Western Trotskyists and subversive travelling in Soviet Bloc countries, 1956–1989

Abstract

Western Trotskyists have been largely ignored by Cold War historians. This article argues that such implicit dismissal is unwarranted. A number of independent sources point to the importance of their role in the Western contacts with Soviet bloc oppositionists. Their efforts were pioneering, persistent and broad-ranging. Trotskyists were political subversive travelers in the East at a time when very few people were really interested in ‘the other Europe’. Beyond the early years, they continued playing a noticeable role due to their focus on illegal and practical support and particularly on the more risky business of smuggling printing devices to the East, first of all Poland. Finally their engagement was multifaceted. Some Trotskyists became involved in broad and influential trans-political campaigns for the freeing of political prisoners. The impact of their publications ought also to be emphasized: Trotskyists were the driving forces behind the creation of L’Alternative in France, Labour Focus on Eastern Europe in the UK, Gegenstimmen in Austria. If one is interested in Western practical assistance to Soviet bloc dissidents before 1980, then powerful mainstream politicians become almost irrelevant. The main actors were unknown and politically marginal. In that milieu, Trotskyists were among the major actors.