Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)

Studies - Tamás Magyarics: From the Rollback of Communism to Building Bridges: The U.S. and the Soviet Block Countries from the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to the Prague Spring in 1968

chance to join the international community of the free nations." The Kennedy Administration thought that time had come to take the initiative after the Cuban missile crisis and two of its high-ranking advisers, Walt W. Rostow and McGeorge Bundy drafted a policy paper in which they suggested the the U.S. give up its Cold War politics, recognize the realities in world politics

—which would have meant the final abandonment of the "liberation" of the East-European nations. However, the plan was leaked to a Republican representative, J. Arthur Young, who demanded an explanation from Rusk. At the same time, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona started to talk about an "East-European Munich" and a counter-attack was initiated in the press, too. The Administration backed off: Assistant Secretary of State in charge of Congressional matters, Frederick G. Dutton wrote a letter to Rep. Young and assured him that the plan was just a plan and no change could be expected in the East-European policies of the Administration.

2

5 It was true that no drastic changes were effected, but after the summer of 1963 President Kennedy started a more or less new course in the East-West relations: in his major speech at the American University in June 1963 he called upon the Communist countries to start a dialogue with the West on the basis of mutual interests; then the Administration signed the Atom Test Ban Treaty in Moscow on August 5; while the President announced on October 10 that he supported the intended sale of wheat to the Soviet Union and the extension of intermediate-term loans and credits to the Communist countries. In reality, the U.S.-East-European relations meant the bilateral American-Polish and American-Yugoslav ties in the region (excluding the Soviet Union). While Albania, Czechoslovakia, East-Germany and Hungary received altogether 545 million dollar aid from the U.S. in the form of UNRRA and other programs between July 1945 and June 1962, Poland got 1356 million and Yugoslavia 2720 million dollars in various forms.

2

6 However, the economic relations were rather 2

4 For the exchange of letters, the Goldwater speeches, and the articles printed in the Congressional Record see New Hungarian Central Archives, KÜM XIX-J-1-j, USA TÜK Box 1 I, 5/b 004034/2 (1963). Drachkovitch, Milorad M. U.S. Aid to Yugoslavia and Poland. Washington. D.C., 1963. 121. 2

6 FRUS. UN and General International Matters. Vol. XI. 1955-57. Washington, D.C., 1988. 77