BRAINWASHING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R002600130048-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 22, 2002
• Sequence Number: 48
• Content Type: MF

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MEMORANDUM FOR: The Under Secretary of State
The Deputy Secretary of Defense
SUBJECT : Brainwashing
1. I have called two meetings on this subject, the first
on Saturday morning, 28 February, and the second on Tuesday
morning, 3 March. The meetings were attended by
representatives or
the PSB staff, Department of State, Department of Defense, the
Army (Psywar office), the Air Force (PW office), and CIA.
2. The main purpose of the two meetings was to explore
available facts and to obtain I reactions to the
possibility of forming a medical or scientific, or combined
group, to examine the facts and issue a statement regarding
the feasibility of brainwashing procedures.
3. At the 3 March meeting the movie, "Documentary Evidence
of the International Scientific Commission for the Investigation
of U.S. Bacteriological Warfare", was shown with particular
attention to the confessions of the four U.S.A.F. fliers,
Lts. Enoch, Quinn, Niess and O"Neil. There was also some dis-
cussion of the recent confessions of the two Marine Corps fliers,
Col. Schwable and Major Bley. These confessions had been read
over the Peiping radio and we had the transcripts at the meetings.
Since the meetings, it has been established that the confessions
were in fact read and were not, as suggested, tape recordings of
the voices of the two Marine officers.
4. At the end of the second meeting the following points
were agreed upon:
a. ill immediately start to form a
group of doctors, numbering 5 or 6 at the most, and
consisting mainly of Americans but including other
nationalities if desirable. Speed was recognized as
necessary not only in forming the committee, but having
it reach some useful conclusions. Names suggested by
were:
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b. As soon as this group is formed all available
facts will be presented to it including the film, evidence
from the Department of Defense, and names of persons who
have been subjected to brainwashing treatment in China,
such as Hayes, Hunter, and Bryant. Bryant, you may remember,
is the Shanghai lawyer who recently wrote of his experiences
in the "Saturday Evening Post". He is now in this country.
c. An interdepartmental working group was formed
consisting of representatives of PSBI Chairman),
Defense (William Godel), State (Mr. Ritter in Mr. Phillips'
office), and CIA This group will collect all
available facts and prepare itself to service
group when formed. The first report of this working group
is attached.
d. State and Defense will consider an appropriate
statement for release in the near future and make recom-
mendations as to the appropriate person, agency, or depart-
ment to make the release. This statement is attached to
the Report of the working group.
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5. I should like to raise the following additional points for
discussion:
a. Some of the material which might be relevant to
the work of committee may be classified, and
some of it may be highly sensitive. We must determine
who should decide whether or not such material should in
fact be presented.
b. A quick search in CIA shows little scientific
evidence to support brainwashing. There is rather massive
evidence in the form of case reports and circumstantial
evidence which leads to the conclusion that it is not a
difficult matter, given the time, to force almost anyone
to make an inaccurate statement, provided that the time
at which the statement is to be made can be controlled
and the individual is not required to continue his willing-
ness to lie for a long period.
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c. In the light of b., do we want th
committee to consider the length of time for which
brainwashing may be effective? It would seem that the
eyidence on this point is inconclusive and therefore,
long consideration might be required before any answer
could be attempted. I suggest that we eliminate this
point unless it can be determined within a reasonably
short period of time, and I recommend that we adopt
suggestion to continue his committee in being
for the consideration of this subject over an indefinite
term.
ALLEN W. VJLLES
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ADDRESS OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS TO LV L
i ), 1
THE DIRECTOR OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD
WASHINGTON
March 5, 1953
MEMORANDUM
TO: The Honorable Allen W. Dulles,
Director of Central Intelligence
SUBJECT: Report of the Psychological Strategy Board Committee
on "Planning for Psychological Exploitation of
Communist Methods of Indoctrination and Inducing
Confessions."
Attached is the report from the PSB Working Committee on
the indoctrination of U.S. prisoners of war requested by you
at the meeting in CIA on 3 March.
ActPg Director
Tp
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THE DIRECTOR OF a1 SE ::Alllll
PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD
WASHINGTON 25, D. C. PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD
Iv1Ei40RANDUM
T):
SUBJECT :
The Honorable Allen W. Dulles,
Director of Central Intelligence
Report of the Psychological Strategy Board Committee
on "Planning for Psychological Exploitation of Communist
Methods of Indoctrination and Inducing Confessions."
References: a. Letter dated 19 February 1953 signed by
Secretary of Defense on this subject.
b. Proposed initial press release.
c. Background material appended to Secretary of
Defense letter referred in (a).
d. Revised press release attached.
Upon receipt of'Mr. /ilson's letter a Psychological Strategy
Board Working Committee was formed and met on 3 March in CIA with
and members of the Committee. The
minutes of that meeting have been directed to you by F_ I
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The Department of Defense urges an immediate press release
(see reference do attached) on the subject of "The Utilization of
Captured American Personnel as Vehicles of Communist Propaganda."
The Department of Defense urges, in addition, that Mr. Lodge, at
the appropriate time in the United Nations, possibly in April, charge
the enemy with using United States' prisoners of war for propaganda
purposes and demand that U.S. prisoners of war who have confessed
dropping bacteriological warfare bombs in Korea be brought into
neutral territory for permanent internment until the end of hostilities,
For the first 90 days these prisoners of war should undergo medical
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and scientific examination by professional experts and that finally
the findings of these experts be brought before the United Nations
or, after a period of 90 days, the prisoners of war concerned be
brought before the United Nations.
At the last meeting of the PSB Committee, it was agreed that
in the meanwhile will head a carefully selected committee
of medical, psychological and psychiatric experts in order to study
all available data on the subject of confessions of U.S. prisoners
of war, which will be drawn together for xper-ts by the
PSB Committee. report, along with PSB Committee suggested
guidance, will be made available to Mr. Lodge, with the Board's approval,
before April.
The PSB Committee has the following warnings to offer:
1. It is not yet clear from available evidence how much com-
pulsion the U.S. prisoners of war referred to above have undergone
at the hands of their captors in order to lead them into such extrava-
gances of confession.
2. We should be careful not to credit the enemy with a
"miracle-weapon".
3. Because of the two points made above, the PSB staff feels
that the word "menticide" should not be used in reference to this
problem. It is, on the one hand, too strong a word or too
frightening a term for the American public, and on the other hand,
in many quarters the meaning has to be explained. The Committee is
searching for a better catch-word to describe the program.
40 The chances should be carefully weighed that the prisoners of
war might appear before the U.N. and speak their piece exactly as they
do in the Chinese Communist propa?anda films which we have seen.
Recommendations:
The PSB Committee recommends:
1. That an immediate press release, as approved by PSB, be issued
by the Department of Army or higher authority in the Department of
Defense if the Board so decides, charging the enemy with inducing false
confessions from our prisoners of war, and again denying bacteriological
warfare charges against the U.S. by the enemy.
2. That a group of scientists selected by e approved
by the Board to be used as advisers in this problem,
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3. That Mr. Lodge bring up at the United Nations at the
appropriate time charges as specified in the body of this paper,
with PSB guidance.
4. That the background material (reference c.) provided by
the Department of Defense be accepts-d as useful guidance in a
continuing program on this subject.
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CONFIDENTIAL,
PROPOSED INITIAL
PRESS RELEASE
Some American and United Nations soldiers held captive by the
Communists in North Korea are being put through an intensive program
of indoctrination by political commissars in order to persuade them
to accept and support Communist propaganda,
announced todayo
also stated that it is most
important for the American people to know that these efforts are
part and parcel of an intensive campaign on the part of the Communists
to utilize captured American personnel as vehicles of Communist
propaganda. The Communists are using some of these captured American
and United Nations soldiers and their relatives and friends in the
United States and elsewhere as tools of the Communist propaganda
machine.
One aim, he said, is to mobilize the pressure of public opinion
to bear on the United States Government and the United Nations to
accept Communist terms for an armistice in Korea. To achieve this
aim captured American soldiers are induced to include liberal doses
of Communist propaganda in letters to their parents, relatives and
friends.
"Since only letters approved by the Communists are permitted to
leave the camps, these soldiers cannot be blamed for being trapped
by their captors to the extent of including Communist propaganda
in their letters," stated . "Our soldiers
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want to keep in touch with their relatives at home, and their
Communist captors are aware of the strong family ties which
most of these soldiers have."
In addition to letters to relatives and friends, captured American
personnel have appeared on propaganda broadcasts from Radio Peking
beamed to the United States. Propaganda booklets, written by,
or signed by American prisoners have been printed in Peking and
have been mailed to addressees in the United States and elsewhere
in large quantities.
Here the purpose of the Communists is to utilize their captives
in support of their global propaganda drive to blacken the reputation
and standing of the United States and to create disunity, dissension
and confusion in the Free World. Some captured personnel have been
induced ai*e1-eeereed to prepare false "confessions" in a callous
attempt to implicate the United States and United Nations in atrocities
and bacteriological warfare in Korea.
In the camps holding captured American personnel, individual and
group discussions classes and printed material are utilized in a
program of endless repetition of the favorite themes of Communist
propaganda. The Communists are for "Peace"; the United States is
the "Aggressor" in Korea; "the United States 'Imperialists' want to
take over Asia."
Captured American personnel are also fed the standard Communist
line that the United States has carried out biological warfare in
Korea, and having access to no otter information except what their
captors want them to have, some of our men may have accepted these
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charges as true.
If a captured American does succumb to this persuasion after
months of repetition of the charge., he is then asked to write to
his parents, relatives and friends, further spreading the false
propaganda of the Communists.
"The Communists do not accept the idea that a soldier who has
been captured in battle has been removed from the conflict,"
stated. "They have used their own troops
who are held in our POW cages in South Korea for the purpose of
fomenting riots and disorders in an attempt to strengthen their
hand at the truce negotiations."
"They are also attempting to use captured American personnel
who they hold in North Korea for what amounts to another form of
warfare-propaganda warfare against the American people on the
home front."
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