Hot Books in the Cold War : The CIA-Funded Secret Western Book Distribution Program Behind the Iron Curtain

Chapter 17. Letters from Romania Under the Ceauşescu Regime

Chapter 17 Letters from Romania under the Ceauşescu Regime Between July 1956 and December 1959, a total of 97,000 books were mailed to Romania, but only 218 responses with 146 requests for books were received—a rather discouraging result.1 Very few letters arrived during March (22 responses and 28 requests) and April 1963 (21 and 10). Minden reported: “The Rumanian regime’s ongoing reassessment of cultural relations with the West was still affecting the number of responses, and no discernible trend came out of the few letters received in April.”2 In May 1963, the Romanian Academy of Sciences confirmed the receipt of a dictionary and requested six other specialized reference works. In July, 121 responses and 15 requests arrived. Friendly acknowledgements of receipt came from government agencies such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Academy of Sciences, and the State Enterprise for Foreign Trade. Letters from the Cantacuzino Institute of Microbiology, Parasitology, and Epidemiology, and the Ion Mincu Architectural Institute in Bucharest made specific mention of keeping up contacts with the sponsors. Mailings to private individuals seemed to be problematic. A professor who failed to receive a book on twen1   Free Europe Organizations and Publications, Mailing Operations, Monthly Report No. 41, December 1959, 1–2. Courtesy of John P. C. Matthews. 2   Memorandum to the President [FEC] from George C. Minden, April [1963] Highlights, dated May 6, 1963, 3. HIA, RFE/RL Corporate Records, Microfiche Provisional Box 3. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes throughout this chapter originate from this source. i5 Cold War.indb 439 2013.03.04. 13:37 440 Hot Books in the Cold War tieth-century architecture and a catalogue that had been announced asked for details on the shipment, and requested the sponsor to try sending the materials again.3 In August, half of the 31 requests received were in response to an offer of travel books about European cities and countries. By September, still relatively few letters were arriving (38 responses with 30 requests), but there was a growing variety in the kinds of works requested as well as in the category of respondents. One architect, though enthusiastic about the book he received, refused an offer of more books as long as he could not repay the person in whose name the book was sent.4 However, by October, an IAC gift list offer elicited 45 responses for 50 lists mailed, and two Romanian magazines favorably reviewed two French works they had received.5 The number of personal letters increased in November, many of them signed by regime officials. Responses (91) and requests (96) received from Romania were still very modest as compared to Poland (2,700/1,627), Hungary (2,523/1,815), and Czechoslovakia (632/940), but the country was ahead of Bulgaria (63/41). In June 1964, 116 responses and 134 requests were received, and in July, 83 responses and 171 requests came in.6 The Romanian program reached new highs in the second half of the year, with 179 books acknowledged and 294 requested in September, and 98 acknowledged and 149 requested in December. By then, Romania was ahead of Bulgaria, but still far behind the several thousands of acknowledgements and requests received from Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.7 1965 started with more new highs, with 194 books acknowledged and 331 requested in February, and 243 books acknowledged and 439 requested in March. Letters came from all parts of the country: a teacher in Craiova, an architect in Arad, the Artists Union in Galaţi, as well as libraries in Cluj, Timişoara, and Tîrgu Mureş (spelled Târgu Mureş today).8 The number of letters received increased significantly in April 1965, with 403 letters as compared to 226 in March. They 3   July [1963] Highlights, dated August 7, 1963, 1–2. 4  September [1963] Highlights, dated October 4, 1963, 4. 5  October [1963] Highlights, dated November 8, 1963, 2. 6   July [1964] Highlights, dated August 10, 1964, 1. 7  December [1964] Highlights, dated January 11, 1965, 1. 8   February [1965] Highlights, dated March 5, 1965, 6 and 8. i5 Cold War.indb 440 2013.03.04. 13:37 441 Letters from Romania under the Ceauşescu Regime included 272 requests for 668 books, as compared with 144 requests for 439 books in March. Many people and institutions sent in letters and requested books for the first time, and an increasing number of letters...