THE ROLE OF RADIO FREE EUROPE IN THE IRON CURTAIN COUNTRIES: 1956 POZNAN UPRISING AND 1956 HUNGARIAN UPRISING

Abstract

The Cold War expanded with the East-West conflict and led to the battle of the great powers. The Soviet Union believed that communism would achieve a victory all around the world and that Western imperialist powers had been historically hostile towards them, and that the Soviet Union was the leading Socialist/Communist state. Thus, the Soviet Union continued to increase its influence and expansionist policies on the Iron Curtain countries. The Americans, on the other hand, tried to intend for the proper tools to reach the communist world under the leadership of the Soviet Union. A global disagreement emerged in the third world countries and ideological conflicts of two superpowers was experienced in the world. In the conflicts, there was no real military intervention between the United States and the Soviet Union. Instead of this, there had been a struggle of proxy wars conducted over third world countries. Radio was one of the preferences of the United States of America in this struggle. To this end, the Radio Free Europe was designed and used by the United States of America for achieving the political goals on the Iron Curtain countries. Radio Free Europe was used as a weapon against the Soviet Union in order to prevent the Soviet Union from establishing its political domination through communist governments in the Iron Curtain countries. Radio Free Europe, which caused historical events in the Iron Curtain countries, met the information and news demand of the region. In this study, the role of Radio Free Europe in the Iron Curtain countries will be addressed and its effects on the 1956 Poznan Uprising and the 1956 Hungarian Uprising will be examined.