THE WORLD PEACE COUNCIL
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP78-00915R000300040001-3
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
S
Document Page Count:
21
Document Creation Date:
November 11, 2016
Document Release Date:
July 9, 1998
Sequence Number:
1
Case Number:
Publication Date:
May 1, 1954
Content Type:
REPORT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. The Role of the WPC . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
C. The WPC's Progress and Current Position . . . . . . . 3
D. Structure of the WPC . .. . . . . . . 4
E. Key Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
F. Chronology of International Peace Meetings . . . . . . 10
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The announcement that the Secretariat of the World Peace Council
(WPC) was moving its headquarters from Prague to Vienna confirmed the
-many recent rumors that such a move had been pending. It is believed
that at least a portion of the Secretariat's work was transferred to
Vienna some months prior to the announcement. For at least 2 months,
certain correspondence of the WPC Secretariat has been datelined
Vienna, even though written on regular WPC printed stationery with the
former address, "Palais Sia Prague," appearing in the letterhead.
There appears to be a real possibility that the Communists
desired to bring the WPC headquarters to Vienna in order to have it
located in close proximity to that of the World Federation of Trade
Unions (WFTU). The activities and the propaganda of these two Communist
organizations have shown themselves to be closely bound together, with
the one backing up or extending the work of the other. To support this
conclusion are the pronouncements of Louis Saillant, Secretary General of
the WFTU, with regard to the large international meeting which the WPC
is currently pushing for 1954. Saillant, reporting to an executive
session of the WFTU at which the proposed meeting sponsored by the WPC
was discussed, had this to say: "The preparation for this Conference
sets special tasks for the WFTU and its affiliated centers, which we
shall work out after the meeting of the Bureau of the World Council of
Peace and within the framework of the working relations already estab-
lished between the Secretariat of the World Council of Peace and the
Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions." There is little
doubt that with both of them located in Vienna, such "relations" will
be facilitated.
Efforts by the Soviet Union to associate itself and its policies
with "peace" have been evident for many years. It was in 1948, however,
that these efforts were accelerated and the "world peace movement"
became a real instrument by which the U.S.S.R. sought to exploit the
universal desire for peace to serve Soviet aims. As a calculated act of
policy, this "peace movement" attempts to confuse "peace" with "peace
on Sov-Let terms." In accordance with an old idea of Lenin's, the
Soviet Union has utilized the "peace" movement to appeal over the heads
of governments to the people. As such, this Communist-directed movement
ranks today as an important member of the growing number of Communist
front organizations reaching into all corners of the world. The whole
trend of policy dictated by the Soviet Union through the WPC and its
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component parts has been designed to foment hatred of the U.S. and doubt
of the value of NATO and belief in its danger as a step to world war,
and so to equate the preservation of peace with support of the Soviet
Union. The aims of the movement have shown themselves to correspond
closely with current tactical developments of Soviet policy. There is
no doubt that the "world peace movement" is under Soviet Oirection.
WPC decisions and resolutions adopted at its meeting in
November 1953 are illustrative of its bondage to Soviet direction. At
this meeting, the WPC sought:
1. Prevention of ratification of the treaties on a European
army and the prevention of German militarism.
2. An end to the arms race, and a ban on atomic, hydrogen, and
bacteriological weapons.
3. An end to the construction of American military bases on
foreign territories.
4. A conference of the Five Great Powers as the most effective
weapon for lessening international tension.
An end of the Indochina war and a solution of the Korean
problem.
6. Admission of Red China into the U.N.
The position and line followed by the WPC were also illustrated
in speeches by Joliot-Curie, President of the WPC: "The collaboration
between people of the most diverse views but profoundly interested in
the problem of preserving and stabilizing peace, is growing and strength-
ening .... The guarantee of this is the unshakable solidarity of the
people of good will, the mighty movement of the peoples for peace ....
The Soviet people, vitally interested in the preservation and strength-
ening of peace, wholeheartedly support the acts of the World Peace
Council .... The Soviet people heartily endorse and actively support
the foreign policy of the Soviet Government based on the firm convic-
tion that any controversial questions may be settled by means of mutual
accord between the interested parties."
The U.S., obviously the major target of WPC attack, called forth
the comment: "We have to deal with a strong party possessing practiced
cold war weapons such as those adroitly used by the Psychological
Strategy Board. We constantly have to fight against lies and maneuvers."
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C. The WPC's Progress and Current Position
To carry out the "fight," the Soviets have forged an elaborate
organization and propaganda machine through which the U.S.S.R. can press
its "peace. tactics" in support of its overall policies. Through the
World Peace Council, the international center of the movement, and through
national networks or "transmission belts," to use the Communists' own
terminology, the Soviets have successfully reached a great number of
people. Not only have national peace committees been set up under the
WPC in various countries, but other Communist fronts (such as the WFTU,
World Federation of Democratic Youth, Women's International Democratic
Federation, etc.) support and disseminate the "peace line" as put forth
by the center of the movement. In Austria, for example, the Austrian
Peace Council is the national branch of the worldwide "peace movement."
At the same time, all major Communist front organizations echo and
adjust their policies and resolutions to the established "peace line."
The WPC has appeared increasingly eager to capture non-Communists
and expose them to meetings of the WPC or to a World Peace Congress where
"peace" propaganda can be drummed into their heads. The WPC has had some
success in this endeavor, particularly with regard to persons from the
Middle East, who have taken sentiments of neutralism home with them.
The WPC, like the WFTU, has displayed a keen interest in the colonial and
semicolonial areas of the world. Prior to a Council meeting or the con-
vening of a Congress, the WPC seeks to create great enthusiasm and agita-
tion in various countries, and the local national branches, as well as the
national mass organizations, generally whip up propaganda to support
interest in the forthcoming meeting. Great attention is paid to the
selection of delegates in the various countries, the trips serving not
only to bolster the international aspects of the movement and to capture
possible leftwing liberals, but also to reward deserving Party members
with an enjoyable junket.
The WPC is currently agitating for a large meeting for 195+ of
all persons who desire a relaxation in international tension--a meeting
"which would make possible a frank exchange of all points of view and
an examination of possible solutions." According to the propaganda
already heralding such a meeting, everyone throughout the world, organi-
zations or individuals, who desires better international relations can
and should take part in this meeting. It has already been mentioned that
the WFTU has adopted a policy in support of this gathering. Other Com-
munist-front organizations will follow.
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D. Structure of the WPC
There are several echelons through which the activities of the
Communist world peace movement--or Partisans of Peace Movement--are
carried.out. The actual headquarters of the movement, however, can
properly be considered to be the Secretariat, which is the only com-
ponent of the movement which is constantly and permanently at work. A
World Peace Congress, which is not a permanent body, is called into
session by the WPC only periodically and only when circumstances seem
to make one appropriate. The purpose of a Congress, in addition to
whatever propaganda value may accrue, is to give the broadest approval
and impetus to decisions and resolutions of the movement. The WPC,
itself, although considered to be a permanent body, meets only periodi-
cally and even its Executive Bureau, ostensibly the policy-making organ,
likewise meets only at various times and in various cities. It is the
WPC Secretariat which is the constant factor in the organization, and
there appears little doubt that the Secretariat, in the last analysis,
controls and disseminates the policy for the overall movement.
The following chart shows the echelons of the World Peace
I Regional Congresses
National Congresses
The above chart shows that at least one permanent regional body
of the WPC has been established. As an outgrowth of the Peking Peace
Congress in the fall of 1952, a permanent liaison body called the Peace
Liaison Committee of Asian and Pacific Regions was set up with headquarters
in Peking.
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The WPC is an important Communist organization, because through
it the U.S.S.R. sets forth and coordinates the "peace line" for all other
Communist-front organizations. It is clear that it is in the Secretariat
that the U.S.S.R. exerts the real measure of itr control. With the ex-
ception of Secretariat personnel, most official;: of the WPC seem to
function in their WPC roles in a capacity secondary to their other Com-
munist ventures and not as a paramount participation in itself. Just
as a World Peace Congress accepts unanimously the resolutions and de-
cisions presented to it by the WPC, so the WPC rubberstamps the resolu-
tions passed to it by the. Executive Bureau which has, in turn, received
the policy guidance from the Secretariat. Between meetings of the WPC
or of its Executive Bureau, it is the Secretariat which is the constant
focal point of the peace movement, in contact not only with "peace
activities" in all parts of the world but also in contact with those
Soviet officials directing the movement. It is the Secretariat which
handles all correspondence, makes the official reports, and services
the meetings of the other components of the movement. The Secretariat
passes on the suitability of delegates to a Congress.
E. Key Personnel
Based on the best evidence available at the beginning of 1954,
the following persons hold WPC positions:
President or Professor Frederic Joliot-Curie
General Chairman (France); he is also President
of the World Federation of Scientific
Workers.
Secretary General Jean Lafitte
(France); member French Communist
Party.
Pietro Nenni (Italy); General
Secretary of PSI; is apparently the
WPC's number two speaker, after
Joliot-Curie.
Gabriel d'Arboussier
(French West Africa); lawyer and
legislator.
Professor John Desmond Bernal
(Britain); is also Vice President
of WFSW; professor of physics,
London University.
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Vice-Chairmen Gen. Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico);
(Continued) former President of Mexico.
Mme. Eugenie Cotton (France);
also President of Women's
International Democratic
Federation; active in other
Communist-front organizations
in France.
Alexander A. Fadeev (U.S.S.R.);
member of Central Committee of
CPSU; author; thought by some to
be principal behind-the-scenes
organizer and manager of the
WPC.
Prof. Leopold Infeld (Poland);
member of Executive Committee of
WFSW; former professor, Toronto
University; professor of physics
Warsaw University.
Kuo Mo-jo (China); member Central
People's Government Council and
Chinese Academy of Sciences; author.
Nils Arthur Lundkvist (Sweden);
poet and author.
Emil Zatopek (Czechoslovakia);
member, Czech Communist Party.
Mme. Branca de Alameido Fialho
(Brazil); President of Brazilian
Women's Federation; Stalin Peace
Prize winner in 1952.
Ilya Grigorievitch Ehrenburg
(U.S.S.R.); author.
Jose Giral (Spain); professor at
National University of Mexico;
former Republican Premier of Spain.
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Executive Bureau Prof. Dharmavir D. Kosambi
(continued) (India); scientist on staff of
Tata Institute, Bombay; mathema-
tician..
Dr. Jan Mukarovsky (or Mukarowski)
(Czech); rector of Charles Univer-
sity, Prague.
Louis Andre Saillant (France);
Secretary General of WFTU; Vice
President of Assoc. France-U.S.S.R.;
President of National Council of
the Resistance.
Mrs. Jessie Street (Australia);
former Australian delegate to
the U.N.
Mao Tun (China); Minister of
Culture (may be Mao Dun or Shen
Jen-ping).
Dr. Walter Friedrich (Germany);.
rector of Humboldt University,
East Berlin; President of Academy
of Sciences; winner of 191+
Nobel Prize in physics.
Mme. Isabelle Rachel Blume
(Belgium); expelled from Belgian
Socialist Party in 1951 for
Communist associations.
Frederick W. Stover (U.S.A.);
President of Iowa Farmers' Union.
Prof. Ikuo Oyama (Japan);
member of House of Councillors;
professor, Waseda University.
Nicolai Semenovich Tikhonov (or
Nikolay Tikonov) (U.S.S.R.);
Deputy Secretary of Soviet Authors'
Association; Deputy of Supreme
Soviet.
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Executive Bureau Dr. Josef Hromadka (Czechoslovakia);
(continued) professor at John Hus University,
Prague.
Antun (Antoine) Tabit (Lebanon);
member CC of Lebanon Communist
Party; moved to Vienna recently.
Jorge Amado (Brazil); former
Communist deputy.
Monica Felton (Britain); a Vice
President of WIDF.
D. N. Pritt (Britain); President
of International Association of
Democratic Lawyers; President of
British Peace Committee.
William Wainwright (Britain);
Organizing Secretary of British
Peace Committee.
Alexei Surkov (U.S.S.R.); editor of
Ogonek.
Maria Rosa Oliver (Argentina).
Bureau members may Ricardo Lombardo (Italy); PSI
possibly include the Deputy and former Minister of
following as well: Transport.
Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew (India);
lawyer and prominent member of
Congress Party.
Li Yi-meng (or Yi-Mang) (China);
economist.
Also referred to as Pierre Cot (France); member of
Bureau members, but Council of IADL; editor of
more uncertain are: Defense of Peace; Progressiste
Deputy.
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Also referred to as Laurent Casanova (France); member
Bureau members, but of Politburo of French Communist
more uncertain are: Party, cultural section.
(continued)
Emilio Sereni (Italy); Senator;
member of CC and directorate of
Italian Communist Party.
Alexander Evodokemovich Korneichuk
(or Aleksandr Korneychuk) (U.S.S.R.);
member of CC of CPSU; author and
dramatist.
Enrico Berlinguer (Italy);
ex-President of WFDY; member of
CC of Italian Communist Party.
Emanuel R. M. d'Astier de la
Vigerie (France); Progressiste
Deputy and former Minister of
Interior; member French National
Peace Committee.
Palamede Borsari (Brazil); civil
engineer (friend of Jorge Amado,
former Communist Deputy).
Rev. John Whittier Darr, Jr.
(U.S.A.); Methodist minister,
New York.
Gilbert de Chambrun (France);
Progressiste Deputy.
Emi Hsaio (or Siao or Tsiao)
(China); member Chinese Communist
Party; poet.
Dr. Georges (or Giorgio) Fenoaltea
(Italy); barrister; member PSI;
on Council of IADL; author.
Panteleimon V. Gulyaev (or Gulyayev,
Goulaiev) (U.S.S.R.); journalist.
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Secretaries Hon. Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu
(continued) (Britain); Communist; zoologist,
author, journalist, film
technician.
William R. T. Gore (Britain);
Communist.
The above thus represents those holding office in the WPC.
The full WPC, however, numbers some 438 persons from 64 different coun-
tries--including over 160 from Western Europe and the U.S.A., 77 from
the Soviet bloc, 68 from Latin America, and 50 from the Far East and
from Africa and the Middle East. Ordinary membership is made up of
National Peace Committees, or "Partisans of Peace" movements in many
countries.
It is evident that official membership seeks to include repre-
sentatives from many geographic areas as well as from other important
Communist front organizations whose activities can also be channeled into
the "peace movement."
With respect to the above list of personnel, it is probable
that the vice-chairmen function as part of the Executive Bureau, but
because of their individual importance or some desire to raise them to
a slightly higher level of distinction, they are set up as "vice-
chairmen." Since many of the "Secretaries" obviously have duties in
other parts of the world apart from their WPC functions, it is doubtful
that many of these actually perform any significant work within the
Secretariat. There is no information available regarding the employees
of the Secretariat who work under the direction of Jean Lafitte.
As noted in the above list, Pierre Cot is editor of the WPC's
publication Defense de la Paix ("Defense of Peace"). This is published
in Paris, not at the former headquarters of the Secretariat at Prague,
and appears in English, German, Russian, and Spanish editions.
F. Chronology of International Peace Meetings*
August 1948, Breslau, Poland--World Congress of Intellectuals
elected a Committee to Defend the Peace and adopted a program to set up
national branches and to organize "peace" meetings.
March 1949, New York--Scientific and Cultural Congress for
World Peace.
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20-25 Aril 1949, Paris and Prague concurrent) --First World
Congress o Defenders of Peace (also called World Congress of Partisans
of Peace.) This Congress defined the organizational structure and the
activities of the World Committee which was intended to: (1) develop
unity between all the organizations that favor peace on national, local,
and international scales, especially the existing and prospective peace
committees in factories, universities, mills, villages, and cities;
(2) to use all forms of propaganda to distribute information and ex-
change of experiences between various countries; (3) to expose under-
takings directed against peace; (4) to mobilize forces in order to put
an end to current attacks against the national independence of peoples
and against democratic liberties; (5) to encourage all collective and
individual activities in favor of peace in the field of culture,
especially by the creation of prizes for the best literary and artistic
works useful in the cause of peace; (6) to prepare for the next Congress
of Peace; (7) to develop the means of propaganda by the publication of
an information organ in various languages; and (8) to enlarge itself by
the co-option of new members which it believed useful.
5-10 September 1949, Mexico City--First Continental Congress
28-31 October 1949, Rome--The World Peace Committee addressed
itself to the legislative bodies of all countries, invited them to dis-
cuss the peace proposals "which express the wishes of peoples everywhere,"
to require their governments to support these proposals and let them
inspire national policies, and to remain faithful to the spirit of the
U.N.O. Charter. These proposals ought to include: immediate and direct
negotiations under international auspices to end the current wars,
especially in Greece, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Malaya; immediate reduc-
tion of armaments and armed forces as well as the outlawing and destruc-
tion of atomic weapons; the conclusion of a Peace Pact between the Great
Powers within the framework of the U.N.O.
15 December 1949, Paris--A Bureau meeting of the Committee of
the World Congress of Defenders of Peace declared that "At this moment,
when the development of the armaments race and the holding of military
conferences confirm the increase of preparations for a new war," the
Committee again addressed itself to all the legislative bodies of the
world in the name of millions of people in 76 countries. It asked these
bodies to support: the cessation of the armaments race through the
reduction of war budgets and armed forces; the ending of the menace of
atomic bombing through the banning of atomic weapons; a cessation of wars
of intervention, especially in Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Malaya; the
cessation of all repression against the defenders of peace, which aims
at breaking the resistance of the people and to give free rein to war
preparations; a cessation of the war of nerves and a re-establishment
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of confidence possible through a Peace Pact between the Great Powers.
It ended with an appeal for support to all the peace-loving populations
of the entire world.
15-19 March 1950, Stockholm--This session of the Committee of
the World Congress of Defenders of Peace issued the "Stockholm Appeal,"
which Communists claim was finally signed by over 600 million people.
The appeal read: "We demand'the absolute banning of the atomic weapon,
arm of terror and mass extermination of populations. We demand the
establishment of strict international control to ensure the implementa-
tion of this banning measure. We consider that any government which
would be first to use the atom weapon against any country whatsoever
would be committing a crime against humanity and should be dealt with as
a war criminal. We call on all men of good will throughout the world
to sign this Appeal."
31 May - 1 June 1950, London--Bureau meeting of the Committee
of the World Congress of'Defenders of Peace. The meeting noted with
satisfaction the success of the Stockholm Appeal campaign, which had
"caused eminent people with the most varied opinions and backgrounds to
become conscious of the terrible danger hovering over the world and to
proclaim the possibility of the people themselves to brush it aside--
the signatures were becoming a force capable of stopping war." The
bureau greeted the representatives of the different faiths and churches
who had taken a position against the atomic weapon, and every initiative
by political figures, trade unionists, scientists, and other intellectuals
to help bring the people into active struggle against war. It approved
the declaration of the International Committee of the Red Cross which
called for the outlawing of the bomb--it believed all who had declared
themselves in favor of the Appeal had made a contribution to peace and
called upon them to intensify and unite their efforts. The bureau
called for friendly competition to broaden the campaign so that every
man and woman in every country should be asked to take a position to-
wards the banning of the bomb before the date of the second World Peace
Congress.
16-18 August 1950, Prague--Bureau meeting of the Committee of
the World Congress of Defenders of Peace. At this meeting an appeal
was issued for the calling of the Second World Peace Congress in England.
Resolutions sent to the U.N. Security Council and all governments, after
detailed criticism of the worsening international situation caused by
the war in Korea, demanded that the conflict be solved by: immediate
cessation of the bombardment of civilian population; cessation of
hostilities; withdrawal of all foreign troops; hearing representatives
from both sides.
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3-5 and 15-18 October 1950, Prague--The Preparatory Committee
.for the Second World Peace Congress. which included the World Committee)
met again in Prague.
16-22 November 1950, Warsaw (scheduled for Sheffield, England
but changed due to visa refusals)--This Congress published wordy pro-
nouncements in the forms of (1) A Manifesto to the Peoples of the World;
(2) Address to the United Nations; (3) Resolution on the Victims of
Repression; (4) Resolution for the Prohibition of Atomic Weapons and
for General Disarmament; (5) Resolution Against War Propaganda;
(6) Resolution on the Strengthening and Development of Economic Rela-
tions Between the Countries; (7) Resolution on the Strengthening and
Development of Cultural Relations Between the Countries (creation of
international scientific associations, organization of scientific
conferences and visits, exchange of scientific literature between
universities and libraries, organization of holiday visits of young
students, tours of orchestras, ballets, films, theater groups, music
festivals, art exhibits, celebration of important dates in history,
literature etc., the development of the "art of translation" in each
country); (8) Resolution on Organization (especially "groups like the
Quakers, World Government groups, adherents of neutrality, and others
seeking to maintain peace"); and (9) Resolution on Finances. The
Congress replaced the World Peace committee by a greatly augmented
World Peace Council.
10-11 January 1951, Geneva--The Bureau of the World Peace
Council (WPC) issued a communique from this meeting in which it noted
the "deep uneasiness that both German rearmament and the rearmament of
Japan had awakened in the world" and had therefore advanced the date of
the plenary WPC conference to 21-24 February 1951, at which the agenda
would include: (1) the application of the decisions of the 2nd World
Peace Congress, and (2) a peaceful solution of the German and Japanese
problems.
21-24 February 1951, Berlin--The plenary WPC conference at Berlin
proved to be one of the most important meetings of the peace movement.
It initiated the Five Power Peace Pact signature campaign in an appeal
to the world to "consider a refusal to meet to conclude such a Pact by
any of the Great Powers, whichever it might be, as evidence of aggres-
sive design on the part of the Government in question." The following
resolutions were adopted: (1) Resolution on Organization and Develop-
ment--asked for a great campaign of enlightenment for which the Secre-
tariat would supply a service of accurate and objective news; decided to
continue relations with neutral and pacific groups (named them); planned
convocations of peoples of those European countries whose governments
have adhered to the Atlantic Pact, together with the German people, to
promote action against the remilitarization of Germany, and the peaceful
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solution of the German problem; planned a conference of the peoples of
Asia and the Pacific to promote the struggle against Japanese rearmament
and to organize that area; and planned regional conferences in Near
East-North Africa, Scandinavia, North and Latin America, an Economic
Conference to be held in Moscow, a medical conference to be held in Italy,
conferences of writers, teachers, scientists, film producers, and a
World Youth Festival to be held in Berlin in August 1951 (all of which
subsequently were faithfully carried out); (2) Resolution concerning the
Address to the U.N.O.. (The U.N. having failed to reply to this Address,
the WPC resolved to despatch delegations from every country to that
organization); (3) Resolution on the Peaceful Solution of the German
Problem; (i) Resolution on the Peaceful Solution of the Japanese Problem;
(5) Resolution on the Decision of the U.N. Wrongfully Naming China as an
"Aggressor" in Korea; (6) Resolution on a Peaceful Solution of the Korean
Conflict; (7) Resolution on the Fight for Peace in the Colonial and
Dependent Countries; and (8) Resolution on the International Peace Prizes
(in which is set up a Peace Prize Jury.)
5-8 May 1951, Copenhagen--WPC Bureau meeting. Resolutions
reiterated need for Five Power Peace Pact.
20-23 July 1951, Helsinki--Bureau WPC meeting took credit for
the "cease-fire" in Korea, claiming "this has shown that negotiation is
a better means of regulating disputes and ending strife than war ...
events have proved that the vigilance of public opinion is essential
if the spirit of negotiation is to prevail ... ." However, the breaking
off of the Foreign Ministers' Conference was deplored, as were the "setting
up of military formations in Germany and Japan which alarms their neigh-
bors," and bitter new conflicts spreading in the Near East. After more
criticism of the U.N., resolutions were passed regarding the proposed
Moscow Economic Conference and Conference of North Africa, Near and Middle
East Countries.
1-5 November 1951, Vienna Plenary WPC Conference reported
phenomenal success for the Stockholm Appeal signature campaign and in-
jected a new element in a demand for Four Power negotiation on the
German question. The Conference repeated the call for regional peace
conferences in Latin America, the Scandinavian countries, the Middle
East, and the Far East. It also called for "vacations for peace" among
students and the celebration of "great cultural anniversaries in the
service of peace" (all of which have been carried out).
10 March 1952, Montevideo, Uruguay--Second Continental Peace
Conference had been announced for various Latin American cities and
often postponed, but the Communists finally tried to salvage the situa-
tion by arranging. small private meetings throughout the city, in spite
of the Uruguayan Government's refusal to permit public assembly. However,
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Communist propaganda publicized its pronouncements upon the determination
to fight against any Latin American troops for Korea and the sacrifice of
Latin American youth and wealth to U.S. "war politics," and to foster
economic, scientific, and cultural exchange between Latin America and the
People's Democracies.
29 March - 1 April 1952, Oslo, Norway--Executive Committee
meeting held in extreme secrecy. The meeting signed an Appeal Against
Bacteriological Warfare.
3-10 April 1952, Moscow--The Moscow Economic Conference reached
the following conclusions: Disturbance of international relations has
been entirely due to artifical action intended to hamper trade between
various nations. European east-west trade was on the verge of destruc-
tion because of obstacles restricting trade. Expansion of trade would
improve the exploitation of economic resources and would improve living
standards. All those present should advise businessmen, scientists,
technicians, and labor and consumer unions to support the plan for im-
proving trade and to endeavor to remove obstacles which prevent its
carrying out. Resolutions concerned identical conferences which should
be called by governments of each nation; the establishment of a com-
mittee for the development and promotion of international trade; the
establishment of an Information Committee to report on the results of the
Moscow Conference through the publication of periodicals; and the
preparation of a 2nd International Economic Conference--setting a "line"
on East-West trade which has increasingly been stressed.
9-12 May 1952, Zagorsk (near Moscow)--The peace conference of the
churches and religious organizations of the U.S.S.R. was hailed by Mos-
cow as the first occasion in history to bring Christians, Jews, Moslems,
and Buddhists together in common purpose and was suspected of being an
incipient organization of an international church front for peace. This
was implied in the attendance of both Catholics and Protestants from a
few Western countries and in the words of one of the speakers, who de-
clared, "the time has come for a world congress of religious leaders of
all countries to discuss the defense of peace."
13-15 June 1952, Hamburg and Odense, Denmark (visa problems)--
International Conference for the Peaceful Solution of the German Problem.
The WPC attempted to keep well in the background of these conferences,
but these meetings have regularly been attended by prominent WPC mem-
bers and other Communists. Designed to re-awaken the innate French fear
of German rearmament and. to bring pressure on national parliaments
against EDC ratification, the meetings have been attended by "intel-
lectuals" from the countries surrounding Germany--France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Holland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Italy, Sweden,
Norway, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, and England.
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21 June 1952, Helsinki--Executive Committee meeting which was
largely concerned with preparations for a plenary WPC session in July.
1-6 July 1952, Berlin--WPC plenary conference at which 30 of
the more than 100 speakers took up 22 days talking about the need to
mobilize public opinion against the ratification of the German Con-
tractual Agreements. The Conference issued an Appeal for the Convoca-
tion of a Congress of the Peoples for Peace; an Address to the Govern-
ments of the Four Great Powers and to All Peoples on the German Problem;
a Resolution Against Japanese Remilitarization and for a Democratic
Japan; a Resolution on the Cessation of the Korean War; and a Ratifica-
tion of the Oslo Appeal Against Bacteriological Warfare.
27-28 July 1952, Maessjoe, Sweden (near Stockholm)--Nordic
Peace Conference.
2-12 October 1952, Peiping, China--Asian and Pacific Peace
Conference. The seven resolutions of this Congress were keyed to sound
realistic to the Asian mind ana to provide a voice for Asiatic fears and
grievances (i.e., Japanese rearmament, U.S. intervention in Korea,
foreign colonial control, trade-strangling American embargoes). It was
also a training ground for practical Communism where delegates were
shown what they were told was a Communist state in operation. This
Congress set up a Peace Liaison Committee of the Asian and Pacific
Regions.
15-16 November 1952, Oslo--Nordic Labor Conference for Peace.
8-11 November 1952, Berlin--Conference for the Peaceful Solu-
tion of the German Problem.
12-19 December 1952, Vienna--The Congress of the Peoples for
Peace (3d World Congress). This Congress passed three recommendations
and two appeals concerning points of East-West conflicts and tensions
which closely followed the established Soviet line. Major topics
featured in the recommendations were (1) Western defense methods, which
the Congress, of course, viewed as aggressive; (2) policy towards
Germany, Austria, and Japan; (3) the proper functioning of the United
Nations; and (4) the need of immediate cease-fires in areas of open
conflict. The Congress implicitly sponsored the Soviet policy of
fostering unrest and revolt in areas under the control or influence of
the Western Powers, and at the same time recommended relaxation of
Western economic and security measures which operate to the disadvantage
of the Soviet bloc--in short, it merely restated, in propagandistic
terms, the basic aspects of Soviet policy.
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26 April - 2 May 1953, Santiago, Chile--Continental Cultural
Conference. A definite activity of the peace movement, although
unsuccessfully designed to conceal the fact. The Congress urged the
"intellectuals and peoples" of the American continent to treasure their
national cultures and develop them, urged intellectuals to unite and
defend their political and economic rights, and recommended that cultural
leaders of the Five Great Powers meet in a Latin American country for
free discussion of all questions that united or divided them.
23-25 May 1953, Vienna--International Congress of Physicians
for Peace.
24-25 May 1953, Paris--Conference for Peaceful Solution of the
German Problem.
11 June 1953, Berlin--Another Conference for a Peaceful Solution
of the German Problem.
15-20 June 1953, Budapest--Plenary WPC Conference. Called to
"take stock of the present peace situation in the light of the realistic
proposals of the Soviets for settling international tensions," the
Conference reflected the "new look" of Soviet policy. Foreign news-
papermen were invited for the first time. The agenda included: (1) a
demand for negotiations to ease international tensions dealing with
such questions as the Korean armistice (just arrived at), termination
of other wars in progress, solution of the German and Japanese problems,
resumption of international economic and cultural exchange, and the
guarantee of national independence and security; (2) the role and com-
position of the WPC. The latter item occasioned many and long speeches
extolling the victories of the peace movement and exploiting the "co-
existence" theme to the limit. Resolutions passed dealt with the recent
proofs that international disputes may be settled by negotiation and the
duty to facilitate negotiation; the right of peoples to their own way of
life and respect for the way of life of others, making co-existence
entirely feasible; the Korean treaty must be signed at once; all other
wars terminated, supplying arms against liberation movements caused
tension; the Germans have a right to unification; Japan must be given
full sovereignty on the basis of a treaty signed by all interested
countries; peoples can guarantee their security by opposing intervention,
which will end the armaments race and improve standards of living;
economic and cultural exchange without discrimination must be established
between all countries; the U.N. must admit all countries to membership.
Winners of Peace Prizes were announced.
8-10 September 1953, Vienna--WPC Bureau held a "closed" meeting.
8 November 1953, Weimar--Another Conference for the Peaceful
Solution of the German Problem.
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23-28 November 1953, Vienna--WPC Conference "reviewed the
further development of the current campaign aimed at a peaceful settle-
ment of all international problems." At this meeting the Council fell
out of step with Soviet policy by demanding "Five Power peace talks" the
day before Molotov announced his readiness to attend a Four Power
meeting. But the next Bureau meeting (March 1951+, Vienna) put the
Council back on the line with full exploitation of the emotion started
by the hydrogen bomb explosion. The Bureau introduced the possibility
of convening a World Peace Congress in 1951+.
18-19 December 1953, Beirut, Syria--Conference in Defense of
the Rights of the Peoples of the Near and Middle East. After postpone-
ments of conferences announced for Cairo, Tehran, and other Middle East
cities, this conference finally took place in well-guarded secrecy.
Resolutions concentrated on attacking "imperialism" in Iran, Morocco,
Egypt, and Palestine. It is believed to be the first Communist venture
of this sort in the area and may have been preparatory to a larger
conference later.
29-30 December 1953, London--Conference of Teachers for Peace.
20 February 1951+, London--Third annual conference of The Authors'
World Appeal for Peace.
28-30 March 1951. Vienna--The WPC Bureau held an unannounced
meeting a which it passed l a resolution insisting on the need to
reduce armaments, to convoke a Five Power conference, and to adopt the
Soviet plan for "security" put forth at the Berlin Conference of
Ministers; it devoted special attention to the Far East, presenting the
Geneva Conference as "a stage on the way of easing international tension.
and disarmament," demanded unification of Korea with withdrawal of
foreign troops, a cease-fire in Vietnam and negotiations between France
and Vietnam; (2) a statement which called attention to the explosion of
the hydrogen bomb at Bikini and its "fearful effects," demanding a ban on
all types of mass-destruction weapons; (3) and an appeal which called
on the peoples of Europe to "inflict a defeat on the EDC and war."
Pravda and Izvestia later endorsed these pronouncements, which are
undoubtedly intended to serve as guidance for Communist propaganda
before and during the Geneva Conference.
2-6 May 1951-, Peiping--The Secretariat of the Peace Liaison
Committee of the Asian and Pacific Regions--including representatives
of Communist China, the U.S.S.R., the Viet Minh, North Korea, Indonesia,
Burma, India, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, and Chile--concluded a 1+-
day meeting in Peking and issued a statement charging the U.S. with
"intensified encroachment on the national independence of Asian countries"
and hostility "particularly toward the U.S.S.R. and People's China,"
which seriously threatens Asian peace and security.
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23-28 May 1954, Berlin--A plenary WPC conference has been
announced for Berlin, 23-28 May 1954. The conference will presumably
make any adjustments in the line required as a result of events at
Geneva.
20 June 1954, Stockholm--International Conference for the
Easing of World Tensions. The World Peace Council (WPC) has announced
this meeting to various national "peace" affiliates as a plan that it
proposed but which will be carried out by "numerous political, pacifist,
religious, cultural, and economic personalities and organizations never
before in contact with the WPC." The emphasis placed on religious and
pacifist groups to be represented at this meeting, with the expressed
object to prevent the ratification of EDC ("war preparation" according
to Communist definition), indicates that that will be the main theme of
the conference. There are several points of similarity between the
preparation of this conference and the April 1952 Moscow Economic
Conference--"peace" groups are being asked to assemble "initiation com-
mittees" from all the mass organizations of their countries; the meeting
will be limited to 250 delegates; these delegates will be divided into
political, cultural, and economic sections in order to facilitate
discussion; and WPC headquarters will appoint a general coordination
committee. Since a major Communist WPC propaganda objective has been
achieved at Geneva (a so-called "Five Power" meeting), it is probable
that East-West trade, a main subject of current Soviet propaganda will
also be stressed. The choice of Stockholm, from where a 1950 WPC meet-
ing launched the Appeal to ban the atomic bomb, as a meeting place for
this conference indicates that the recently begun Communist propaganda
campaign against the hydrogen bomb will be fully exploited in hopes of
wide dissemination.
An Asian Peace Congress has been announced, without a definite
date or place being set, as has a World Congress for 1954, noted above.
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