The Cold War – Page 11 – Old Magazine Articles

J. Edgar Hoover on the CPUSA
(Coronet Magazine, 1950)

This Cold War article about the American Communist Party (CPUSA), penned in 1950 by F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover (1895 – 1972) was published for two reasons:

• To alert the readers that such subversive groups exist and that they are operated by their fellow Americans who take orders from Joseph Stalin –

• and that the F.B.I. is on the job and has thoroughly infiltrated their ranks and watches them very closely.

The column is a good read for all of you out there who enjoy the cloak and dagger type of plot lines; I was surprised to learn that this group had so many secrets to hide – seeing that their problems in the arena of public relations at that time were so overwhelming, one has to wonder how they were actually able to tend to their assignments in espionage, sabotage, propaganda and all other assorted shenanigans Moscow expected of them.

Click here to read about the man who spied on the the American Communist Party.

Click here if you would like to read what the CPUSA was up to during the Great Depression.

In time, J. Edgar Hoover’s prestige began to fade…

The Two Korean Armies Compared
(Dept. of the Army, 1956)

This single page analysis of the North Korean People’s Army and the Army of South Korea will clue you in pretty quickly as to why President Truman hastened to get the necessary beans, bullets and band-aids delivered to the South as quickly as he did. This comparison, written by the U.S. Army History Section, clearly indicates that the North Korean force was intended to be an offensive army; well-equipped and fast-a-foot; the army of the South, by comparison, was intended (for some unexplained reason) to fight limited engagements – rather than prolonged, corps sized campaigns.

It was no surprise to the assorted military insiders of the world when the South Korean capital of Seoul was seized three days into the war.

The 1952 Election and the War in Korea
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

By the time November of 1952 rolled around the Korean War was in stalemate; this made the 1952 election one that was about progress as the American voters looked for a candidate who could make sound decisions and offer a leadership that would take the country (and the war) in a better direction. Neither candidate was looking for a victory in Korea, both campaigned on finding a peace. When President Truman taunted Eisenhower to come forward with any plan he had for peace in Korea it resulted in the retired general standing before the microphones and uttering pensively: I will go to Korea. The electorate was at once reminded as to how trusted he had been in the past and Eisenhower was elected, carrying 41 states and receiving nearly 58 percent of the popular vote.

More on the 1952 presidential election can be read here…

The 1952 Election and the War in Korea
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

More on the 1952 presidential election can be read here…

Two Important Rivers in the Cold War Struggle
(Collier’s Magazine, 1952)

Two continents apart, the Yalu and the Rhine wind down to the sea. But in the continuing struggle of freedom against Communism, they share the common roll of destiny.

Of the two rivers, perhaps the Yalu is of more immediate concern, for behind its 500 miles of coursing waters stand the bulk of the Red forces under Red China chief Mao Tse-tung… Few people had heard of the Yalu until the Korean War began. But it gained world-wide prominence in November, 1950, when 200,000 Chinese Reds came pouring across its bridges to aid the North Koreans as they retreated before UN troops…

A Spy Within the CPUSA
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)

These seven paragraphs from THE PATHFINDER magazine served to introduce their readers to Herbert Philbrick (1915 – 1993) and his efforts to expose the subversive elements within the Communist Party U.S.A..

For nine years Philbrick labored as an F.B.I. mole deep within the Cambridge Youth Council, the Young Communist League and the CPUSA until he made good his resignation by serving as a surprise government witness at a conspiracy trial in which numerous high profile American Reds were indicted (among them William Z. Foster, Eugene Dennis, Robert George Thompson, Gus Hall, Henry Winston, and ex-New York councilmember Benjamin Davis).

Highlights of Soviet Espionage: 1949 – 1953
(People Today, 1953)

Well-illustrated, pithy and informative, this article will get you up to speed on some of the espionage triumphs of the Soviet GRU (the military intelligence arm of the former worker’s paradise). The article refers to where their agents trained before their American and Canadian deployments, what they were taught, and how big the GRU was. Of even greater interest were the parts of the article that referred to their Atomic spies and the variety of traitors and turncoats they were able to attract.

The Steineck Spy Camera
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)

Additional magazine and newspaper articles about Cold War spies can be read on this page. KEY WORDS: Steineck ABC Wrist

Did Stalin Want the U.S. to Recognize China?
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)

Felix Morley (1894 – 1982), one of the senior Washington columnists in the early Cold War era, summarized the various concerns involved in the diplomatic recognition of Communist China as well as the surprising issue as to whether or not it was what the Soviet Premiere actually preferred at the time?

There is good reason to believe that the Communist high command in Moscow does not want us to recognize the new Communist government of China

But in recent years we have mixed up diplomatic recognition and moral approval. The absurd result is that we recognize Russia and not Spain, and are at present opposed to recognizing China even though we fear that may be cutting off our nose to spite Stalin’s face.

The Most Powerfull Men in Cold War Washington
(’47 Magazine)

A former player and long-time watcher of the Washington power-game, James Watson Gerard (1867 – 1951) – he was known to have kept a list throughout the decades leading up to his death, of all those Washington insiders who wielded the greatest influence in that burg. Well-heeled journalist, John Gunther (1901 – 1970), managed to catch up with him and his 1947 list, which was comprised of 64 names – some of the names had been on his list for decades (such as W.R. Hearst and Colonel Robert McCormick) others were appearing for the first time (George Gallup and Clark Clifford).

Click here to read about the men BEHIND these men…

Click here to read Ambassador Gerard’s list of the most powerful men in Depression-era Washington (non of them were elected)…

‘Don’t Count on Germany to Fight”
(Collier’s Magazine, 1951)

Not too long after the end of World War II, the French, British and Americans found that they had to assemble a coalition of nations (NATO) that would be willing to fight the Soviets for what was believed to be an even bigger rumble in the future – but after losing two enormous wars, West Germany refused to join.

The Problem with Loyalty Oaths
(’48 Magazine, 1948)

On the twenty-first of March, 1947, President Harry Truman signed into law Executive Order 9835 which was intended to remove communists and their assorted apologists from working in the Federal Government.

Unfortunately the President hadn’t issued a working definition as to what was loyal and what was disloyal and the results of the decree were predictable. The attached editorial was penned by a seasoned Washington journalist who had collected an agglomeration of anecdotal evidence during the first year of its enforcement in order to illustrate the inherent difficulties created as a result of the order. He pointed out that Truman’s order simply granted carte blanche to the F.B.I., called into question the rights of government workers and created a Loyalty Review Board that was cumbersome and bureaucratic.

Can There be Peace with Stalin?
(United States News & World Report, 1948)

The Berlin Blockade was already six weeks old when this article appeared proclaiming that peace with the Soviet Union was still possible:

Russia and the U.S. are in the midst of another showdown on peace. Odds favor a settlement, not war.

Peace terms are shifting closer to compromise. Russia is more interested in seeking peace, less interested in stalling… Each side is out to get the best possible terms. But prospects for easing the tension of cold war are good.

Click here to read about the Berlin Blockade.

The Berlin Blockade: A Definition
(R.O.T.C. Handbook, 1956)

In his 1989 book, Master Spy: The Story of Kim Philby, author Phillip Knightley pointed out that when the Soviet spy Philby, stationed in Washington, discovered that the U.S. had no atomic bombs on hand, Stalin soon gave the order to commence the blockade of the German capital. That said, here is a two paragraph essay briefly explaining what the 1948 Berlin Blockade was and how the Anglo-American masters of West-Germany dealt with the issues at hand:

Soviet counter-action to American efforts to rebuild the European economy came swiftly. Besides rejecting participation in the program the Soviets, in October 1947, announced the organization of a permanent committee for coordinating the activities of the Communist parties in Europe…By June 1948 the Russians had cut off all land and water traffic with Berlin and the only means of entry was by air.

The U.N. and Collective Security
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1951)

Eight months into the Korean War came this editorial from an American news magazine pointing out that the burden of defending South Korea was not being evenly shared by the other member states of the United Nations and that the U.S. was over-represented on the battlefields:

When the Korean Communists invaded South Korea last June, the U.N. was quick to authorize the use of armed force to combat the aggression, but not so quick when it came to contributing troops. [As of February, 1951] U.N. forces in Korea total about 275,000. Of this number 150,000 are American and 100,000 are South Koreans. This leaves less than 25,000 from 11 of the other U.N. members – a pitifully small contribution… What is there definition of ‘collective security’? Have they so soon forgotten Munich? Have they forgotten that collective firmness by the Allies, when Germany invaded the Rhineland, might have prevented World War II?

The Fall of Seoul
(Dept. of the Army, 1956)

The very first engagement of the conflict, when the North Koreans crushed South Korean defenses at the 38th parallel, demonstrated the superiority of the North Korean Army. On June 28, three days after the opening attack, a tank/infantry force leading the main North Korean thrust entered Seoul… In the face of the onslaught, the South Korean Army retreated, leaving most of its equipment behind. Whatever effectiveness it may have possessed was already lost.

U.N. Forces Turn Back Spring Offensive
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1951)

Attacking across a 125 mile front, the Chinese Army launched their spring offensive on May 17, 1951; unable to make any advances, they retired two weeks later, leaving behind some 80,000 dead.

The Communist hit first on the east central front. A quick rout of two ROK divisions caught the U.S. 2nd Division, commanded by Major General Clark Ruffner, in a dangerous pocket with their east flank exposed…One officer called the Red onslaught ‘an astounding demonstration. They wade right through macine gun or artillery fire. The bodies pile up and they walk right over the bodies and the pile of bodies gets higher.’