_Communist Propaganda_
Propaganda, thanks to a better understanding of mass psychology,
has become in the past few years almost an exact science as well as
an art In the hands of the Communists it is a powerful weapon, so
subtle that, as in shadow boxing, one cannot judge the exact position
of the enemy. With wily cleverness, it has perverted the meanings
of cherished words, so that great national masses of people are no
longer aware of their rightful connotations.
We, in the United States, for instance, think of Democracy as the
dictionary defines it: “Government in which the supreme power
is retained by the people.” The Communists have distorted this
by adopting the term “New Democracy,” to represent a Communist
controlled state, that is, a dictatorship.
Freedom, a beautiful word, has also been distorted. In a Western
democracy, it means “liberation from slavery,” that is, the
opportunity to work, live and play where, when and how one chooses,
in open competition. In a Communist State, none of these things
is possible. There can be no freedom where full regimentation is
required. The Soviet’s claim of freeing the peasants from onerous
landlords and the workers from grasping capitalists is only a blind.
Any poor Chinese on the street soon sadly learns that these are being
replaced by more oppressive masters, the Soviet Commissars.
Security is another wonderful word, and the Communists have been
quick to realize its universal appeal. However, they use it in a
purely economic sense, deliberately ignoring any but material values.
Their type of security can be promised only at the price of personal
freedom. It is already in operation in all penitentiaries, where the
life-term convict is fed, clothed, cared for when ill, sheltered,
entertained and protected from the harsh conditions of economic
competition. He need not worry about any of these things. Yet it is
a generally accepted fact that he would gladly and immediately trade
all of the benefits he receives from his prison incarceration for the
one little matter of Freedom.
[Illustration: _The Chinese Commissar, in the footsteps of his
Russian counterpart, reads to his military unit the daily propaganda
bulletin._]
[Illustration: _Communist Propaganda Poster captions_: HAPPY ARE
THOSE WHO WORK FOR THE PEOPLE!]
[Illustration: DRAW WATER AGAINST THE DROUGHT! _Another propaganda
poster._]
[Illustration: _Non-Communists looking at bulletin reporting expected
visit of General Marshall to Yenan. Bulletin is put out by Communist
Cultural Committee for Mass Education._]
[Illustration: _Communist propaganda poster_: PRODUCE FOR THE PEOPLE!]
[Illustration: _Communist propaganda picture showing how to_ RESCUE
THE WOUNDED!]
Besides twisting the meaning of words, the Communists have subtly
changed long accepted human values and relationships. By distortion
of Truth, and constant repetition of the Party Line, they gradually
paralyze all individual thinking and destroy the will to resist.
Russian propaganda is far more effective than was the German, and
their Chinese henchmen have had to modify it slightly to adapt it for
use in their country. By false promises, intimidation and persuasion,
the Communists lulled the weakened opposition and made the conquest
of China easier. When necessary, they never hesitated to use terror
and brutality. By these two means they have established a vast web of
control over the entire land of nearly five hundred million people.
The Chinese Communists have found it expedient to have two types of
propaganda: one which is directed at foreigners and follows strictly
the Moscow line; the other maintained for domestic consumption. The
home propaganda concentrates on Chinese affairs and plays down the
foreign and international angles. Slogans, or catch phrases, are
evident everywhere, on billboards, in handbills, on posters, in the
press and on the air channels. In this way, the slogans are repeated
over and over again, until everyone becomes thoroughly familiar with
them. Throughout China are heard the shouts of the victors—SERVE THE
PEOPLE! PRODUCE FOR THE PEOPLE! RESCUE THE WOUNDED! BEAR SONS FOR THE
PEOPLE! The latter is one of the most surprising in a land that has
an annual death rate of a million from starvation and is presently
suffering from the worst famine in years!
The slogans are often illustrated and used as picture posters.
Gay and colorful, they frequently show a prosperous looking group
standing or sitting before an enormous basket overflowing with
luscious fruits and vegetables. The caption: HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO
WORK FOR THE PEOPLE! Billboards and handbills in villages and towns
are, of necessity, simple and elementary, while in Shanghai and
other large cities they are more elaborate and sometimes quite
sophisticated.
As in Germany before the war, and in Russia today, the Chinese
concentrate on the children. These are often separated from their
families when they are very young and sent to special schools away
from their homes. The Chinese Communists, like the Soviets, are
making every effort to destroy family life and ties, since family
loyalty competes with their training program. The first and only
loyalty must be to the State. In some schools, youngsters have been
given new textbooks which begin with the verse:
“I do not love my Mama. I do not love my Papa. I love only my Country
and Mao Tse-tung.” Other books show pictures of Generalissimo Chiang
Kai-shek and other Nationalist leaders and characterize them as
enemies of the State who are “to be killed on sight.”
Children, otherwise well brought up and, prior to the new schooling,
devoted to their families, return to their homes and face their
parents with: “We don’t love you any more. We are leaving home and
will fight the Nationalists ourselves, wherever we find them!”
Some of the propaganda is directed against foreigners, especially
Americans. The children are taught to repeat little songs in which
Americans are called “greedy and vicious capitalists,” and they are
shown cartoons depicting Americans as two-headed pigs being kicked
out of China.
The effect of such systematic mind-poisoning is shown in an incident
that happened in North China just before the Communists took over.
An American on a business trip watched a Chinese woman, carrying a
baby and a large bundle, attempt to cross a narrow bridge over a
little river. A tiny girl, barely old enough to walk, clung to the
mother’s skirts. The planking of the bridge was wobbly and narrow.
Realizing they could not all cross at once, the woman loosened the
child’s hands and told her: “Wait there and I’ll come back for you.”
Then, with the bundle and baby, she crossed the poorly constructed
span. The American, trying to be a good Samaritan, went toward the
stranded little girl to offer to take her across. At his approach
she screamed in terror and ran from him. Catching up with her, he
talked to her in a quiet voice for some minutes. Soon the youngster
dried her tears, accepted the man’s arms, and was carried to safety.
The mother turning to go back for the child, cried out in alarm at
seeing her in the arms of the American. With the realization that the
man meant no harm, she appeared amazed at his courtesy.
Among the near illiterate, speeches are the most effective means of
propaganda, and the Chinese Red Armies have large doses of these
inflicted upon them. The soldiers, following the example of their
Russian comrades, are briefed on when to clap and when to cheer. Like
any college football crowd, they dutifully follow the cheer leaders.
The Communists are especially proud of their so-called “Educational
Program” for soldiers, and they claim that thirty per cent of the
time allotted to military training is devoted to “cultural” and
political work. As a result of attendance at daily classes, over
eighty per cent of the troops are reported able to read elementary
Chinese characters, giving them enough background to understand
simplified Communist newspapers. These “newspapers” are filled with
news strictly censored by the leaders, and the characters learned
in school are those that enable them to read only what the posters
and textbooks say. No effort is wasted on superfluous, non-political
knowledge.
Bestowing tides as a reward is another Moscow-inspired incentive for
the soldiers, as well as for the illiterate populace. This device
is also used to encourage labor production and to throw a smoke
screen over exploitation. Labor “Heroes” and “Heroines” are greatly
admired in all Red-blighted areas, and any Communist who studies and
works hard has a chance to be thus honored and to obtain the coveted
material reward or special privilege that accompanies the title.
Russian propaganda, when modified for the Chinese, is slanted so
that it may not offend them too greatly while they are still being
taken over, that is, during the transition period of persuasion and
deception. Shortly after the capture of Tientsin, an enormous picture
of Stalin appeared beside that of Mao Tse-tung in Min Yuan Park.
The people milling around in great throngs stared up at it, some in
wonderment. One of them finally remarked, “Who is that other man?
He is not Chinese, he is a foreigner.” In order to keep the surface
smooth at first and to cause no undue alarm or suspicion among the
people, the next day Mao hung alone.
The capture of Tientsin and Peking was accomplished with
comparatively little fighting except on the outskirts of both cities.
The plans for taking Peking had been well thought out. Secret agents,
for years, had been “persuading” the people and softening up the
Nationalist troops. The actual capture was cunningly timed. The
Chinese New Year was chosen, with due respect to superstition, by the
incoming lords of the land. They allowed the people to spend three
days making their customary friendly calls upon each other, in the
ancient manner, and settling up their bills and accounts. Farmers
poured into the cities with supplies of meat and vegetables, and
the Communists bided their time while the citizenry, ate, drank and
made merry. In the Chinese calendar 1949 was the Year of the Rat, and
1950 ushered in the Year of the Cow. Time-honored superstition has it
that when, in the passage of years, the tail of the Rat touches the
horn of the Cow, times will be good, luck will change and the future
will be successful. The Chinese were all congratulating themselves
over their coming good year when the Communists, after waiting for
the psychological moment, marched their armies in and took over the
ancient capital.
The new masters gave the populace various choices of “surrender”
terms, although they did not use the expression “surrendering.”
First, the vanquished were politely invited to “Come out and join us,
for we are all brothers now.” This invitation was called the “Peking
way.” When anyone showed reluctance to accept, the “Tientsin way” was
tried. This method involved pressure, first psychological, then if
that failed, material, and finally if there was still any hesitation,
physical, in the form of more or less severe beatings. In other
words, the same old formula was at work—persuasion and then force.
The Chinese Communists, after the fall of the entire country,
copied from their Soviet comrades the trick of inviting all the
industrialists, financiers and scientists who had fled to Canton,
Hong Kong and elsewhere to return to their Northern homes, where
they could continue to operate their businesses as before. So in
1946 Stalin invited all the White Russians living in China to return
to the USSR. The old birdie in the cage trick! Persuaded that they
were going to receive fair treatment, many of the expatriate Russians
gladly gave up their jobs and homes in Shanghai and Tientsin and
spent their last dollars on passage to Siberia. No word was ever
heard from many of them, but gradually a few letters appeared,
smuggled in through Chinese friends, which told of great suffering.
A few of the hardiest escaped and returned, all with the same
story—Siberia, the salt mines, death. What happened to their Chinese
counterparts who heeded the siren song of the victors of Peking we do
not know, but we can guess.
Communist propaganda is apparent in practically every aspect of
Chinese life. Only the Opera and the Russian Ballet appear to have
remained relatively free from taint. The Reds are tremendously
proud of both of these world renowned examples of creative art and
make a great show of claiming that they are always performed in
the “original.” However, when put on before strictly indoctrinated
audiences, propaganda appears in the shape of Party line
interpretations of dances, songs and long curtain speeches. The
audience is never allowed to forget for a moment that it is there to
be instructed as well as entertained.
The basic purpose of Communist propaganda, of course, is to make
conquest as easy as possible. The Party line is fed to the people
like opium, and it dulls their senses and makes them docile. When
persuasion proves inadequate, threats and brutality are resorted
to, for in a Totalitarian State no one can remain on the fence.
Only through complete unity, voluntary or forced, can such a state
survive. It is impossible for anyone to remain non-political.
Should both persuasion and force fail, the Communists then resort
to a method which represents an all time low in evil—the use of
poisonous drugs to draw out false confessions from their victims.
This is called the “biodynamic” treatment. The drugs, “actedon”
and “mescaline” are used to paralyze the brain, then to cause its
disintegration. The doses are administered in coffee, and the victim,
with nothing else to eat or drink, consumes large quantities, which
are generously supplied, unaware of the effect being produced on
his mind and body. When the personality has been sufficiently
disintegrated or “split” by these drugs—when the sufferer has been
driven crazy—a skilled psychiatrist can put the pieces together
at his will and gradually evolve a completely new personality. In
other words, when the physical breakdown of the individual has been
accomplished, his mental collapse is brought about by the use of
these fiendish drugs.
The Communists say, “The average person can be made to give in
through brutality and fear, but in complicated cases the combination
of neurology, or brain study, chemistry and psychiatry must be used.”
Preparing the victim valuable enough for this process often takes as
long as three or four months, during which time he is jailed and kept
in solitary confinement. Frequently dozens of doctors, scientists,
and assistants are worn out in the process of treatment. It is so
diabolical that the Communists say they use it only in exceptional
cases where they feel that the results warrant a demonstration to
the public at large of their complete mastery over man.
The world now knows that this was the treatment administered in
1949 to Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty, Primate of the Catholic church,
Budapest; to Michael Shipkov, Bulgarian Translator for the U. S.
Legation in Sofia; and again in 1950 to Robert A. Vogeler, American
business executive in Hungary. This same heinous method has been
repeated in Rumania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Eastern Germany and
undoubtedly elsewhere throughout the world, though actual reports of
every case have not, as yet, come into print.
The use of hypnotism as a propaganda weapon and as a device for
manipulating victims also has not been overlooked by the Communists.
Dr. G. H. Estabrooks, Chairman of the Department of Psychology at
Colgate University, who has pioneered in developing hypnotism’s
wartime uses, says:
“With the Twentieth Century’s revived interest in psychology,
hypnotism has been brought to the status of a full-fledged science.”
“A person,” continues Estabrooks, “can be hypnotized against his will
or without his knowledge.”
“A foreign agent working in a hospital or a doctor in his own office
could,” he avers, “over a period of time, place thousands of people
under his power by means of fake physical examinations.”
For instance, he explains how in wartime this masked manoeuver could
enable a junior medical officer to take over the reins of the U. S.
Army and lead it into total defeat.
Hypnotism, we now know, was used in addition to drugs by the Nazis to
obtain a “confession” from Van der Lubbe at the Reichstag Trial and
also by the Soviet Union to demoralize Cardinal Mindszenty, Robert
Vogeler and others.
Mao Tse-tung, like all Moscow-trained speakers and others of their
ilk, is fully aware of the power of hypnosis over large audiences. In
the early days of victory, he spellbound his listeners not alone by
words but also by the strength of his mesmeric will.
“Make up your minds! We abhor fence straddlers. There is no middle of
the road! Not in all China, not in all the universe,” he continued.
“One must be either on the side of Imperialism or on the side of
Communism!”
In a speech commemorating the 28th anniversary of the Chinese
Communist Party, Mao, addressing a mass meeting early in 1950, said:
“Internationally, China belongs to the anti-imperialist front. To
Russia we proudly look for genuine, friendly aid, and to no other
country. The second world war, with the Soviet Union as the principle
fighting force, defeated the great Imperialist powers, Germany and
Japan. It weakened England and France, and left only one Imperialist
country in the world—the United States of America! Even _she_
suffered great losses. Her economy was smashed and her domestic
crisis is acute! There is great unrest in the country, and the people
have no leader. They are fighting among themselves. And yet she
thinks _she_ can enslave the world! She is nothing but a weakling!
By aiding Chiang Kai-shek, she is responsible for the slaughter of
millions of Chinese!”
An outburst of applause and cries of “Ding How!” (Good! Good!)
greeted his words.
Mao continued, waving his arms: “In China, some Imperialism still
exists in our ‘New Democracy,’ but we will work steadfastly for
a complete Communist Society. Our tools are the People’s Army,
Police and Communist Court. Under the leadership of the working
class, we will unite to form our own dictatorship over the lackeys
of foreign Imperialism. We will drive them out like dogs, howling
through the streets! Let us establish a People’s Dictatorship over
the reactionaries, to be known throughout the world as the People’s
Democratic Dictatorship. Let us raise China from an agricultural
country by eliminating all classes, and realizing the state of
universal fraternity!”
Another storm of applause from the duped audience followed these
closing words, along with shrill cries of “Long live our People’s
Dictatorship! Long live our Chairman Mao! Long live our Comrade
Stalin!”