SURVEY OF WESTERN EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON EASTERN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNISM

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CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8
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RIPPUB
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K
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20
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November 16, 2016
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March 10, 2000
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1
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Publication Date: 
December 31, 1958
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REPORT
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Approved For Release 200 / /4 C, -RDflBO-01 45Fi000' 0 70001-8 A4 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Senior Research Staff on International Communism Survey of Western European and Japanese Research Activities on Eastern European Affairs and International Communism Reported by (Based on information available as of 31 December 1958) ( If detached from cover page, this report becomes UNCLASSIFIED). --~ `~ OFFICIAL USE ONLY JOB NO. E:445. G1_R-:3. C-HA 1*: U TO: TS S C f'aEXT REVI; Jd't:tM E: qq fUIH: Eire -i0~ `f BOX NO 1 Q;~TE:__ ._? REMEWER J:1~2 FOLDKRpYb`tred afittease 2000/05/23 : CIAtM 0-91 TOTAL [OCS HEREIN _ i 445R0801 Oa OQOJ -8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Survey of Western European and Japanese Research Activities on Soviet-Satellitd Affairs and International Communism The following survey is the result of information obtained during my recent trip through Western Europe and, in particu- lar, from scholars and governmental observers participating in the Bad Aussee Conference on Sino-Soviet problems. 1. WEST GERMANY The Bonn Government is investing an extraordinary amount of money and effort in Eastern European research. It is aware that, owing to recent developments in the Far East, more attention must be paid to Communist China and is now directing scholarly work into that area. In the Soviet and Com- munist fields, however, West German research efforts are un- matched in Europe and a fountainhead of information. Since academic institutions in Germany traditionally are state-sup- ported, one may say. that EE research work, wherever it is done, is also state-supported. From the account of institu- tional work below, it is clear that large sums are being ex- pended for research purposes. The reason for this is, as Bonn officials and German specialists pointed out, that both government and universities firmly believe in the essential function of research for the formulation of policies and defense measures. They also realize that interpretations of Soviet- Communist actions in terms of 19th century power politics are no longer adequate, and therefore they are particularly anxious to explore the problems of Communist ideology in theory and practice which they believe to be the basis for bloc strategy and tactics. Eastern problems are being dealt with in the following organizations: Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 a. Bonn Foreign Ministry The Eastern Affairs Bureau, which was the first to be re-created when the West German Foreign Ministry started working again, has added to its organization an Inter- national Communism Division. Its head is Dr. Boris Meiss- ner, a Soviet scholar of distinction before he joined the Ger- man foreign service and a former member of the OSTEUROPA group (see below, para. e.). He has recently returned from a two-year assignment to the German Embassy in Moscow and is now working in close collaboration with the various Eastern Research institutions and with Sovietologists and Sinologists throughout the Federal Republic. b. East-'West Study Group This group constituted itself informally and un- officially a few months ago. It reputedly enjoys Chancellor Adenauer's personal support. The Chancellor will seek funds for its official establishment as a research institute. As soon as these funds have been approved by Parliament, the group will build up a major research center in Cologne, studying chiefly problems of International Communism. The guiding idea, submitted by Professor Otto Schiller who is a Soviet- ologist and Sinologist of note, is to study these problems not only from the eastern, but also from the western standpoint. The center would undertake comparative studies and also would consider those aspects of Communism which have been rather neglected, for example, sociology in the Communist bloc. c. The Ost Kolleg Another recent creation, the Ost Kolleg (roughly translated Eastern College) is under the sponsorship of the Bonn Ministry of the Interior. It is not a research institute but a high level study center. Students are mature men and women from all the professional fields, such as doctors, Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 lawyers, government officials, teachers, officers, etc. Meeting groups of thirty to forty in a house situated in Co- logne, they are cloistered for one week to concentrate on the complex matter of their curriculum. The most impor- tant aspects of Soviet history, politics and government, economy and ideology are considered in lectures and dis- cussions. Since professors and students live and eat in this house, the utility of the course exceeds the actual lecture program. The Ost Kolleg is managed by a board of ten out- standing scholars, one of whom is the chairman of the insti- tution. This chairmanship rotates each year, while the di- rection of individual (weekly) courses rotates each week. Lecturers are recruited from universities, research insti- tutions, and government. They change for every course. The work continues forty weeks a year, that is, there are forty consecutive courses. The cumulative effect of such instruction cannot help but bear fruit. In time, the entire West German intelligentsia will have been exposed to a cor- rect basic picture of the implications of Soviet power. Oc- casionally, there are specialized courses concentrating on Middle Eastern and Far Eastern problems, but never with- out Soviet references. d. University Institutes for Eastern European Research The largest of these institutes is at the Free Uni- versity of West Berlin under Professor Thalheim.: Con- nected with it is the Berlin Institute of Political Science, which covers the entire range of the EE area, stressing the USSR and. Eastern Germany. Almost as large is the EE In- stitute at the University of Munich, directed by Professor Hans Koch. It is mainly concerned with the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Southeast European satellites are taken care of in a Southeastern European Institute. (Also connected with the University of Munich is an Academy of Political Science which deals with certain aspects of the EE question). The Munich institute publishes a journal for East- Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 ern European Research (Zeitschrift fuer Osteuropakunde) and plans the following publications: a dictionary of quota- tions from Marx to Khrushchev, a Soviet terminological dic- tionary, and six volumes of depositions from former German prisoners of war in the USSR. Three other institutes which enjoy a fine reputation are those connected with the Universities of Tuebinge.n, Giessen, and Marburg. Tuebingen has, in fact, two: Institut fuer Osteuropaeische Geschichte and Landeskunde.(roughly, In- stitute for Eastern. European History and Geography) and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer Osteuropakunde. (roughly, Study Group for Eastern European Research). Marburg has the Herder Institut which is particularly concerned with the af- fairs. of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Baltic countries. All these institutions publish their own periodicals or handbooks. e. Deutsche Gesellschaft finer Osteuropakunde (German Society for Eastern. European Research). This incorporated society, whose. ancestor ante- dates World War II, is a private research organization, making use of all scholars in the field. Situated in Stutt- gart, it is directed by Dr. Klaus Mehnert, and is obviously supported by Federal funds. It publishes four learned mag- azines: Osteuropa (Eastern Europe), now twelve years old; Osteuropa-Recht (Eastern Europe - Law); Osteuropa - Wi,rtschaft (Eastern. Europe - Economy); and Osteuropa- Naturwissenschaft (Eastern. Europe - Science). Apart from these scholarly contributions to the field, Osteuropa, main- ly through the initiative of Mehnert, . has been promoting and stimulating study of $ino-Soviet problems very vigorously and almost certainly must be credited with having initiated many of the projects now in progress. The society also has sponsored or promoted international meetings (Muenster- eifel in 1956, and Bad Aussee, 1958). Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Furthermore, there are a number of less specialized but still pertinent study centers, such as the Berlin Institute for International Law (Max Planck Institut); the Kiel Institute for World Economy, which is notable for its specialized li- brary on Eastern economic matters, and the University of Hamburg, which publishes the Journal of International Law and Diplomacy in four languages. This brief and probably not complete survey demon- strates that EE research in West German academies is highly institutionalized. In contrast to Great Britain's individualized approach, the Germans appear to concentrate their experts in a network of organizations where intellectual cross-fertiliza- tion almost certainly contributes to elevate the standard of research. 2. AUSTRIA Eastern European research was conducted until recent- ly in the university institutes of Vienna, Graz, and Innsbruck. Predominantly, courses of lectures and research activities were offered on philology, geography, history and culture. Current political issues were not in the curriculum. There also existed private research groups, such as the Danube- European Institute and the Research Institute, publishing journals on EE economy, law, geography, and culture. All these activities were more or less academic and of little use to the Austrian government. After the reestab- lishment of Austria's independence, it was decided that re- search in current Eastern affairs was essential. However, great caution had to be taken in approaching and guiding re- search activities, because Austria's neutrality had become the official line of its polities, and government-sponsored research had to avoid the possible accusation by the Eastern bloc of violating neutrality in publishing conclusions unfavor- able to the East. On the other hand, it was recognized that Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Austrian relations with Eastern countries are of great im- portance politically and economically and that knowledge of the East must be disseminated in order to cope with future requirements in those fields. As a result, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ost (roughly, Study Group East) was established, significantly not under the Foreign. Office, but under the Ministry of Education. It was conceived as a roof organization for all Eastern research -4n Austria, more or less controlling activities in the field throughout the country. The AO is supervised by a committee of government officials, and the President is Ministerial Coun- cilor Dr. Alfred Weikert, right-hand man of the Minister of Education, Dr. Drimmel. The first major undertaking of the AO was its sponsorship of the international conference at Bad Aussee; however, its lack of experience and its determination to remain neutral during the conference were demonstrated by the fact that the driving force was the German Osteuropa group of Stuttgart which furnished the chairman and manager of the meeting, Dr. Klaus Mehnert. The Austrian officials stayed on the sidelines: and were content with performing ceremonial and fiscal functions. It remains to be seen to what extent the AO will be guid- ed or impeded - by the government's determination to remain neutral even in academic matters. The organization is hardly more than two years old, and judgment of its activities must be reserved for a later time. 3. GREAT BRITAIN Sino-Soviet research in Britain is not institutionalized. Where it flowers,. it is produced by individual scholars. There is no organization channelling and coordinating re- search activities. There are only certain academic centers where some outstanding experts happen to teach or do re- search, for example in London, Oxford, Birmingham and Glasgow. Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 The University of London's Slavonic School is chiefly concerned with Slavic languages and the history and geography of Eastern Europe. The same University's 'School of Econom- ics and Political Science, which has concerned itself with all the social sciences,-is far more involved in current aspects of the Soviet problem. It is staffed with some outstanding scholars, in the fields of Eastern European politics, govern- ment, and economics. In Oxford, there are congregated in St. ..Atat.ony's College a number of excellent scholars in the fields of both the USSR and Communist China, for example, the historian Seton-Watson, the Far Eastern scholar Hudson, and the expert on Communism, Carew-Hunt. But the research activities remain a matter of individual enterprise and proceed without coordinated planning. There also exists the Central Asian Research Center, collaborating with St. Antony's Both the College and the Center publish excellent journals. Research at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), mainly for governmental purposes, is not geared to any of the study groups, although it makes use of expert opinions. Small groups studying the Eastern European area exist at the Universities of Birmingham and Glasgow, but the research is based on the interests and activities of individual scholars. 4. FRANCE` Specialized institutes for Eastern European studies existed prior to World War I at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), the Institute of Slavic Studies, the National School of Ea.steyn Languaies, and the Library of the Slavic World. After World War II, there was created the Centre d'etudes ?usses de lFda onaion des Science politi ue (Center of Russian Studies of the Foundation for Political Science), d L ea: ng mainly with political questions of Eastern Europe; l'Institut d'etude de 1'ecano.mie soviAique at de 1'e'conomie Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 plannfiee (Institute of Studies of the Soviet and Planning Economy) which, as its title says, has busied itself chiefly with problems of Soviet economic planning and has issued some publications on this subject (1950-1953); Centre des Relations Internationales de la Fondation des Sciences poli- ti ~ (International Relations Center of the Foundation for Political Science) whose section "Eastern Europe" is study- ing the USSR; and the section of "Russian Studies" is attached to the Ecole pratique des Hautes Etud.e,s. Primarily econom- ic, problems are studied in the Institute of Applied Economic Science. Outside. the Sorbonne, there is the Association d? Ludes et d'informations politiques in.ternatior?ales (Association of International Political Studies and Information) which is di- rected by Boris Souvarine, presumably a. private. enterprise supported by White Russians and their. sympathizers. The work of this group is sla_ ted, and it cannot be regarded as an objective research organization. Far more important is the Direction de la Documentation f. :ran ais.e. This institution acts. as a library and archive and works in conjunction with the General Secretariat of the Foreign Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies:. Although not specifically refer-ring to Eastern Europe in its. name, the Direct:,on does undertake Soviet research and pub i 1she s the monthly journal URSS. Souvar:ine's organization publishes the well-known EAST & QUEST review. 5. JAPAN Before the war there were some societies attempting to study Soviet problems: but, according to the Japanese delegates to the Bad Aussee Conference, their work remained inconspic- u.ou.s.. After the war, a new interest in Soviet problems stim- ul.ated the establishment of organizations to study them. Prompted by the conference of Sovietolgists. in Muenstereifel, Germany, in 1956, the Japan In,st,tute was established, and it is c tn.cerned with problems of the entire Sino-Soviet bloc and Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 International Communism. Another even newer institution, the Institute of Soviet Scholars, was created by former Am- bassador Amau and publishes its own magazine. Membership is now seventy; new members must be introduced by two older members. (It appears that this Institute is eager to play a role in international Sovietology and is trying to convoke a conference in Tokyo in the Fall of 1959). Some research is being done by the Association of Japanese Industrialists, but its direction and extent are not clear. There are two organizations whose re-search is political- ly slanted: the Society for the Study of Soviet Problems is al- legedly leftist or even Communist-oriented; the- Continental Problems Research Institute is purported to be -strongly right- ist. Nothing is known about the work of these organizations. However, the impression one gathers in surveying Sino-Soviet research activities in Japan is one of growing interest in this field, probably spurred by the achievements in Sovietology mainly in the US and West Germany. 6. SWEDEN As a neutral state, Sweden has approached Soviet re- search with caution. Nevertheless, there seems to be a lively interest in such aspects as Soviet agriculture. and population, and the activities of CEMA. There is a specific interest in studying the iron ore situation in the bloc. The Swedish gov- ernment does not seem to have undertaken the sponsoring of such research; at this time, the Iron and Steel Federation is backing whatever work is being done. Since- the Federation collaborates with the Swedish Foreign Office, the results of research will be chanelled to the right persons. However, it is possible, as the Swedish observer at the Bad Aussee conference stated, that more official research will be organ- Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 ized; the information obtained at Bad Aussee:.was regarded by the observer as helping his efforts in the preparation of more intensified and better organized work. Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 ANNEX: Sample Curricula of the OST KOLLEG Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Ost - Kollegofthe Bundeszentrale fur Heimatdienst Program of the 17th Study Conference from 20 to 27 November 1958 Chairman: Dr. Ge rtle r Day Time Speaker 20 Nov 16:00 Arrival 18:00 Dr. Gertler, 20:00 Prof. Lieber, B erlin .15: 3 0 Prof. Markert, Tth ingen 11:00 17:00 20:00 D. Lakebrink, K8ln 9:00 Prof. Markert 15:30 Dr. Fetscher, Tubingen 17:00 20:00 Film 20:00 Prof. Thalheim, Berlin Subject Opening Statement Communist Party, State, Society Dialectical and His- torical Materialism I if II Outline of Russian and Soviet History I U II Dialectic thinking and war Outline of Russian and Soviet History III it IV Dialectical and His- torical Materialism III 11 IV Economic System I II III IV 17:00 Stephan Thomas, Satellite system: Bonn Soy. Zone Of. Germany 20:00 Free 9:00 11:00 15:30 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Day Time Speaker .. . Subject 25 Nov 9:00 . Prof. von Mende, Party, State, Society II Dltsseldorf 11:00 15:30 Dr. Boris Meissner, Soviet Theory Bonn ri of the State Soviet Communism and Reform Commun- ism 2 0: 00 Discussion (voluntary) 9:00 Prof. Moebus, Soviet Pedagogy I 11:00 Koblenz if II 15:30 Prof. Hellmann, Transformation of Munster History in the Satel- 17:00 20:00 9:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 Informal lec- tures by Prof. MLbus, Prof. Hellmann, Dr. Wildenmann, Prof. M8bus, Koblenz Final discussion Departure lites ra II -Situation of Interna- tional Communism Soviet Pedagogy III It IV Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Ost - Kolle g of the Bundes.zentrale fttr Heimatdienst Program of the 19th Study Conference from 7 to 13 December 1958 Chairman: Dr. Striedter Day Time Speaker 7 Dec 16:00 Arrival 18:00 Dr. Striedter, Berlin 20:00 Prof. Raupach, Wilhelmshaven 8 9:00 11:00 Dr. Boettcher, Hamburg 15:30 17:00 20:00 9 9:00 11:00 15:30 17:00 Dr. Siehlow, Dortmund Dr. Striedter, Berlin Prof. Philipp, Berlin 'I Prof. Maurach, Md.hchen 20:00 Film 10 9:00 Prof. Philipp Subject Opening statement Soviet economic system I Marxist ideology and planned economy Methods of Commu- nist infiltration Soviet intellectual hi story Outline of Russian= and Soviet history I 11 11 Party, state, society " II (voluntary) Outline of Russian. Soviet hispbry III 11:00 '" '6 IV 15:30 it ft V 17:00 K. H. Theil, Satellite system DUs seldorf 20:00 Free Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Day Time Speaker 11 Dec 9:00 Dr. Wildenmann 11:00 17:00. 15:30 Prof. Lieber, Berlin 20:00 Discussion 9:00 Prof. Lieber 15:30 Informal lec- tures by Lieber, A chminow, Salter 11:00 9:00 Dr. Lakebrink, Kti1n 12:00 Free discussion 14:00 Departure 10:00 Subject Party, state, society III It IV Historical and dialec- tical materialism IF II (voluntary) Historical and dialec- tical materialism III it IV Political- scientific analysis of present controversy with International Commu- nism Values of the Western World it II Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Ost -, Kolleg of the Bundeszentrale fur Heimatdienst K In - Lindenthal Program of the 20th Study Conference from 14 to 20 December 1958 Chairman: Dr. Wildenmann Time Speaker 16:00 Arrival 18:00 Dr. Wildenmann, 20:00 Prof. Schiller, Hohenheim 9:00 Dr. Gurland, Dusseldorf 10:00 11:00 to Discussion 13:00 15:30 to Prof. Schiller 16j15 16:30 to 17:15 17:30 Discussion 20:00 r, 9:00 Prof. Thalheim, Berlin 10:00 11:00 to Discussion 13:00 15:30 to Dr. Br, .ker, 16: 15 Kd1n 16:30 to 17:15 17:30 to Discussion 19:00 20:00 Topic Opening statement Introduction to the Problems of the under- developed countries The consequences of the European Colonial Policy I ra lI The Situation of India rr U Economic policy of the USSR if II The foreign trade of the Soviet Union I ti II Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Day Time Speaker 17 Dec 9:00 to Dr. Klatt, 10:00 London 10: 15 to 11:15 11:30 to Discussion 13:00 15:30 to Dr. Klaus Meh- 16:15 nert, Stuttgart 16:30 to 17:15 17:30 to Discussion 19:00 20:00 Free 9:00 to Dr. Fernau, 10:00 Zurich 10:15 tto 11:15 11:30 to Discussion 13:00 15:30 to Dr. Anthon, 16:15 Mehlem 16:30 to 17:15 17:30 Discussion and 20:00 films 9:00 to Dr. Klatt, 10:00 London 10:05 to Prof. v. Mende, 12:00 Dtts seldorf Topic Soviet economic expan- sion, land reform and collectivization in China The Situation in the Far East IT II The contemporary world of the Islam I fl II The Situation in the Near East I II The applicability of the Soviet model to under developed countries Soviet measures for intellectual influence on the under-developed countries Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Day Time Speaker Topic 19 Dec 12:15 to Discussion 13:00 15:30 to " 19:00 20:00 20 Dec, 9:00 Prof. Bergstraes-Problems and respon- ser, Freiburg sibility of the Occident in a revolutionary world 10:00 it "' II 12:00 Final discussion Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8 Approved For Release 2000/05/23': CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8. Approved For Release 2000/05/23 : CIA-RDP80-01445R000100270001-8