THE ROLE OF REFUGEES FROM COMMUNISM IN U.S. COLD WAR POLICY: INFORMATION, INTELLIGENCE, AND MILITARY DIMENSIONS (1947 – 1952)

Abstract

The purpose of the research consists in exploring how refugees from communist regimes came to play a role in the U.S. information, intelligence, and military policy during the early stages of the Cold War (1947 – 1952). The study aims at revealing the mechanisms and motives behind the American instrumentalization of displaced people from Eastern Europe in the context of strategic confrontation with the Soviet Union. The research methodology is based on the principles of a concrete historical approach – historicism, objectivity, comprehensiveness, integrity, and systematicity – as well as on the methods of analysis and synthesis, historical and comparative, and problem-chronological methods. The scientific novelty consists in a comprehensive reinterpretation of the Cold War refugee policy as a multidimensional instrument of the U.S. foreign strategy. It identifies three key functions performed by refugee communities: intelligence resource, propaganda amplifier, and potential military asset. The study reconstructs the formation of refugee-based media institutions such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty, analyzes the emergence of émigré military units, and evaluates Truman-era legislation such as the Mutual Security Act and the United States Escapee Program (USEP). Particular focus is on anti-Soviet political mobilization among ethnic minorities and their role in shaping the U.S. narratives on the global stage. Conclusions. The Cold War converted displaced people into strategic leverage within U.S. policy, shaping how the West responded to Soviet expansionism. Refugees became not merely recipients of humanitarian aid but active agents in intelligence gathering, psychological operations, and public diplomacy. U.S. governmental institutions, in cooperation with émigré organizations, systematically utilized refugees’ background knowledge, ideological stance, and transnational networks to construct a counter-narrative to communist propaganda. The long-term consequences of these practices included the institutionalization of refugee participation in Western security and media architectures, the moral justification of U.S. containment policies, and the consolidation of ideological fault lines within divided Europe. By documenting this transformation, the article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of early Cold War politics and the intersection of migration, security, and ideology in U.S. global engagement.

Key words: refugees from communism, Cold War, United States foreign policy, Voice of America, intelligence operations, displaced persons, anti-Soviet propaganda.