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725 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
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<conspiracyFile>SEE NOTES AT END FOR INFO ON SOURCES OF THESE DOCUMENTS
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
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OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR 25 APR 1956
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<div>
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MEMORANDUM FOR: The Honorable J. Edgar Hoover
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Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
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SUBJECT : Brainwashing
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The attached study on brainwashing was prepared by my
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staff in response to the increasing acute interest in the
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subject throughout the intelligence and security components
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of the Government. I feel you will find it well worth your
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personal attention. It represents the thinking of leading psy-
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chologists, psychiatrists and intelligence specialists, based
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in turn on interviews with many individuals who have had
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personal experience with Communist brainwashing, and on
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extensive research and testing. While individuals specialists
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hold divergent views on various aspects of this most complex
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subject, I believe the study reflects a synthesis of majority
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expert opinion. I will, of course, appreciate any comments
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on it that you or your staff may have.
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(signed)
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Allen W. Dulles
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Director
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ENCLOSURE
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OA 53-37
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<div>
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A REPORT ON COMMUNIST BRAINWASHING
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The report that follows is a condensation of a study by train-
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ing experts of the important classified and unclassified information
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available on this subject.
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BACKGROUND
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Brainwashing, as a technique, has been used for centuries and
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is no mystery to psychologists. In this sense, brainwashing means
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involuntary re-education of basic beliefs and values. All people
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are being re-educated continually. New information changes one's
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beliefs. Everyone has experienced to some degree the conflict that
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ensues when new information is not consistent with prior belief.
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The experience of the brainwashed individual differs in that the in-
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consistent information is forced upon the individual under controlled
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conditions after the possibility of critical judgment has been re-
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moved by a variety of methods.
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There is no question that an individual can be broken psycholog-
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ically by captors with knowledge and willingness to persist in tech-
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niques aimed at deliberately destroying the integration of a personal-
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ity. Although it is probable that everyone reduced to such a confused,
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disoriented state will respond to the introduction of new beliefs, this
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cannot be stated dogmatically.
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PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN CONTROL AND REACTION TO CONTROL
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There are progressive steps in exercising control over an individ-
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ual and changing his behaviour and personality integration. The fol-
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lowing five steps are typical of behaviour changes in any controlled
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individual:
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1. Making the individual aware of control is the first stage in
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changing his behaviour. A small child is made aware of the physical
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and psychological control of his parents and quickly recognizes that
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an overwhelming force must be reckoned with. So, a controlled adult
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comes to recognize the overwhelming powers of the state and the im-
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personal, "incarcerative" machinery in which he is enmeshed. The in
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-dividual recognizes that definite limits have been put upon the ways
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he can respond.
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(Approved for Release) (62-80750-2712X)
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(Date: 8 FEB 1984)
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OA 53-37
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2. Realization of his complete dependence upon the controll-
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ing system is a major factor in the controlling of his behavior.The con-
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trolled adult is forced to accept the fact that food, tobacco,praise,
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and the only social contact that he will get come from the very in-
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terrogator who exercises control over him.
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<div>
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3. The awareness of control and recognition of dependence re-
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sult in causing internal conflict and breakdown of previous patterns
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of behaviour. Although this transition can be relatively mild in
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the case of a child, it is almost invariably severe for the adult
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undergoing brainwashing. Only an individual who holds his values
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lightly can change them easily. Since the brainwasher-interrogators
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aim to have the individuals undergo profound emotional change, they
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force their victims to seek out painfully what is desired by the
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controlling individual. During this period the victim is likely to
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have a mental breakdown characterized by delusions and hallucinat-
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ions.
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4. Discovery that there is an acceptable solution to his prob-
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lem is the first stage of reducing the individual's conflict. It
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is characteristically reported by victims of brainwashing that this
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discovery led to an overwhelming feeling of relief that the horror
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of internal conflict would cease and that perhaps they would not,
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after all, be driven insane. It is at this point that they are pre-
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pared to make major changes in their value-system. This is an
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automatic rather than voluntary choice. They have lost their a-
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bility to be critical.
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5. Reintergration of values and identification with the cont-
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rolling system is the final stage in changing the behaviour of the
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controlled individual. A child who has learned a new, socially de-
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sirable behaviour demonstrates its importance by attempting to as-
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apt the new behaviour to a variety of other situations. Similar
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states in the brainwashed adult are
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(SECTION DELETED BY CIA)
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2
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OA 53-37
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pitiful. His new value-system, his manner of perceiving,organizing,and
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<div>
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giving meaning to events, is virtually independent of his former value-
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system.He is no longer capable of thinking or speaking in concepts other
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than those he has adopted. He tends to identify by expressing thanks to
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his captors for helping him see the light.Brainwashing can be achieved
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without using illegal means.Anyone willing to use known principles of
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control and reactions to control and capable of demonstrating the patience
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needed in raising a child can probably achieve successful brainwashing.
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COMMUNIST CONTROL TECHNIQUES AND THEIR EFFECTS
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A description of usual communist control techniques follows.
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1. Interrogation. There are at least two ways in which "interro-
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gation" is used:
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a. Elicitation, which is designed to get the individual to
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surrender protected information, is a form of interrogation. One major
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difference between elicitation and interrogation used to achieve
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brainwashing is that the mind of the individual must be kept clear to
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permit coherent, undistorted disclosure of protected information.
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b. Elicitation for the purpose of brainwashing consists of
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questioning,argument,indoctrination,threats,cajolery,praise,hos-
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tility, and a variety of other pressures. The aim of this interrogation
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is to hasten the breakdown of the individual's value system and to encourage
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the substitution of a different value-system. The procurement of protected
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information is secondary and is used as a device to increase pressure upon
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the individual. The term "interrogation" in this paper will refer, in
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general, to this type. The "interrogator" is the individual who conducts
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this type of interrogation and who controls the administration of the other
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pressures. He is the protagonist against whom the victim develops his con-
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flict, and upon whom the victim develops a state of dependency as he seeks
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some solution to his conflict.
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2. Physical Torture and Threats of Torture. Two types of physical
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torture are distinguishable more by their psychological effect in induc-
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ing conflict than by the degree of painfulness:
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a. The first type is one in which the victim has a passive role
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in the pain inflicted on him (e.g.,beatings). His conflict involves the
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decision of whether or not to give in to demands in order to avoid further
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pain. Generally, brutality of this type was not found to achieve the
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desired results. Threats of torture were found more effective, as fear
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of pain causes greater conflict within the individual than does pain it-
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self.
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3
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OA 53-37
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b. The second type of torture is represented by requiring the
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individual to stand in one spot for several hours or assume some other
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pain-inducing position. Such a requirement often engenders in the indi-
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vidual a determination to "stick it out." This internal act of resistance
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<div>
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provide a feeling of moral superiority at first. As time passes and his
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pain mounts,however, the individual becomes aware that it is his own
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original determination to resist that is causing the continuance of pain.
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A conflict develops within the individual between his moral determination
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and his desire to collapse and discontinue the pain. It is this extra
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internal conflict, in addition to the conflict over whether or not to give
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in to the demands made of him, that tends to make this method of torture
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more effective in the breakdown of the individual personality.
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3. Isolation. Individual differences in reaction to isolation are
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probably greater than to any other method. Some individuals appear to
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be able to withstand prolonged periods of isolation without deleterious
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effects, while a relatively short period of isolation reduces others to
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the verge of psychosis. Reaction varies with the conditions of the iso-
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lation cell. Some sources have indicated a strong reaction to filth and
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vermin, although they had negligible reactions to the isolation. Others
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reacted violently to isolation in relatively clean cells. The predominant
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cause of breakdown in such situations is a lack of sensory stimulation
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(i.e.,grayness of walls,lack of sound,absence of social contact,etc.).
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Experimental subjects exposed to this condition have reported vivid hal-
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licinations and overwhelming fears of losing their sanity.
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4. Control of Communication. This is one of the most effective
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methods for creating a sense of helplessness and despair. This measure
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might well be considered the cornerstone of the communist system of con-
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trol. It consists of strict regulation of the mail,reading materials,
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broadcast materials, and social contact available to the individual. The
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need to communicate is so great that when the usual channels are blocked,
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the individual will resort to any open channel, almost regardless of the
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implications of using that particular channel. Many POWs in Korea, whose
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only act of "collaboration" was to sign petitions and "peace appeals,"
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defended their actions on the ground that this was the only method of
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letting the outside world know they were still alive. May stated that
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their morale and fortitude would have been increased immeasurably had
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leaflets of encouragement been dropped to them. When the only contact
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with the outside world is via the interrogator, the prisoner comes to
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develop extreme dependency on his interrogator and hence loses another
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prop to his morale.
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Another wrinkle in communication control is the informer system.
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The recruitment of informers in POW camps discouraged communication
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4
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OA 53-37
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between inmates.POWs who feared that every act or thought of resistance
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<div>
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would be communicated to the camp administrators, lost faith in their
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fellow man and were forced to "untrusting individualism." Informers are
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also under several stages of brainwashing and elicitation to develop
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and maintain control over the victims.
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5. Induction of Fatigue. This is a well-known device for breaking
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will power and critical powers of judgment. Deprivation of sleep results
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in more intense psychological debilitation than does any other method of
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engendering fatigue. The communists vary their methods. "Conveyor belt"
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interrogation that last 50-60 hours will make almost any individual com-
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promise, but there is danger that this will kill the victim. It is safer
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to conduct interrogations of 8-10 hours at night while forcing the prisoner
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to remain awake during the day. Additional interruptions in the remaining
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2-3 hours of allotted sleep quickly reduce the most resilient individual .
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Alternate administration of drug stimulants and depressants hastens the
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process of fatigue and sharpens the psychological reactions of excitement
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and depression.
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Fatigue, in addition to reducing the will to resist,also produces
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irritation and fear that arise from increased "slips of the tongue." for-
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getfulness, and decreased ability to maintain orderly thought processes.
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6. Control of Food,Water and Tobacco. The controlled individual
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is made intensely aware of his dependence upon his interrogator for the
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quality and quantity of his food and tobacco. The exercise of this con-
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trol usually follows a pattern. No food and little or no water is per-
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mitted the individual for several days prior to interrogation.When the
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prisoner first complains of this to the interrogator, the latter expresses
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surprise at such inhumane treatment. He makes a demand of the prisoner.
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If the latter complies,he receives a good meal. If he does not, he gets
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a diet of unappetizing food containing limited vitamins,minerals, and
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calories. This diet is supplemented occasionally by the interrogator if
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the prisoner "cooperates." Studies of controlled starvation indicate
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that the whole value-system of the subjects underwent a change. Their
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irritation increased as their ability to think clearly decreased. The
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control of tobacco presented an even greater source of conflict for heavy
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smokers. Because tobacco is not necessary to life, being manipulated by
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his craving for it can in the individual a strong sense of guilt.
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7. Criticism and Self-Criticism. There are mechanisms of communist
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thought control. Self-criticism gains its effectiveness from the fact
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that although it is not a crime for a man to be wrong, it is a major crime
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to be stubborn and to refuse to learn. Many individuals feel intensely re-
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lieved in being able to share their sense of guilt. Those individuals
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5
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OA 53-37
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however, who have adjusted to handling their guilt internally have dif-
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ficulty adapting to criticism and self-criticism. In brainwashing ,after
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a sufficient sense of guilt has been created in the individual, sharing
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and self-criticism permit relief. The price paid for this relief, how-
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<div>
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ever, is loss of individuality and increased dependency.
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8. Hypnosis and Drugs as Controls. There is no reliable evidence
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that the communists are making widespread use of drugs or hypnosis in
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brainwashing or elicitation. The exception to this is the use of common
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stimulants or depressants in inducing fatigue and "mood swings."
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9. Other methods of control, which when used in conjunction with the
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basic processes, hasten the deterioration of prisoners' sense of values
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and resistance are:
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a. Requiring a case history or autobiography of the prisoner
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provides a mine of information for the interrogator in establishing and
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"documenting" accusations.
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b. Friendliness of the interrogator , when least expected, up-
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sets the prisoner's ability to maintain a critical attitude.
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c. Petty demands, such as severely limiting the allotted time
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for use of toilet facilities or requiring the POW to kill hundreds of
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flies, are harassment methods.
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d. Prisoners are often humiliated by refusing them the use of
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toilet facilities during interrogator until they soil themselves. often
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prisoners were not permitted to bathe for weeks until they felt contempti-
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ble.
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e. Conviction as a war criminal appears to be a potent factor
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in creating despair in the individual. One official analysis of the pres-
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sures exerted by the ChiComs on "confessors" and "non-confessors" to
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participation in bacteriological warfare in Korea showed that actual trial
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and conviction of "war crimes" was overwhelmingly associated with breakdown
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and confession.
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f. Attempted elicitation of protected information at various
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times during the brainwashing process diverted the individual from aware-
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ness of the deterioration of his value-system. The fact that, in most
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cases, the ChiComs did not want or need such intelligence was not known
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to the prisoner. His attempts to protect such information was made at
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the expense of hastening his own breakdown.
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6
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OA 53-37
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THE EXERCISE OF CONTROL: A "SCHEDULE" FOR BRAINWASHING
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<div>
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From the many fragmentary accounts reviewed, the following appears
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to be the most likely description of what occurs during brainwashing .
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In the period immediately following capture, the captors are faced
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with the problem of deciding on best ways of exploitation of the prisoners.
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Therefore, early treatment is similar both for those who are to be exploited
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through elicitation and those who are to undergo brainwashing. concurrently
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with being interrogated and required to write a detailed personal history,
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the prisoner undergoes a physical and psychological "softening-up" which
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includes: limited unpalatable food rations,withholding of tobacco,possi-
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ble work details,severely inadequate use of toilet facilities, no use of
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facilities for personal cleanliness,limitation of sleep such as requiring
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a subject to sleep with a bright light in his eyes. Apparently the inter-
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rogation and autobiographical ,material, the reports of the prisoner's be-
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haviour in confinement, and tentative "personality typing" by the interro-
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gators, provide the basis upon which exploitation plans are made.
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There is a major difference between preparation for elicitation and
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for brainwashing .Prisoners exploited through elicitation must retain suffi-
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cient clarity of thought to be able to give coherent,factual accounts. In
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brainwashing , on the other hand, the first thing attacked is clarity of
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thought. To develop a strategy of defense, the controlled individual must
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determine what plans have been made for his exploitation. Perhaps the best
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cues he can get are internal reactions to the pressures he undergoes.
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The most important aspect of the brainwashing process is the interro-
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gation. The other pressures are designed primarily to help the interrogator
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achieve his goals. The following states are created systematically within
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the individual . These may vary in order, but all are necessary to the
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brainwashing process:
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1. A feeling of helplessness in attempting to deal with the impersonal
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machinery of control.
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2. An initial reaction of "surprise."
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3. A feeling of uncertainty about what is required of him.
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4. A developing feeling of dependence upon the interrogator .
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5. A sense of doubt and loss of objectivity.
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6. Feelings of guilt.
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7
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OA 53-37
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7. A questioning attitude toward his own value-system.
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8. A feeling of potential "breakdown," i.e.,that he might go crazy.
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<div>
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9. A need to defend his acquired principles.
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10. A final sense of "belonging" (identification).
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A feeling of helplessness in the face of the impersonal machinery
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of control is carefully engendered within the prisoner. The individual
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who receives the preliminary treatment described above not only begins
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to feel like an "animal" but also feels that nothing can be done about
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it. No one pays any personal attention to him. His complaints fall on
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deaf ears. His loss of communication, if he has been isolated, creates
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a feeling that he has been "forgotten." Everything that happens to him
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occurs according to an impersonal; time schedule that has nothing to do
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with his needs. The voices and footsteps of the guards are muted. He
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notes many contrasts,e.g.,his greasy,unpalatable food may be served
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on battered tin dishes by guards immaculately dressed in white. The
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first steps in "depersonalization" of the prisoner have begun. He has
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no idea what to expect. Ample opportunity is allotted for him to ruminate
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upon all the unpleasant or painful things that could happen to him. He
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approaches the main interrogator with mixed feelings of relief and
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fright.
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Surprise is commonly used in the brainwashing process. The prisoner
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is rarely prepared for the fact that the interrogators are usually friendly
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and considerate at first. They make every effort to demonstrate that
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they are reasonable human beings. Often they apologize for bad treatment
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received by the prisoner and promise to improve his lot if he, too, is
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reasonable. This behaviour is not what he has steeled himself for. He
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lets down some of his defenses and tries to take a reasonable attitude.
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The first occasion he balks at satisfying a request of the interrogator ,
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however, he is in for another surprise. The formerly reasonable inter-
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rogator unexpectedly turns into a furious maniac. The interrogator is
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likely to slap the prisoner or draw his pistol and threaten to shoot him.
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Usually this storm of emotion ceases as suddenly as it began and the in-
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terrogator stalks from the room. These surprising changes create doubt
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in the prisoner as to his very ability to perceive another person's moti-
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vations correctly. His next interrogation probably will be marked by im-
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passivity in the interrogator 's mien.
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A feeling of uncertainty about what is required of him is likewise
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carefully engendered within the individual . Pleas of the prisoner to
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learn specifically of what he is accused and by whom are side-stepped by
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8
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OA 53-37
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the interrogator. Instead, the prisoner is asked to tell why he thinks
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<div>
|
||
|
he is held and what he feels he is guilty of. If the prisoner fails to
|
||
|
come up with anything, he is accused in terms of broad generalities (e.g.,
|
||
|
espionage, sabotage,acts of treason against the "people"). This us-
|
||
|
ually provokes the prisoner to make some statement about his activities.
|
||
|
If this take the form of a denial, he is usually sent to isolation on
|
||
|
further decreased food rations to "think over" his crimes. This process
|
||
|
can be repeated again and again. As soon as the prisoner can think of
|
||
|
something that might be considered self-incriminating, the interrogator
|
||
|
appears momentarily satisfied. The prisoner is asked to write down his
|
||
|
statement in his own words and sign it.
|
||
|
Meanwhile a strong sense of dependence upon the interrogator is
|
||
|
developed. It does not take long for the prisoner to realize that the
|
||
|
interrogator is the source of all punishment , all gratification,and all
|
||
|
communication. The interrogator , meanwhile,demonstrates his unpredict-
|
||
|
bility. He is perceived by the prisoner as a creature of whim. At
|
||
|
times, the interrogator can be pleased very easily and at other times
|
||
|
no effort on the part of the prisoner will placate him. The prisoner
|
||
|
may begin to channel so much energy into trying to predict the behaviour
|
||
|
of the unpredictable interrogator that he loses track of what is happen-
|
||
|
ing inside himself.
|
||
|
After the prisoner has developed the above psychological and emotional
|
||
|
reactions to a sufficient degree, the brainwashing begins in earnest.
|
||
|
First, the prisoner's remaining critical faculties must be destroyed.
|
||
|
He undergoes long, fatiguing interrogations while looking at a bright
|
||
|
light. He is called back again and again for interrogations after min-
|
||
|
imal sleep. He may undergo torture that tends to create internal con-
|
||
|
flict. Drugs may be used to accentuate his "mood swings." He develops
|
||
|
depression when the interrogator is being kind and becomes euphoric when
|
||
|
the interrogator is threatening the direst penalties. Then the cycle is
|
||
|
reversed. The prisoner finds himself in a constant state of anxiety
|
||
|
which prevents him from relaxing even when he is permitted to sleep.
|
||
|
Short periods of isolation now bring on visual and auditory hallucinations.
|
||
|
The prisoner feels himself losing his objectivity. It is in this state
|
||
|
that the prisoner must keep up an endless argument with the interrogator .
|
||
|
He may be faced with the confessions of other individuals who "collabo-
|
||
|
rated" with him in his crimes. The prisoner seriously begins to doubts
|
||
|
his own memory. This feeling is heightened by his inability to recall
|
||
|
little things like the names of the people he knows very well or the date
|
||
|
of his birth. The interrogator patiently sharpens this feeling of doubt
|
||
|
by more questioning. This tends to create a serious state of uncertainty
|
||
|
when the individual has lost most of his critical faculties.
|
||
|
9
|
||
|
OA 53-37
|
||
|
The prisoner must undergo additional internal conflict when strong
|
||
|
feelings of guilt are aroused within him. As any clinical psychologist
|
||
|
is aware, it is not at all difficult to create such feelings. Military
|
||
|
servicemen are particularly vulnerable. No one can morally justify kill-
|
||
|
<div>
|
||
|
ing even in wartime. The usual justification is on the grounds of neces-
|
||
|
sity or self-defense. The interrogator is careful to circumvent such
|
||
|
justification. He keeps the interrogation directed toward the prisoner's
|
||
|
moral code. Every moral vulnerability is exploited by incessant question-
|
||
|
ing along this line until the prisoner begins to question the very fun-
|
||
|
damentals of his own value-system. The prisoner must constantly fight a
|
||
|
potential breakdown. He finds that his mind is "going blank" for longer
|
||
|
and longer periods of time. He can not think constructively. If he is
|
||
|
to maintain any semblance of psychological integrity, he must bring to
|
||
|
an end this state of interminable internal conflict. He signifies a
|
||
|
willingness to write a confession.
|
||
|
If this were truly the end, no brainwashing would have occurred.
|
||
|
The individual would simply have given in to intolerable pressure. Ac-
|
||
|
tually, the final stage of the brainwashing process has just begun. No
|
||
|
matter what the prisoner writes in his confession the interrogator is
|
||
|
not satisfied. The interrogator questions every sentence of the confes-
|
||
|
sion. He begins to edit it with the prisoner. The prisoner is forced
|
||
|
to argue against every change. This is the essence of brainwashing.
|
||
|
Every time that he gives in on a point to the interrogator, he must re-
|
||
|
write his whole confession. Still the interrogator is not satisfied.
|
||
|
In a desperate attempt to maintain some semblance of integrity and to
|
||
|
avoid further brainwashing, the prisoner must begin to argue that what
|
||
|
he has already confessed to is true. He begins to accept as his own the
|
||
|
statements he has written. He uses many of the interrogator's earlier
|
||
|
arguments to buttress his position. By this process,identification
|
||
|
with the interrogator's value-system becomes complete. It is extremely
|
||
|
important to recognize that a qualitative change has taken place within
|
||
|
the prisoner. The brainwashed victim does not consciously change his
|
||
|
value-system; rather the change occurs despite his efforts. He is no
|
||
|
more responsible for this change than is an individual who "snaps" and
|
||
|
becomes psychotic. And like the psychotic, the prisoner is not even
|
||
|
aware of the transition.
|
||
|
DEFENSIVE MEASURES OTHER THAN ON THE POLICY AND PLANNING LEVEL
|
||
|
1. Training of Individuals potentially subject to communist control.
|
||
|
Training should provide for the trainee a realistic appraisal
|
||
|
of what control pressures the communists are likely to exert and what
|
||
|
the usual human reactions are to such pressures. The trainee must learn
|
||
|
10
|
||
|
OA 53-37
|
||
|
the most effective ways of combatting his own reactions to such pressures
|
||
|
<div>
|
||
|
and he must learn reasonable expectations as to what his behaviour should
|
||
|
be. Training has two decidedly positive effects; first, it provides the
|
||
|
trainee with ways of combatting control; second, it provides the basis
|
||
|
for developing an immeasurable boost in morale. Any positive action that
|
||
|
the individual can take, even if it is only slightly effective, gives him
|
||
|
a sense of control over a situation that is otherwise controlling him.
|
||
|
2. Training must provide the individual with the means of
|
||
|
recognizing realistic goals for himself.
|
||
|
a. Delay in yielding may be the only achievement that can be
|
||
|
hoped for. In any particular operation, the agent needs the support of
|
||
|
knowing specifically how long he must hold out to save an operation, pro-
|
||
|
tect his cohorts, or gain some other goal.
|
||
|
b. The individual should be taught how to achieve the most favor-
|
||
|
able treatment and how to behave and make necessary concessions to
|
||
|
obtain minimum penalties.
|
||
|
c. Individual behavioural responses to the various communist
|
||
|
control pressures differ markedly. Therefore, each trainee should know
|
||
|
his own particular assets and limitations in resisting specific pressures.
|
||
|
He can learn these only under laboratory conditions simulating the actual
|
||
|
pressures he may have to face.
|
||
|
d. Training must provide knowledge of the goals and the restric-
|
||
|
tions placed upon his communist interrogator. The trainee should know
|
||
|
what controls are on his interrogator and to what extent he can manipulate
|
||
|
the interrogator. For example, the interrogator is not permitted to fail
|
||
|
to gain "something" from the controlled individual. The knowledge that,
|
||
|
after the victim has proved that he is a "tough nut to crack" he can some-
|
||
|
times indicate that he might compromise on some little point to help the
|
||
|
interrogator in return for more favorable treatment, may be useful in-
|
||
|
deed. Above all, the potential victim of communist control can gain a
|
||
|
great deal of psychological support from the knowledge that the communist
|
||
|
interrogator is not a completely free agent who can do whatever he wills
|
||
|
with his victim.
|
||
|
e. The trainee must learn what practical cues might aid him in
|
||
|
recognizing the specific goals of his interrogator. The strategy of defense
|
||
|
against elicitation may differ markedly from the strategy to prevent
|
||
|
brainwashing. To prevent elicitation, the individual may hasten his own
|
||
|
state of mental confusion; whereas, to prevent brainwashing, maintaining
|
||
|
clarity of thought processes is imperative.
|
||
|
11
|
||
|
OA 53-37
|
||
|
f. The trainee should obtain knowledge about communist "carrots"
|
||
|
as well as "sticks." The communists keep certain of their promises and al-
|
||
|
ways renege on others. For example, the demonstrable fact that "informers"
|
||
|
receive no better treatment than other prisoners should do much to prevent
|
||
|
<div>
|
||
|
this particular evil. On the other hand, certain meaningless concessions
|
||
|
will often get a prisoner a good meal.
|
||
|
g. In particular, it should be emphasized to the trainee that,
|
||
|
although little can be done to control the pressures exerted upon him, he
|
||
|
can learn something about controlling his personal reactions to specific
|
||
|
pressures. The trainee can gain much from learning something about in-
|
||
|
ternal conflict and conflict-producing mechanisms. He should learn to
|
||
|
recognize when someone is trying to arouse guilt feelings and what be-
|
||
|
havioural reactions can occur as a response to guilt.
|
||
|
h. Finally, the training must teach some methods that can be utilized
|
||
|
in thwarting particular communist control techniques:
|
||
|
Elicitation. In general, individuals who are the hardest to inter-
|
||
|
rogate for information are those who have experienced previous interroga-
|
||
|
tions. Practice in being the victim of interrogation is a sound train-
|
||
|
ing device.
|
||
|
Torture. The trainee should learn something about the principles of
|
||
|
pain and shock. There is a maximum to the amount of pain that can actually
|
||
|
be felt. Any amount of pain can be tolerated for a limited period of
|
||
|
time. In addition, the trainee can be fortified by the knowledge that there
|
||
|
are legal limitations upon the amount of torture that can be inflicted
|
||
|
by communist jailors.
|
||
|
Isolation. The psychological effects of isolation can probably be
|
||
|
thwarted best by mental gymnastics and systematic efforts on the part of
|
||
|
the isolate to obtain stimulation for his neural end organs.
|
||
|
Controls on Food and Tobacco. Foods given by the communists will
|
||
|
always be enough to maintain survival. Sometimes the victim gets unex-
|
||
|
pected opportunities to supplement his diet with special minerals,vitamins
|
||
|
and other nutrients (e.g.,"iron" from the rust of prison bars). In some
|
||
|
instances, experience has shown that individuals could exploit refusal to
|
||
|
eat. Such refusal usually resulted in the transfer of the individual to
|
||
|
a hospital where he received vitamin injections and nutritious food. Evi-
|
||
|
dently attempts of this kind to commit suicide arouse the greatest concern
|
||
|
in communist officials. If deprivation of tobacco is the control being
|
||
|
exerted. the victim can gain moral satisfaction from "giving up" tobacco.
|
||
|
He can't lose since he is not likely to get any anyway.
|
||
|
12
|
||
|
OA 53-37
|
||
|
Fatigue. The trainee should learn reactions to fatigue and how to
|
||
|
<div>
|
||
|
overcome them insofar as possible. For example, mild physical exercise
|
||
|
"clears the head" in a fatigue state.
|
||
|
Writing Personal Accounts and Self-Criticism. Experience has in-
|
||
|
dicated that one of the most effective ways of combatting these pressures
|
||
|
is to enter into the spirit with an overabundance of enthusiasm. Endless
|
||
|
written accounts of inconsequential material have virtually "smothered"
|
||
|
some eager interrogators. In the same spirit, sober, detailed self-
|
||
|
criticisms of the most minute "sins" has sometimes brought good results.
|
||
|
Guidance as to the priority of positions he should defend. Perfectly
|
||
|
compatible responsibilities in the normal execution of an individual's
|
||
|
duties may become mutually incompatible in this situation. Take the ex-
|
||
|
ample of a senior grade military officer. He has the knowledge of sensitive
|
||
|
strategic intelligence which it is his duty to protect. He has the respon-
|
||
|
sibility of maintaining the physical fitness of his men and serving as
|
||
|
a model example for their behaviour. The officer may go to the camp
|
||
|
commandant to protest the treatment of the POWs and the commandant as-
|
||
|
sures him that treatment could be improved if he will swap something for
|
||
|
it. Thus to satisfy one responsibility he must compromise another. The
|
||
|
officer, in short, is in a constant state of internal conflict. But if
|
||
|
the officer is given the relative priority of his different responsibilities,
|
||
|
he is supported by the knowledge that he won't be held accountable for
|
||
|
any other behaviour if he does his utmost to carry out his highest priority
|
||
|
responsibility. There is considerable evidence that many individuals
|
||
|
tried to evaluate the priority of their responsibilities on their own,
|
||
|
but were in conflict over whether others would subsequently accept their
|
||
|
evaluations. More than one individual was probably brainwashed while he
|
||
|
was trying to protect himself against elicitation.
|
||
|
CONCLUSIONS
|
||
|
The application of known psychological principles can lead to an
|
||
|
understanding of brainwashing.
|
||
|
1. There is nothing mysterious about personality changes resulting
|
||
|
from the brainwashing process.
|
||
|
2. Brainwashing is a complex process. Principles of motivation,
|
||
|
perception, learning, and physiological deprivation are needed to account
|
||
|
for the results achieved in brainwashing.
|
||
|
3. Brainwashing is an involuntary re-education of the fundamental
|
||
|
beliefs of the individual. To attack the problem successfully, the brain-
|
||
|
washing process must be differentiated clearly from general education
|
||
|
methods for thought-control or mass indoctrination, and elicitation.
|
||
|
13
|
||
|
OA 53-37
|
||
|
4. It appears possible for the individual,through training,to
|
||
|
develop limited defensive techniques against brainwashing. Such defensive
|
||
|
measures are likely to be most effective if directed toward thwarting in-
|
||
|
dividual emotional reactions to brainwashing techniques rather than to-
|
||
|
<div>
|
||
|
ward thwarting the techniques themselves.
|
||
|
15 August 1955
|
||
|
14
|
||
|
<div>
|
||
|
(note Declassified)
|
||
|
SECRET
|
||
|
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
|
||
|
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
|
||
|
19 JUN 1964
|
||
|
(Commission No. 1131)
|
||
|
MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. J. Lee Rankin
|
||
|
General Counsel
|
||
|
President's Commission on the
|
||
|
Assassination of President Kennedy
|
||
|
SUBJECT : Soviet Brainwashing Techniques
|
||
|
1. Reference is made to your memorandum of 19 May 1964,
|
||
|
requesting that materials relative to Soviet techniques in mind
|
||
|
conditioning and brainwashing be made available to the Commission.
|
||
|
2. At my request, experts on these subjects within the CIA
|
||
|
have prepared a brief survey of Soviet research in the direction
|
||
|
and control of human behavior, a copy of which is attached. The
|
||
|
Commission may retain this document. Please note that the use
|
||
|
of certain sensitive materials requires that a sensitivity indicator
|
||
|
be affixed.
|
||
|
3. In the immediate future, this Agency will make available
|
||
|
to you a collection of overt and classified materials on these subjects,
|
||
|
which the Commission may retain.
|
||
|
4. I hope that these documents will be responsive to the
|
||
|
Commission's needs.
|
||
|
(SIGNED)
|
||
|
(DECLASSIFIED) Richard Helms
|
||
|
(By C.I.A.) Deputy Director for Plans
|
||
|
(letter of <div>)
|
||
|
(<div>)
|
||
|
Attachment
|
||
|
CD 1131 SECRET
|
||
|
MEMORANDUM
|
||
|
SUBJECT: Soviet Research and Development in the Field of
|
||
|
Direction and Control of Human Behavior.
|
||
|
1. There are two major methods of altering or controlling
|
||
|
human behavior, and the Soviets are interested in both. The first
|
||
|
is psychological; the second, pharmacological. The two may be
|
||
|
used as individual methods or for mutual reinforcement. For
|
||
|
long-term control of large numbers of people, the former method
|
||
|
is more promising than the latter. In dealing with individuals,
|
||
|
the U.S. experience suggests the pharmacological approach (assisted
|
||
|
by psychological techniques) would be the only effective method.
|
||
|
Neither method would be very effective for single individuals on
|
||
|
a long term basis.
|
||
|
2. Soviet research on the pharmacological agents producing
|
||
|
behavioral effects has consistently lagged about five years behind
|
||
|
Western research. They have been interested in such research,
|
||
|
however, and are now pursuing research on such chemicals as
|
||
|
LSD-25, amphetamines, tranquillizers, hypnotics, and similar
|
||
|
materials. There is no present evidence that the Soviets have
|
||
|
any singular, new, potent drugs to force a course of action on
|
||
|
an individual. They are aware, however, of the tremendous drive
|
||
|
produced by drug addiction, and PERHAPS could couple this with
|
||
|
psychological direction to achieve control of an individual.
|
||
|
3. The psychological aspects of behavior control would include
|
||
|
not only conditioning by repetition and training, but such things as
|
||
|
hypnosis, deprivation, isolation, manipulation of guilt feelings,
|
||
|
subtle or overt threats, social pressure, and so on. Some of the
|
||
|
newer trends in the USSR are as follows:
|
||
|
SECRET CD 1131
|
||
|
PAGE 1
|
||
|
a. The adoption of a multidisciplinary approach integrating
|
||
|
biological,social and physical-mathematical research in attempts
|
||
|
better to understand, and eventually, to control human behavior in a
|
||
|
manner consonant with national plans.
|
||
|
b. The outstanding feature, in addition to the inter-
|
||
|
disciplinary approach, is a new concern for mathematical approaches to
|
||
|
an understanding of behavior. Particularly notable are attempts to use
|
||
|
modern information theory, automata theory, and feedback concepts in
|
||
|
interpreting the mechanisms by which the "second signal system," i.e.,
|
||
|
speech and associated phenomena, affect human behavior. Implied by this
|
||
|
"second signal system," using INFORMATION inputs as causative agents
|
||
|
rather than chemical agents, electrodes or other more exotic techniques
|
||
|
applicable, perhaps, to individuals rather than groups.
|
||
|
c. This new trend, observed in the early Post-Stalin Period,
|
||
|
continues. By 1960 the word "cybernetics" was used by the Soviets to
|
||
|
designate this new trend. This new science is considered by some as
|
||
|
the key to understanding the human brain and the product of its
|
||
|
functioning--psychic activity and personality--to the development of
|
||
|
means for controlling it and to ways for molding the character of the
|
||
|
"New Communist Man". As one Soviet author puts it: Cybernetics can be
|
||
|
used in "molding of a child's character, the inculcation of knowledge
|
||
|
and techniques, the amassing of experience, the establishment of social
|
||
|
behavior patterns...all functions which can be summarized as 'control'
|
||
|
of the growth process of the individual." 1/Students of particular
|
||
|
disciplines in the USSR, such as psychologist and social scientists,
|
||
|
also support the general cybernetic trend. 2/ (Blanked by CIA)
|
||
|
4. In summary, therefore, there is no evidence that the Soviets
|
||
|
have any techniques or agents capable of producing particular behavioral
|
||
|
patterns which are not available in the West. Current research indi-
|
||
|
cates that the Soviets are attempting to develop a technology for
|
||
|
controlling the development of behavioral patterns among the citizenry
|
||
|
of the USSR in accordance with politically determined requirements of
|
||
|
the system. Furthermore, the same technology can be applied to more
|
||
|
sophisticated approaches to the "coding" of information for transmittal
|
||
|
to population targets in the "battle for the minds of men." Some of the
|
||
|
more esoteric techniques such as ESP or, as the Soviets call it,
|
||
|
"biological radio-communication", and psychogenic agents such as LSD,
|
||
|
SECRET CD 1131
|
||
|
PAGE 2
|
||
|
are receiving some overt attention with, possibly, applications in mind
|
||
|
for individual behavior control under clandestine conditions. However,
|
||
|
we require more information than is currently available in order to
|
||
|
establish or disprove planned or actual applications of various
|
||
|
methodologies by Soviet scientists to the control of actions of
|
||
|
articular individuals.
|
||
|
References
|
||
|
1. Itelson, Lev, "Pedagogy: An Exact Science?" USSR October 1963,
|
||
|
p. 10.
|
||
|
2. Borzek, Joseph, "Recent Developments in Soviet Psychology,"
|
||
|
Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 15, 1964, p. 493-594.
|
||
|
SECRET CD 1131
|
||
|
PAGE 3
|
||
|
The first letter and attachment are from DECLASSIFIED
|
||
|
DOCUMENTS 1984 microfilms under MKULTRA (84) 002258, published
|
||
|
by Research Publication Woodbridge, CT 06525. Some original
|
||
|
markings were not retyped, but the content is the same.
|
||
|
The second letter and attachment are from the Warren
|
||
|
Commission documents. Notice should be paid to the different
|
||
|
tone Helms gives to his letter, keeping in mind he was found
|
||
|
guilty of lying to Congress. He places greater emphasis on
|
||
|
"Soviet" practices and tries to diminish breakthroughs gained
|
||
|
by Americans. Some thought should be given as to WHY the
|
||
|
Warren Commission sought such documents (remembering that
|
||
|
ALLEN DULLES was a member of that Commission). They were
|
||
|
exploring the Manchurian candidate theory. It was revealed
|
||
|
during the Church Committee hearings of 1975 that Helms had
|
||
|
been in charge of Project AMLASH, a program to assassinate
|
||
|
Castro (Cuba),Trujillo (Dominican Republic), Diem (RVN),
|
||
|
Schneider (Chile) using MAFIA figures John Roselli and Santos
|
||
|
Trafficante to do the job.
|
||
|
Care was used to insure lines appear in same length and order.
|
||
|
Page length will have to be adjusted if you desire to print
|
||
|
this. Look for other specials soon. David John Moses.
|
||
|
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter <data type="phoneNumber">510-935-5845</data>
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Salted Slug Systems Strange <data type="phoneNumber">408-454-9368</data>
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Burn This Flag Zardoz <data type="phoneNumber">408-363-9766</data>
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran <data type="phoneNumber">415-567-7043</data>
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen <data type="phoneNumber">415-583-4102</data>
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Tomorrow's 0rder of Magnitude Finger_Man <data type="phoneNumber">408-961-9315</data>
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My Dog Bit Jesus Suzanne D'Fault <data type="phoneNumber">510-658-8078</data>
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Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives,
|
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arcane knowledge, political extremism, diversive sexuality,
|
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insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS.
|
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Full access for first-time callers. We don't want to know who you are,
|
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where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother.
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X</conspiracyFile>
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