author would also like to express gratitude to Katalin Kádár-Lynn, Bob Barney, and Kevin Wamsley for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Notes

^1. Morton, Soviet Sport, 83.

^2. “What Does it Mean” (New York Times, January 8, 1952).

^3. Riordan, “Rewriting Soviet Sports History,” 247–251; Parks, “Verbal Gymnastics,” 27–44.

^4. The notable, but brief, exception to this is in an essay by Barbara Keys. See Keys, “The Early Cold War Olympics, 1952–1960,” 78. For more on American propaganda at Helsinki see Rider, “The Olympic Games and the Secret Cold War,” 124–170.

^5. See for example Hixson, Parting the Curtain and Belmonte, Selling the American Way.

^6. Among the few works that briefly mention the episode are Tikander, “Helsinki,” 143; Guttmann, The Olympics, 89; Guttmann, The Games Must Go On, 122; and Goodhart and Chataway, War Without Weapons, 127.

^7. The U.S. government often used the term ‘political warfare’ synonymously with ‘psychological warfare’. See for instance Mitrovich, Undermining the Kremlin, 8. However, some scholars do argue that there was a difference between the two terms. See for instance Lucas and Mistry, “Illusions of Coherence,” 40–41.

^8. I do not make any claims as to the general coherence or effectiveness of America's covert strategy.

^9. See for instance Howell and Howell, “The 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games,” 187–198.

^10. Edward P. Lilly, “The Development of American Psychological Operations, 1945–1951,” December 19, 1951, United States Declassified Documents Reference System (hereafter referred to as US DDRS) (Woodbridge, CT, 1988), document number 1742, 10–11, 15–34; Barnes, “The Secret Cold War,” 405.

^11. Kennedy and Lucas, “Enduring Freedom,” quote on 312–313; Mistry, “The Case for Political Warfare,” 316–317; Lilly, “The Development of American Psychological Operations, 1945–1951,” 43.

^12. Miscamble, George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947–1950, 106–108.

^13. Policy Planning Staff Memorandum, May 4, 1948, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945–1950: Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1996), 668–669.

^14. Corke, “George Kennan and the Inauguration of Political Warfare,” 108–113. See also “Office of Policy Coordination, 1948–1952” Central Intelligence Agency website, www.foia.cia.gov/ (hereafter referred to as CIA FOIA); Lilly, “The Development of American Psychological Operations, 1945–1951,” 46–48; and Mitrovich, Undermining the Kremlin, 18–21.

^15. The U.S. government's economic recovery plan for Europe (Marshall Plan) dictated that for every American dollar given to Western European countries, these countries matched the amount and 5% of that money was put aside in local currency for the use of the United States. These funds became a bottomless pit for the OPC. See Thomas, The Very Best Men, 40, 63.

^16. “Office of Policy Coordination, 1948–1952.”

^17. Lucas, “Total Culture,” 208. See also Lucas, “Beyond Freedom, Beyond Control,” 53–72; and Lucas, Freedom's War, 1–3.

^18. “Office of Policy Coordination, 1948–1952;” Stoner Saunders, Who Paid the Piper? 96–97; Thomas, The Very Best Men, 62.

^19. Tom Braden, “I'm glad the CIA is ‘immoral’” (Saturday Evening Post, May 20, 1967); “Office of Policy Coordination, 1948–1952.” For more on CIA fronts see for instance Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer; Stoner Saunders, Who Paid the Piper?; and Laville and Wilford, eds., The US Government.

^20. Miscamble, George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947–1950, 182.

^21. Johnson, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, 8–12. For the crucial documents on the formation of the NCFE see “e-dossier No. 32 – Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty,” Cold War International History Project, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/e-dossier-no-32-radio-free-europe-and-radio-liberty. See also Mickelson, America's Other Voice, 17–21; Puddington, Broadcasting Freedom, 7–12.

^22. Collins, “The Free Europe Committee,” 121.

^23. “Memorandum on Organization and Operations,” July 25, 1949, RFE/RL INC. Corporate Records (hereafter referred to as RFE/RL), Box 188, (1) “Free Europe Committee, Inc. General, 1949–1957,” Hoover Institution Archives (hereafter referred to as HA), Stanford University, California.

^24. “New Group Formed to Assist Refugee's” (New York Times, June 2, 1949). Brackets mine.

^25. Leich, “Great Expectations,” 184.

^26. “Outline of the Understanding Between Office of Policy Coordination and National Committee for a Free Europe,” October 4, 1949 in “e-dossier No. 32 – Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty,” Cold War International History Project, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/e-dossier-no-32-radio-free-europe-and-radio-liberty; Miscamble, George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947–1950, 204–205.

^27. Collins, “The Free Europe Committee,” 110.

^28. “Presidents Report” appended to a letter from Whitney H. Shepardson to Allen W. Dulles, April 10, 1953, CIA FOIA; Lucas, Freedom's War, 101–104. For more on the NCFE see the forthcoming edited volume by Kádár-Lynn, The Inauguration of Organized Political Warfare.

^29. Cited in Lucas, Freedom's War, 100. For more on Jackson's role in psychological warfare see Wiesen Cook, “First Comes the Lie,” 42–70.

^30. See for example, “List of Central and Eastern European Exile Organizations with which Free Europe Committee has been or is Cooperating,” appended to letter from John F. Leich to Huston, August 28, 1959, RFE/RL, Box 197, (7) “Free Europe Organizations & Publications,” HA.

^31. Count Anthony Szápáry to Avery Brundage, January 17, 1950, Avery Brundage Collection, 1908–1975 (hereafter referred to as ABC), Box 132, Reel 73, International Centre for Olympic Studies Archives (hereafter referred to as ICOSA), The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Rider, “The Cold War Activities of the Hungarian National Sports Federation.”

^32. Szápáry to Brundage, May 24, 1950, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^33. George Telegdy to John Matthews, no date, C.D. Jackson: Papers, 1931–1967, Series II Time INC. File, 1933–1964, Subseries A. Alphabetical File, 1933–1964, Box 53, (3) “Free Europe Committee, 1960,” Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, KS.

^34. Brundage to Szápáry, 25 January 1950, ABC, Box 132, Reel 73, ICOSA.

^35. A. Gellért to Robert Cutler, April 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA; Peter Zerkowitz to Wright, May 23, 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA; Zerkowitz to Cutler, no date, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^36. “Excerpt from Budapest to Hungarian Desk,” May 9, 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^37. Frank C. Wright Jr. to Daniel Ferris, June 5, 1951, ABC, Box 24, Reel 14, ICOSA; Ferris to Brundage, June 6, 1951, ABC, Box 24, Reel 14, ICOSA. Wright was the Director of Public Relations at the NCFE.

^38. Ferris to Wright, June 6, 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^39. Wright to C.D. Jackson, June 26, 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA. It is unclear how Wright knew of Brundage's opinion on this issue.

^40. Jackson to Brundage, January 30, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA. Italics and parenthesis mine. See International Olympic Committee, Olympic Rules, Article 1 on page 5 and Article 39 on page 18.

^41. George Santelli to Brundage, November 20, 1951, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^42. Szápáry to Brundage, November 13, 1951, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^43. Brundage to Santelli, December 27, 1951, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^44. Brundage to Szápáry, December 27, 1951, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA; “Brundage to Point Out Plight of Refugee Olympic Athletes” (Ironwood Daily Globe, February 8, 1952).

^45. Wright to Jackson, February 4, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^46. Thomas de Márffy-Mantuano to Brundage, June 14, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA. Brundage confirmed the meeting with Márffy in a letter to Szápáry. Brundage told the Count that there had been a discussion “on the subject in which you are interested.” See Brundage to Szápáry, June 18, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^47. This information was drawn from a book written by Márffy's sister, the Countess of Listowel. The book is a personal recollection of their upbringing and struggle under communist rule. It includes the story behind her efforts to get her brother's family out of Hungary after the Second World War. See Listowel, The Golden Tree, 22–25, 50, 53, 62. On Márffy's sporting background see also Márffy to Miller, April 5, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^48. Márffy to Jackson, May 11, 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^49. Rolf Peterson to Count Istvan Revay, December 21, 1951, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^50. “Minutes of the International Olympic Committee 46th Session,” Oslo, February 12–13, 1952, International Olympic Committee Archives (hereafter referred to as IOC Archives), Lausanne, Switzerland.

^51. See for instance Sigfrid Edström to “Members of the IOC Executive Committee,” March 18, 1952, ABC, Box 43, Reel 25, ICOSA.

^52. Notably, Yugoslavia was included despite Tito's split with Stalin in 1948, and East Germany was avoided all together. See Szápáry to Brundage, May 14, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^53. “Draft of the Constitution of the Union of Free Eastern European Sportsmen,” no date (circa 1952), RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^54. Wright to Augustine, February 28, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA; Miller (Assistant to Financial vice-president of the NCFE) to Zerkowitz, March 4, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^55. Otto Mayer to Union of Free Eastern European Sportsmen, May 19, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA. The application was dated May 6, 1952.

^56. Szápáry to Brundage, May 14, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^57. Brundage to John T. McGovern, May 15, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^58. “Exiles of Satellites Ask for Olympics Entry” (New York Times, May 25, 1952).

^59. Cook, “First Comes the Lie,” 52. Miller began his term as NCFE president on March 1, 1952. See “Free Europe Committee Elects New President” (New York Times, January 16, 1952); and Kádár-Lynn, Tibor Eckhardt, 173.

^60. For example see “‘Exiled Sportsmen’ Appeal for Olympic Participation” (The Albuquerque Tribune, May 21, 1952).

^61. “Self-Exiled European Athletes Seek To Compete as a Unit in Olympics” (The Portsmouth Times, June 20, 1952).

^62. “Stella Walsh Still Hopes to Make Olympic Games as ‘Union’ Member” (Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1952).

^63. “Russia Probably Will Skip Olympics, Refugees Avow” (The Charleston Gazette, April 28, 1952).

^64. See for example “Sports to Russians are Completely Political” (The Charleston Gazette, April 30, 1952); Richard B. Walsh to Wilson Compton & John Begg, “Report on 1952 Winter Olympic Games at Oslo, Norway,” April 3, 1952, Record Group 306, Office of Administration, 1952–1955, Box 4, “Private Enterprise Cooperation, 1952–1953,” National Archives, College Park, MD.

^65. Mayer to Union of Free Eastern European Sportsmen, May 19, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^66. Szápáry to Members of the Executive Committee, May 20, 1952, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^67. Zerkowitz to Wright, July 1, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^68. Wright to Miller, July 3, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA; Zerkowitz to Miller, July 10, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^69. “Activities of the Union in connection with the IOC and the Olympic Games in Helsinki,” by Zerkowitz, August 24, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^70. Mayer to Brundage, July 8, 1960, Correspondence of Avery Brundage, 1956–1960, Box 5, IOC Archives.

^71. “IOC Executive Committee Minutes,” Helsinki, July 12, 22–24 and August 2, 1952, in Wolf Lyberg, ed. IOC Executive Committee Minutes, Vol. II (1948–1969), 111.

^72. “Minutes of the International Olympic Committee 47th Session,” Helsinki, July 16, 1952, IOC Archives; “Activities of the Union in connection with the IOC and the Olympic Games in Helsinki,” by Zerkowitz, August 24, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^73. “Olympic Ban Queried” (New York Times, July 20, 1952).

^74. “Activities of the Union in connection with the IOC and the Olympic Games in Helsinki,” by Zerkowitz, August 24, 1952, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^75. Wright to Shepardson, April 6, 1953, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA.

^76. Wright to Yarrow, April 13, 1954, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA; “UFEES Special representative at the IOC Congress, Athens,” no date, RFE/RL, Box 245, (4) “Olympic Games General, 1951–1959,” HA; Márffy to IOC, May 8, 1954, ABC, Box 116, Reel 63, ICOSA.

^77. There is nothing on the issue in the minutes of the Athens Session.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Toby C. Rider

Toby C. Rider, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University, Berks. His current research explores the US government's use of sport in psychological warfare operations during the early Cold War years.