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The '''Congress for Cultural Freedom''' ('''CCF''') was a [[CIA]] program designed to create an | The '''Congress for Cultural Freedom''' ('''CCF''') was a [[CIA]] program designed to create an an anti-Soviet "left" in the United States of America to serve interests of imperialism. <ref>[https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKcongressCF.htm Congress for Cultural Freedom] by Spartacus Educational</ref><ref>Pullin, E. (2013). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/intelligence-studies-in-britain-and-the-us/culture-of-funding-culture-the-cia-and-the-congress-for-cultural-freedom/6C52FBAFE2C92D03B970C3CFDE68C766 The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom]. In C. Moran & C. Murphy (Eds.), Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography since 1945 (pp. 47-64). Edinburgh University Press.</ref> | ||
When Stalin purged the left and right factions from the party during the late 1920s, the exiles often became vehement and energetic enemies of Communism. The right faction led by Jay Lovestone joined the [[American Federation of Labor]]'s Trade Union committee and worked with the CIA to break up trade unions favorable to communism and cement support for the Marshall Plan in Europe. The left faction, the Trotskyists, principal among them James Burnham, joined the Congress for Cultural Freedom. With a steering Committee at the top and national branches, it was structured like the Comintern. | |||
== History == | |||
CIA involvement was revealed in 1966. | |||
In 1967, the organization was renamed the International Association for Cultural Freedom (IACF) and continued to exist with funding from the [[Ford Foundation]]. It formally disbanded in 1977. | |||
The European Intellectual Mutual Aid Fund began as a CCF front, but in 1991 merged with [[George Soros]]' Open Society Foundation. | |||
From 1951 to 1967, the CCF was chaired by Nicolas Nabokov, whose family of Russian aristocracy fled the Russian Revolution. His first cousin, another aristocratic emigrant, was Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote the pedophilic book Lolita. | |||
== Significance == | |||
The CCF is an example of bourgeois [[Antonio Gramsci#Cultural Hegemony|cultural hegemony]]. | |||
Frances Saunders wrote ''Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War'' about the CIA's use of the CCF and the [[Ford Foundation]].<blockquote>Whether they liked it or not, whether they knew it or not, there were few writers, poets, artists, historians, scientists, or critics in postwar Europe whose names were not in some way linked to this covert enterprise. | |||
- Frances Saunders</blockquote>Ironically, "the CIA was effectively acting as America's Ministry of Culture."<ref name=":0">Frances S. Saunders, ''Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War''. https://archive.org/details/whopaidpiperciac0000saun</ref> (p. 129) Yet their mouthpieces claimed that they were fighting against centralized propaganda. This highlights a contradiction between the bourgeois-democratic ideas of the Cold War West and the increasingly totalitarian reality. | |||
This kind of situation was predicted by [[Stalin's last speech]], where he said the banners of bourgeois-democratic freedom and national sovereignty have been discarded by the Western bourgeois, and must be picked up by the communists.<ref>Stalin, Speech to the 19th Congress of the CPSU. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1952/10/14.htm</ref> | |||
== Links == | == Links == | ||
* [https://archive.org/details/whopaidpiperciac0000saun Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War] by Frances Saunders | |||
* [https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Congress_for_Cultural_Freedom CCF on Military History Wiki] | * [https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Congress_for_Cultural_Freedom CCF on Military History Wiki] | ||
* [[wikipedia:Congress_for_Cultural_Freedom|CCF on English Wikipedia]] | * [[wikipedia:Congress_for_Cultural_Freedom|CCF on English Wikipedia]] | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
<ref>[https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKcongressCF.htm Congress for Cultural Freedom] by Spartacus Educational</ref><ref>Pullin, E. (2013). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/intelligence-studies-in-britain-and-the-us/culture-of-funding-culture-the-cia-and-the-congress-for-cultural-freedom/6C52FBAFE2C92D03B970C3CFDE68C766 The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom]. In C. Moran & C. Murphy (Eds.), Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography since 1945 (pp. 47-64). Edinburgh University Press.</ref> | <ref>[https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKcongressCF.htm Congress for Cultural Freedom] by Spartacus Educational</ref><ref>Pullin, E. (2013). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/intelligence-studies-in-britain-and-the-us/culture-of-funding-culture-the-cia-and-the-congress-for-cultural-freedom/6C52FBAFE2C92D03B970C3CFDE68C766 The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom]. In C. Moran & C. Murphy (Eds.), Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography since 1945 (pp. 47-64). Edinburgh University Press.</ref> | ||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:CIA operations]] | |||
[[Category:Intelligence front groups]] | |||
Latest revision as of 09:58, 8 April 2025
The Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) was a CIA program designed to create an an anti-Soviet "left" in the United States of America to serve interests of imperialism. [1][2]
When Stalin purged the left and right factions from the party during the late 1920s, the exiles often became vehement and energetic enemies of Communism. The right faction led by Jay Lovestone joined the American Federation of Labor's Trade Union committee and worked with the CIA to break up trade unions favorable to communism and cement support for the Marshall Plan in Europe. The left faction, the Trotskyists, principal among them James Burnham, joined the Congress for Cultural Freedom. With a steering Committee at the top and national branches, it was structured like the Comintern.
History[edit | edit source]
CIA involvement was revealed in 1966.
In 1967, the organization was renamed the International Association for Cultural Freedom (IACF) and continued to exist with funding from the Ford Foundation. It formally disbanded in 1977.
The European Intellectual Mutual Aid Fund began as a CCF front, but in 1991 merged with George Soros' Open Society Foundation.
From 1951 to 1967, the CCF was chaired by Nicolas Nabokov, whose family of Russian aristocracy fled the Russian Revolution. His first cousin, another aristocratic emigrant, was Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote the pedophilic book Lolita.
Significance[edit | edit source]
The CCF is an example of bourgeois cultural hegemony.
Frances Saunders wrote Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War about the CIA's use of the CCF and the Ford Foundation.
Whether they liked it or not, whether they knew it or not, there were few writers, poets, artists, historians, scientists, or critics in postwar Europe whose names were not in some way linked to this covert enterprise. - Frances Saunders
Ironically, "the CIA was effectively acting as America's Ministry of Culture."[3] (p. 129) Yet their mouthpieces claimed that they were fighting against centralized propaganda. This highlights a contradiction between the bourgeois-democratic ideas of the Cold War West and the increasingly totalitarian reality.
This kind of situation was predicted by Stalin's last speech, where he said the banners of bourgeois-democratic freedom and national sovereignty have been discarded by the Western bourgeois, and must be picked up by the communists.[4]
Links[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Congress for Cultural Freedom by Spartacus Educational
- ↑ Pullin, E. (2013). The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom. In C. Moran & C. Murphy (Eds.), Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography since 1945 (pp. 47-64). Edinburgh University Press.
- ↑ Frances S. Saunders, Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War. https://archive.org/details/whopaidpiperciac0000saun
- ↑ Stalin, Speech to the 19th Congress of the CPSU. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1952/10/14.htm
- ↑ Congress for Cultural Freedom by Spartacus Educational
- ↑ Pullin, E. (2013). The Culture of Funding Culture: The CIA and the Congress for Cultural Freedom. In C. Moran & C. Murphy (Eds.), Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography since 1945 (pp. 47-64). Edinburgh University Press.