Parting the curtain : propaganda, culture, and the Cold War, 1945-1961

During the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, Washington policymakers aspired to destabilize the Soviet and East European Communist Party regimes by implementing programs of psychological warfare and gradual cultural infiltration. In focusing on American propaganda and cultural infiltration of the Soviet empire in these years, Parting the Curtain emerges as a groundbreaking study of certain aspects of US Cold War diplomacy never before examined. Parting The Curtain Reveals The Key Roles Played By Programs That Gave Soviets And Eastern Europeans A Glimpse Of The Good Life That Could Be Lived In A Democracy. The Sweet Taste Of Soda Pop, The Soft Purring Of A Car Engine, And The Alluring Low Cut Bodice Of An Evening Gown Became Just As Powerful As Guns And Troops In The Eventual Parting Of The Iron Curtain At The End Of The Eisenhower Years. Walter Hixson Provides A Fascinating Analysis Of The Breakthrough 1958 U.s.-soviet Cultural Agreement, As Well As A Comprehensive, Multiarchival History Of The 1959 American National Exhibition In Moscow. In Focusing On American Propaganda And Cultural Infiltration Of The Soviet Empire In These Years, Parting The Curtain Emerges As A Study Of U.s. Cold War Diplomacy As Well As A Chronicle Of The Clash Of Cultures That Took Place During This Period. Introduction: Cultural Infiltration And The Cold War -- A Campaign Of Truth: The Rebirth Of Psychological Warfare -- Reviving The Voice: The Radio Cold War Begins -- Liberation Denied: The Twilight Of Psychological Warfare -- From Revolution To Evolution: The Thaw In East-west Cultural Relations -- People's Capitalism: Usia, Race Relations, And Cultural Infiltration -- From The Summit To The Model Kitchen: The Cultural Agreement And The Moscow Fair -- Six Weeks At Sokolniki: Soviet Responses To The American Exhibition -- Conclusions: Militarization, Cultural Infiltration, And The Cold War. Walter L. Hixson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [235]-277) And Index. A chronicle of the high heels and convertibles campaign the U.S. used in an attempt to bring down communism. In the late 1950s, American policymakers worked to destabilize Soviet and East European communist regimes by psychological warfare and cultural infiltration that showed people under communism "the good life" they could live in a Western democracy. Illustrates how American policy makers created images of propaganda in which Americans are shown living "the good life" during the Cold War, in order to convince their Soviet and European counterparts to become democratic societies Propaganda-the attempt to influence behavior by shaping the attitudes of masses of people-has always played a role in the conduct of U.S. foreign relations.