ASTAT DUNCIL FOR CANADIAN-SOVIET FRIENDSHIP

STATEMENT OF POLICY -
AND PROGRAM OF ACTION
Adopted una nimously at the Annual Meeti ng of th e National
Council for Canadian-Soviet Friendship. May Bth, 194 8, Toronto.
"The National Council for Can adi an-S oviet Fri endship takes its stand on the
belief that friendl y relati ons can be maintain ed betw een the Sovie t Union and the
\Vestern World - that war is not inevitable.
Th e maintena nce of friendship requires a deep-going change in Ca nadian foreign
poli cy, to brin g it in line wit h the need s of th e Canadian peopl e.
Th e people of Canada want peace. Th ey want' hom es to live in, good s at pri ces
they can afford, useful work in produ ctive tasks. The people do not want another war .
The Council believes that the Soviet people also want peace. Their lead ers have
frequ ently stated that they wish only to be allowd to rebuild their devastated land.
Th e Cou ncil takes this statement at its face valu e.
The Council believes, moreover, tha t the welfare of the people of Ca nada, eve n
their existence as a nation depends upon the maintain an ce and strengthe ning of peace
and friendship with the peoples of th e world.
Peace does not come by hoping for it. The Canadian people can have peace only
by understanding the reasons for war-hysteria and by working actively for friendship
between the nations.
THEREFORE
The National Council for Canadian-Soviet Fri endship ur ges every thinking Can ­
adian to act NOW for peace.
Can ad a needs a cha nge in her foreign policy. Threats of atom bombs on Moscow
must give way to expansion of trad e, as an aid to our own -economic adv~n c e . Internati
onal peace is not gained by supporting anti-Russian war hysteria. SPEAK OUT
FOR A FOREIGN POLICY GEARED TO PEACE. -
Canadi ans need to become vocal ab out news distorti on in our pre ss, screen and
radio. Members of Parli ament , Executives of the pr ess, screen and radio have ea rs
tuned to the temper of the peopl e. Let your voice be heard in protest against misrepresentation
of historical events; Spread factu al information about the role of the
Soviet Union in world affair s. That information is available through at least some of
our Public Libraries and from the Council office.
USE THE COUNCIL'S INFORMATION SERVICE TO INFORM YOURSELVES
AND OTHERS AS TO THE FACTS BEHIND THE HEADLINES.
SPEAK OUT IN PROTEST AGAI NST SUCH INCITEMENTS TO WAR AS
THE SHOWING OF "T HE IRO N CURTAIN" AND GOUZENKO'S BOOK , "T HI S
WAS MY CHOICE."
Can ad a needs to effect broad cultura l relati ons and genuine friendship among the
peoples thr ou gh impl em ent ations of the United Nati ons Charter.
Th ose who would scrap th e United Nati ons in favor of some priv ate combine
of their own must be shown in their true colors.
PRQMOTE THE COMING TOGETHER OF CANADIANS IN EVERY WALK
OF LI FE ON A COMMON PROGRAM OF ACTION IN BEHALF OF PEACE.
T oward th e achievement of th ese ends, give active backing to the work of the
National Council for Can adi an-Soviet Friend ship, for a changed foreign policy, for trade
and cultura l exchanges, for the rebuilding of a firm fri end ship with our Northern
neighbor, a work whi ch is vital to the caus e of peace."

NAILING THE BIG
LIE
It isn't hard these days to find a publisher for a new book on the Soviet
Union - so long as that book is bitterly hostile to the Soviet Union and
shows the Russians as cruel, backward savages, who at the same time; are
cleverly planning the conquest of the world.
Books of this kind come out every week, each contributing to the new
great lie - the lie that war with the Soviet Union is inevitable. Some of
them are more elaborately planned than others, but one of the newest
deserves special mention as the crudest and most barefaced of the lot.
It is the book written by or for Igor Gouzenko, published in Canada
and the United States under the title "This Was My Choice" (J. M. Dent
& Son (Canada) Ltd.) , It is being played up in reviews and articles as a
book by an eye-witness, who speaks only of what he saw himself. The
"Editor" who writes the introduction to the book describes Gouzenko as
the "man who was THERE", whose storr, must be true, since in the
espionage trials, "his meticulous testimony' was "characterized by a remarkable
respect for detail."
These are brave words and a reader might expect the book to live up
to them. But when the book is examined Gouzenko is obviously describing
things he could not possibly have seen or even known about, and suppressing
all kinds of information that would disprove his arguments. Nor does
he have any compunction about inventing laws, speeches and orders-ofthe-day
in order to "prove" his case from "official" sources.
The value of an eye-witness account obviously depends largely on
the reputation of the author. Take a look at the reputation of Gouzenko.
Two facts are known. (1) His unsubstantiated testimony was decisively
rejected in several spy-scare cases. (2) He was obliged to retract publicly
a totally false statement he made about the Aid to Russia Fund. (See the
"New World" for May and June, 1947). So his reputation for accuracy
is low. His statements, like those of anyone else, have to be analyzed in
the light of other evidence available.
Gouzenko designs his book as an argument for loyalty to Canadian
democracy. But lessons in loyalty are a little hard to take when they
come from someone who has been so conspicuously disloyal to his own
country. Traitors are sometimes useful, but they can't hope for respect
as experts on loyalty.
When Gouzenko came to Canada in June 1943, he came, according
to his story, as the devoted admirer of the Soviet system which he now
denounces. When he 'left the U.S.S.R. he believed in what he had seen
and the way in which he had been brought up. Since he came to Canada
he tells us that he began to realize how dreadful conditions are and always
have been in the U.S.S.R. He tells us now of all the awful atrocities he
saw while he was there. He has to, in order to make a best selling book.
But he has to explain why he was an unprotesting eye-witness of the outrages
he alleges took place. His explanation is that he failed to realise
until much later just how horrible they were. No one can have much confidence
in an eye-witness like this, whose ideas of right and wrong can shift
so swiftly and so sweepingly, and so much to his own advantage.
There is some little mystery - quite usual in books of this type - about
who did the actual writing. We are told in the introduction that "no
substantial alterations" have been made in Couzenko's own text. At the

same time, credit for "realigning hundreds of pages" and for "rewriting"
the book is given to Andy O'Brien, a sports writer on the Montreal Standard.
Andy O'Brien assures us that the mind of Gouzenko is "razor-keen".
In spite of this praise, it is doubtful whether any substantial part of the book
was actually written by Gouzenko himself. He put his name to it and he
draws the royalties. Someone else did the work.
The book is curiously vague on dates and places in the U.S.S.R. and
the sequence of events is sometimes impossible to establish, but here is
Couzenko's background, so far as it can be worked out. He was born in
the U.S.S.R. in 1919. His father was in the Red Army and was killed in
action when Gouzenko was a baby. His mother was a teacher. He went
through school and then began to study architecture. Most of his schooling
was in Moscow. After a year or two at the Architectural School he
was called into the Army and was sent to a Military Academy where he
spent the first year of the war (1941-42) on a course in ciphering. He
graduated to a job as cipher clerk at Intelligence Headquarters in Moscow.
After a year there he was sent to Canada in June, 1943. He was then 24
years old. He had been married in 1942.
In midsummer, 1944, while he was working with the Soviet Military
Attache in Ottawa, recall to Moscow was mentioned. He then made up
his mind to quit rather than go back to the U.S.S.R. and possible front
line service. However, official plans changed, the recall didn't come
through, and he stayed on "reluctantly" for another year. In fact he
stayed on until recall was final and irrevocable. If he had not been recalled,
presumably he would still be working away in the office of the Military
Attache, drawing his pay and swallowing his scruples. He was recalled,
so he ran away.
Since Sept., 1945, nearly three years ago, Gouzenko has been living in
seclusion, under guard by the R.C.M.P. Anyone who wants to see him
has to arrange for an interview through official government channels. His
opportunities for learning much about Canada have been strictly limited.
It is clear from the book that he knew little enough about his own country
when he left there.
Gouzenko gives himself away when he tries to give an eye-witness,
first-hand account of events which he could not possibly have seen. Once
this little failing is known, the value of the book sinks below zero.
FAKE. 1 The man who wasn't there.
An obvious example of this kind of faking is found in the chapter on
Prisoners of War. Gouzenko gives a supposedly first-hand account of the
demobilization problems of the Red Army. As an on-the-spot observer
he reports on waves of arrests of unruly veterans returning to their homes,
on the growth of hooliganism, on the fact that official propaganda began
to dwell on the need for soldiers to be useful in neace time too. This all
takes place at a "late stage in the war," and Couzenko is in Moscow, "constantly
handling telegrams" on the problems of veterans. On the Moscow
subway he personally talked to a drunken veteran who wanted to be told
why he had fought "four" years for all this.
This is a very artistic, circumstantial account of events in the U.S.S.R.
But there is one little Haw to all the fake realism. The ghost-writer forgot
that Gouzenko left the U.S.S.R. in June, 1943, some two years before all
these events are supposed to have taken place. Demobilization was no
problem in June, 1943, either in the U.S.S.R. or in Canada, or in any other
allied country.

I

" FAKE 5. Secret and Confidential forgery.
; . chapter in Couzenko's book deals with anti-Semitism in the U.S.S.R.
This would be sensational - if it were true. In fact it discloses nothing
mqre than the anti-Semitism of the man who wrote the chapter. The disnonest
approach is typical. The facts of Soviet policy on the question of
racial discrimination are well known. It is based on complete racial
, ~quali ty. To discriminate against individuals on the basis of race is' a
punishable offence. The whole emphasis in Soviet education has been
against any doctrine of racial superiority. Gouzenko doesn't mention any
of this. He "knows" that secret official anti-Semitic directives are being
issued. They are secret, so naturally he can't produce them. By his standards,
no more "proof' is needed.
FAKE 6. No parties, no clothes, no fun.
Life in the Soviet Union before the war was pretty grim for Gouzenko.
He was always hungry. He lived seven in a room. "There were no social
graces," "parties were unknown" (later on in the book he does get to one),
"entertainment was rare." This dull drab existence is in Moscow. He has
left out a few facts. Moscow happens to be celebrated for its opera, its
ballet, its theatres. Gouzenko could have gone to films, to concerts, to
art galleries. He could have gone to the Moscow circus, or to some of
the soccer games which draw tens of thousands of spectators. He might
even have gone to the races.
Aside from his failure to go to parties, Gouzenko had great difficulty
in getting anything to wear. He tells us that in 1939 clothing was very
scarce. (This was just the year when supplies of consumer goods had
greatly increased.) Gouzenko was then 20, and by working hard, got a
new pair of boots to replace the ones he had been wearing for seven years.
But his overcoat was in a worse state. He had worn it for 10 years. It was
evidently adjustable, since he wants us to believe that he' had used it
since he was ten years old.
FAKE 7. Expert on everything.
Gouzenko is no clearer on affairs in Canada than he is on affairs in
the U.S.S.R. He is concerned about the number of people organizing
branches of "The Friends of the Soviet Union." Few will share his concern.
That organization has not been in existence since 1938. Couzenko's
Canadian advisers are not very up-to-date!
He does know about the ational Council for American-Soviet Friendship.
One of his Russian friends asks "Can you imagine an association
in the Soviet Union being allowed to study and propagate the advantages
of American democracy?"
Several mis-statements are crammed into this short sentence. It has
a double twist. First of all, the comparison is false . The aims of the
National Council for American-Soviet Friendship are broadly similar to
those of the National Council for Canadian-Soviet Friendship. In neither
case do they include the propagation of the advantages of Soviet democracy.
The Canadian organization (and its American counterpart) are working
to bring about an understanding between two countries with different
economic and political systems, In the Soviet Union they have an
opposite number - VOKS - the Society for Cultural Helations with Foreign
Countries which for its part is endeavoring to bring a knowledge of the
culture of other countries to the people of the Soviet Union.

FAKE 8.
Nothing plus nothing equals?
Gouzenko tops things off with a reference to the existence of nine spy
rings in Canada: This is quite a new version of his story. The Royal
Commission on Espionage devoted eleven pages to these invisible networks.
They were able to imagine the existence of four unknown undiscovered
rings. The existence of these four certainly isn't established in
the Commission Report. Its pages are full of words like "there can be
little doubt," "I think they suspected that there existed a parallel system,"
"There is some evidence," "we have no corroboration" and so on. Not
satisfied with the report, itself based on hearsay and on his own imaginative
efforts, Gouzenko boldly comes along now with his nine spy rings. The
story grows in telling!
Since this is a book by the star witness of the espionage trials, we might
expect it to contain a clear account of the trials. But to give an accurate
account would involve the admission by Gouzenko that in a number of
cases, judges and juries refused to accept his story, and that might make
people less inclined to believe the book. He has an easy solution for this
problem. He simply leaves out every mention of the acquittals. An eyewitness
who leaves out all the evidence unfavorable to his story isn't
worth much.
And neither Gouzenko nor his ghost writer felt obliged to mention the
widespread Canadian protests over the methods of the Taschereau-Kellock
Commission, protests which came from such bodies as the Canadian Bar
Association, the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada, the Canadian
Congress of Labor and from many church bodies and civil rights groups.
This is the kind of book that can be hailed in editorials as "an epic
Canadian book," which everyone should read. It is a sad comment on the
integrity of Canadian reviewers and critics that they can take a book like
this quite seriously as if it were a world authority, when in fact no one
could miss all the glaring mis-statements. If such a book receives so
much praise, we can realise what an effort is being made to put over on
the Canadian people the crudest kind of anti-Russian lies.
In Canada, Couzenko's managers scored a propaganda success by getting
his book in the book stores just as the Iron Curtain film opened in
the first-run movie theatres.
Like the book, the movie carries on in the great lie tradition. Both the
film and the book are attempts to make a cheap profit out of artificially
promoted war fears. The Canadian government took pride in sponsoring
a resolution at the U.N. against warmongering. What do they call what
Gouzenko is doing? They have to take responsibility both for the book
and the film. Gouzenko is their ward and they cannot wash their hands .
of what he does. By sponsoring him they lend credence to his lies and
distortions.
The book is important only for the enemies of peace. For them it has
political value as a propaganda weapon, and it takes its place in the
armory of those working for misunderstanding and war. . This is the kind
of writing which Canadians must learn to recognize and attack. It
attempts to block the growth of friendship between Canada and the
U.S.S.R. and so hinders the work of the United Nations and sabotages the
fight for peace.

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CANADIAN-SOVIET FRIENDSHIP
President: Leslie Roberts.
Vice-Presidents: Barker Fa irley, Dr. F . J. Tool e, Rev. I. G. Perkins.
Honorar y Tr easurer: E. D . Maclnnes.
Members: Boris Berlin, Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, \ Vm. Devine, Mrs. Barker Fairley,
Rabbi A. L. Fe inbe rg, Huntly K. Gordon, Miss Margaret Gould, Robert Haddow,
Lawr en ce Hamilton, R. C. Harvey, Dr. Leopold Infeld, C. S. Jackson , Major W . M.
Jones, A. John s, Michael Korol, Mrs. Rae M. Luckock, I. Malania, Pet er Mert anen,
Jean Pare, W rn, Philopovich , S. B. Ryerson , Rev. Fern Sayles, Stephen Sawula, Dr .
Christian Sivert z, Mrs. M. H . Spaulding, Lewis St. G. Stubbs, G. Sundqvist, W m.
Teresio, Mrs. M. S. Thomson , Miss Katherine Wh etham, Mrs. Pau l \Veil.
A NOTE ABOUT THE COUNCIL
Th e National Council for Can adi an -Soviet Fri endship believes that bett er understanding
between Canada and the other \Vestern democratic countries on the one
side and the Soviet Union on the other is essentia l to the prese rva tion of world peace.
Working toward this objective, the Council publishes a mon thly bulletin giving
information about life in the Soviet Union, holds public meetings, pub lishes pamph lets
such as this, stim ulates similar ac tivity in towns and cities across Canada, ac ts as a
reference centre on matt ers pert aini ng lo Soviet cu lture, enco urages inte rcha nge of
cultural material, spea ks out aga inst the anti -Sovie t, war propaganda emanati ng from
cert ain circles of our Government , encourages the formation of study groups on such
topics as Soviet art, music , education, health, agriculture, etc., and prov ides material
for study.
Th e Council is non-political, drawing its membership and support from among
the great numbers of Can adi ans who see in the prospect of anothe r war, the deathknell
of their own future and that of their children.
Operating with the grea test economy, an annua l bud get of about $10,000 is
requ ired in ord er to provide Ca nad ians with fac ls to be used against the barrage of
anti-soviet , pro-war pr opagand a.
Contributions to the work of the Council are pure ly volun tary. We receive no
government grants and no subsidies.
If you beli eve that the Council has a role to play in the fight to pr eserve a peaceful
Canada, won't you fill out the form below and mail it, with your cheque or
mon ey order to :
The National Council for Canadian-Soviet Fri end ship
18 Grenvill e St., Toront o.
________________ 1
_
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CANADIAN SOVIET FRIENDSHIP,
18 GRENVILLE ST .,
TORONTO.
Dear Sirs:
Enclosed find my chequ e (money orde r) for $ .
contribution to the work of the Council in 1948.
should like to receive literature on ..
. I
do (do not) receive your Bulletin, "T hese are the Facts" (
should like to kn ow the nam es of other int erested people in my community .. (
being
my
Name
Street
Town or City ..
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