ABSTRACT
The Congress for Cultural Freedom played a part in ideological confrontation between communism and the West; its overall impact will be known only after there will be full access to the Soviet and East European archives. Seldom in history has an organization been vindicated as fully as the Congress for Cultural Freedom by other events. In the summer of 1991 a gathering took place in East Berlin of a few dozen cold warriors who had been involved in the activities of the Congress for Cultural Freedom. There were as is the custom on such occasions, a great many speeches, some long, others short, some interesting or at least entertaining, others less so. The story of the Congress will be told again in greater detail and with different emphasis. It was a fascinating historical episode and it offers a variety of lessons which will almost certainly be ignored.
