European Youth Campaign

The European Youth Campaign (EYC) - active in the 1950s - was an organization funded by the CIA front organisation, American Committee on United Europe (ACUE), and was created mainly as a response to the Comintern in Eastern Europe.[1] Note that EYC is not connected to the Young European Movement which is part of the European Movement.[2]

The EYC worked to promote a pro-European attitude amongst European youth, and conducted "a massive propaganda campaign of conferences and exhibitions, cinema shows, radio broadcasts and a large array of publications".[3] Jean Moreau and Fausta Deshormes[4] were prominent organisers at this time.[5]

The EYC was the doctoral thesis of Christina Norwig, who reports that "More than 15 European countries were involved in the EYC, each in a different way and with changing intensity. Germany, France and Italy were without a doubt the more active countries, but also the Benelux countries played their part... Many active personalities thought that the countries in Eastern Europe could still be converted to Democracy and that they belonged certainly to Europe. But the Cold War played in fact an important role in the European integration process, also on a local level... The international Youth Festival held in East Berlin in 1951 troubled western European and American politicians. In answer to it the grounds for the EYC were laid in cooperation with the European Movement. The Campaign was financed by an American association, the American Committee on United Europe. All of its members were US-secret service agents. Without the US financial aid the Campaign would not have been able to survive."[5]

The EYC was dissolved in 1958 because its sole funder, the ACUE, withdrew its funds.[5]

See also
  • History of the European Communities (1945-1957)

References
  1. telegraph.co.uk: "Euro-federalists financed by US spy chiefs" 19 Sep 2000
  2. DANGO Database of Archives of Non Governmental Organizations
  3. Hugh Wilford, David Caute, "The CIA, the British Left, and the Cold War" p.239 (google books)
  4. Institut Universitaire Europeene Archives Historiques de l'Union Europeene: "Fausta Deshornes la Vallee" Archived 2014-06-01 at the Wayback Machine collected archival material, retrieved 31 May 2014
  5. eui.eu: "'We are Europe' – The European Youth Campaign (1951-1958) and the role of youth in uniting Europe" 16 Apr 2013, retrieved 31 May 2014

Further reading
    • McKenzie, Brian A. "The European Youth Campaign in Ireland: Neutrality, Americanization, and the Cold War 1950 to 1959." Diplomatic History (first published online May 1, 2015 doi:10.1093/dh/dhv010).
    • Norwig, Christina. "A First European Generation? The Myth of Youth and European Integration in the Fifties." Diplomatic History (2014) 38 (2): 251-260 (first published online March 5, 2014 doi:10.1093/dh/dhu006).
    • Palayret, Jean-Marie. "Eduquer les jeunes à l’union: La Campagne européenne de la jeunesse 1951–1958." Revue D'histoire De L'intégration européene, 1995, Volume 1, Number 2.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.