European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Juveniles among Veteran Bondmen Claude Luter s French combination stuck to a High powered variety of pure jazz revived from pre-1920 recordings. Trumpeter Humphrey Littleton was standout of Derek Neville s British band. U. S. Musicians endorsed generally High Standard of european performance. Report from Czechoslovakia by Ernest s. Leiser a detailed explanation of the careful planning threats and intimidation that produced the communist coup f Bass play of Arvel Shaw comparative unknown among Star filled Armstrong band was one of sensations of festival impressed even american old timers. Weekend March is i Prague the Loudspeaker hanging from the Wall outside the communist news paper office on Prague s ancient vast St. Wenceslas Square was blaring out soviet army marches and dissonant ukrainian peasant songs. On the Side walk a crowd Argi Jed in excited apprehension. As the people overflowed onto the Broad Street platoons of police wearing Slung Tommy guns shoved Hemback. Another truckload of police rumbled Down the Square. Then abruptly in the Middle of a spirited March the music stopped. The loud speaker harshly demanded your Atten Tion  the arguments subsided instantly and the police stopped shoving. The crowd turned automatically toward the Loudspeaker As the rasping voice began  have proud news to announce. The will of the working people has prevailed Over the forces of foreign re action. President Benes has just notified prime minister Gottwald that he has accepted the resignation of the reactionary Cabinet ministers. The president. Has instructed Comrade Gottwald to present his new Cabinet for  a pause and then the voice finished with Long live our pres ident. Long live prime minister Gott Wald and the communist party. Long live he people s  Loudspeaker clicked off and for a Long Long minute there was a vacuum of soundless Ness. It was the silence of people physically stunned. Then a single voice in the crowd hopefully piped up Long live our president. Long live Gottwald. And the communist  one took up the chant and it faded into another silence. Hastily the loud speaker filled in with another russian March. A Only then did the crowd begin to talk again to move but now it was with the bewilderment of suddenly awakened sleepwalkers. The people be Gan to disperse Dazely. I saw a Man crying silently As he walked away. A Young girl standing next to me kept saying Over and Over i Don t believe it. Our president would not have Given in to them. How can they let them say those things. They lie. They must be lying that is the Way the communist revolution in Czechoslovakia ended not with a bang but with a plaintive cry of incredulity. Not with a struggle for the lost democracy Bruf with tears of frustration and impotence. And hate. Before the 62 per cent of the people who were non communist could under stand what was happening to them be fore they could believe it possible the Republic of Czechoslovakia with its proud tradition of individual Freedom had become just another Balkans Zed police  that is the Way the revolution ended How and when did it begin Howis it that the communists were Able to take Over the reins of government so easily from a Liberty Loving people How had they arranged things so there would be no fight against their coup some in Prague said that czechor Slovakia s february revolution really began As soon As the communists joined the government in 1945. From the very Start they sought to wangle the key Cabinet ministries. They put men they could control in charge of the ministries of Interior police information press and radio and National defense Thea Niy. Both in and out of the seven party National front which was the basis of the government the communists sought to push their programs into execution and they had a great Deal of Success. They had been Able to nationalize the major part of czech Industry and effect Basic land  succeeded in linking Czecho Slovakia by both political and economic alliances with the soviet Union and by tying the czechoslovak foreign policy to that of the russian directed slav.  this however even the communists opponents admit was accomplished within the Bounds of parliamentary democracy with Little More than the Ordinary rough and Tumble of party politics. It was not really until last fall that the communists began to plot a coup moving unobtrusively Ste by step until they had. Every Agency of political control in the country in their grasp. It was last fall that  began to Survey their chances for Victory at the National election scheduled for this Spring. Prime min ister Klement Gottwald had said that it was essential for the communists to gain an absolute majority of vote sat the Spring election. They had Only 38 per cent at the time however not Only was it very evident that they would fail to obtain an absolute majority i they relied on a free vote but it began to appear that they would have eve fewer votes than before. Something had to be done if Gottwald s demand was Tobe fulfilled. That something the communists decided was to organize the country so it would t make any Dif. Ference who voted or How most of their Early moves in this direction were quiet and extremely in conspicuous. However they tipped their hand to those few who read the Politi Cal signs when they discovered a plot against the state by a handful of nazi die hards in Slovakia the Rural Semi autonomous Eastern Section of the country. They used this plot although it involved no slovakian politicians of any importance As a pretext to Force the reorganization of the slovak Board of delegates the state s chief administrative group. When the Boardo delegates was reorganized it turned out that a communist had been named Board chairman and communists held other key ministries although they had Only 32 per cent of the vote com pared to the conservative slovak democrats 66 per  bout the same time a communist Campaign of intimidation was launched among minor function Aries and the rank and file in the opposition parties. I was in Prague i october and at that time was told by leaders of both the National social stand people s parties that communists had told their members in numerous towns and villages to join the communists or. Pay the consequences for flouting the people s  this Campaign was not notably successful in gaining enthusiastic recruits to the communist party but it frightened a Good Many people and was remarkably effective in undermining morale among the Little men in the opposition parties. Even More important to their plans than these political Maneu vers the communists began quietly to entrench the party faithful in the key ministries that they controlled. Vaclav Kopecky the minister of information began to ease non party members out of the Broad casting staff of the National radio. The press was left nominally free but intimidation was exerted sporadically against opposition journalists and special favors were granted to communist newspapers. Vaclav Nosek the minister of Interior began to slip party reliable into key positions of the sub Security police and set out to discover More plots with which to accuse opposition leaders of being the agents of certain Western  general Ludvik Svoboda officially the non party minister of National defense but actually a communist in everything but name managed to secure the army so that its loyalty to him could be counted on when necessary. Continued on Page 22 19