The cultural themed broadcasts by Zygmunt Haupt at Voice of America, 1951–1960

Abstract

The article discusses the cultural themed broadcasts prepared by a Polish emigree writer and painter, Zygmunt Haupt (1907–1975) for Voice of America in a period between 1951 and 1960. The collection of almost 600 works in total is a major part of Haupt’s archive housed at the Special Collection at Stanford University Libraries in California entitled Zygmunt Haupt Papers, 1939–1976. It includes overviews of specific series and details on individual pieces that were focused on literature, music, art, organizations, events and cultural phenomena in the country, and in exile, in Western Europe and the United States. Even though Haupt was an employee of a government agency and was involved in ideological warfare, he was able to use his writing and painting skills to enrich the presented information. In his broadcasts, he imprinted a personal stamp: an attempt to convey to listeners something valuable, universal and non-propagandistic.