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Backstairs Mission in Moscow 9 Listen to the man wh k what goes on in RedoR no~s ussra: Sl.OO. "This is truth undilut d Such is the value pi d e . •·. a Warning to alii" who ace upon this b k · · ~pent 12 years in the Forb·dd oo . by Father :Brau" ' en Land of the ·Soviets I was greatly interested in reading ~Backataira. Mission in Mosc.ow. 8 It is a very original and sincere presentation. This book obvioualy has not the least pretention of being an essay or treatise and most of all, its author is not trying to prove a point. One does not have to be a philosopher, an ecom- a diplomat to understand, as this narra- ' · mist or .; tive illustrates, that fear and utter disenchant­ ment are the prevalent sentiments of the good people he observed. That is the sustained thought emanating from Charles Ciliberti 1 s exp~s .e • . Without calculation and. without the artifice ot =·' studied phrases, this book gives a surprisingly. ··. :. truthful . and penetrating picture o:f the depl,or;-::( ? endured by a lovable people. · · . ..: ; . · able reality '!! ·;_ -· . ..~ Truth undiluted comes out :from the reading of · this book. The truth that. an iron curtain doe·s exist, where suppressed and hideous realitie's on .·., a stupendous scale make us feel . so glad · and grate­ ful to be livillE!: under applied principles ., of democracy. It is ~ earnest hope that this vivid descriP-. tion -- whicn is also a warning-- will ,reach the ears and minds of the unsuspecting ~blic. ' ~ ~ '..... c:x:._ "< ofc. .f./ J -:;j. 4~ · 1(A · i ' 1 12 Years Behind the Iro ,. -· _,. ' I ' :,: J=ather leopold 8 . n "urtoJn a t" . raun, of New B df ch •n~ ~ame of relig~on alive . ~ ord, ~ass., kept urc •n central Moscow. ;n a sm.all greysto'ne . w~ere godlessness was ex here, •n a country faJth, christened infant tolled, he defended the t:e dying and received s~hperformed last rites for . ~ the Red Army on lea: confe.ssions of soldiers oscow was made possible e. HJs assignment to Roosevelt-litvinov A by a protocol to th United States recogn~;::m;nt. under which th: OVJet Rus~ia in 1933. Leaders of all sections of A . all denominations, commentat mencan hte, clergymen of everywhere acclaim BACKSTA~~sS, authors and plain folks MISSION IN MOSCOW. ACKSTAIRS Mission in Moscovv by C.HARLES CILIBERTI Chauffeur to the Arnbassador and Mrs. Joseph E. Davies 1936-1938 The Diary of an American Worker compiled durrng three eventful journeys to the forbidden /ani of the Soviets. With 8 Pages of Photographs and Maps B 0 0 K TAB pREss I PUBLISHERS NEW YORK CITY 2 BOOKTAB NO. 1 CoPYRIGHT, 1946, BY NEWS STORY WoRLDWIDE, Inc. All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA At the BOOKTAB PRESS • New York City BOOKTAB NO. 1 TO THE FOUNDERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA nExcessive partiality for one foreign nation, and ex­ cessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other." GEORGE WASHINGTON nyhose who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, ,they cannot tong 1'etain it." ABRAHAM LINCOLN INTRODUCTION ·B EIKG as practical as the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court, Charles Ciliberti looked under the hood of the Soviet political machine and found out how it runs. And, because he is a typical American working man, Ciliberti' s direct comparisons between life in the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. give us the yardstick that is needed so urgently today. Ciliberti's fascinating diary of his three visits to Russia is something new in the field of public information. Through his wide-open eyes, we see the real inner Russia-the motor under the over-polished hood. From the top­ most level of ·wealth and power, to the bottom-rung of worker and peasant, Ciliberti moves along the backstairs of Moscow, uncovering the nerve-center of the terror that never takes· a holiday. Mr. Ciliberti, obviously, is not qualified to judge whether the Soviet system under Generalissimo Stalin conforms to the doctrines of Karl Marx. But he does know human nature and, on top of that, he does know his way around Moscow. And he has a knack of reporting what he hears and sees in terms which the average person can understan~L Furthermore, the author also took the trouble to learn the Russian language:._something mo~t professional writers have failed to do. For this and other reasons-=-a great many of .his fellow citizens will welcome · the Ciliberti apt>roach to the Soviet riddle. Toq long have they been be­ wildered by the writings of professionals who go to Moscow and report, not what they see and hear, but merely reflect political opinions they had before they entered the Soviet barbed-wire enclosures called "frontiers." Backstairs Mission in Moscqw is down to earth, street-level reporting. More than that, it is an intensely human, good~natured document that is both entertaining and informative. Before he went to Russia, Ciliberti had been urged by some friends and acquaintances to bow down and worship the Soviet system. Instead, he pro­ ceeded to make a point-by-point comparison, always asking: "What has Russia got that we would swap for what we have in our own country?" The answer to end all such questions is found in Ciliberti' s disclosures. The superb reliability of his report on Russia makes one wish that the United States could send abroad working men instead of diplomats-or if that seems too much of an innovation-working men instead of near-sighted news­ papermen. JAMES W. BARRETT FOREWORD 5 LTHOUGH I was born in the United States, I never realized wh.at it meant until ·I set foot in Germany on the fourteenth of January, A 1937 .. On that day I became. an American, through and through. Before going to. Europe, . and especially to Germany and Russia, I was an American like any other American, who has his likes and his dislikes . When I came back from Europe the third time, I had more likes than .dislikes. Most of the "dislikes" had gone over to the "like" side of the ledger and the "dislikes" that remained had turned into hate, a hate for dictatorship of any kind, anywhere on earth. Before 1937 _ the Constitution of the United States had been just a dry .document to ll;J.e. ~fter 1937, it became my political Bible. It took those trips to the othe:r; side of the world to mak~ me realize what the founders of . our nation had gone through to give me my freedom a_nd to prove that all men ·are created equ~l. As ~ kid, .I _never.liked schqol,. least of all hi~tory. Since going to Europe I believe l _.have. re.ad as much.. hi,story, both American .and European,. as anyone, _trying ·to figure out the reasons for world chaos. If I had read the Constitution: first (available in any ten-c-ent store) I would have been saved from beating ·my brains out with a lot of books sent to I?e from universities by · friends · of Miss Nedinia Hutton, Mrs . .Davies' daughter. As for Russia; if I am to go strictly by what I saw ··and heard, I will say· that the Russi~. .n Government d~es not represent .the Russian people, though it is composed of Russians. If a vote were taken, with ple~ty of time for the opposition to prepare for it, I think the present Government would be unable to collect ?lore than 10,000,000 votes. The current regime, from what I heard, is piling up more debts every day and I believe I may see these debts collected in my lifetime. Paid they will one day be, for a thing like this can't go on forever. The Russians love life too much· to be subjugated to tyranny forever and, like all of . us, are born free and will some day be free. As one Russian said to me: "Charlie, tolka vrema eto nada, patum vee budyit pariatki." ("Only time is necessary, then everything shall. be fixed.") The look in his eyes told me what he meant. What a day that will be in Russia, ~hen a Russian can say, as Cass Daley says over the radio, "I said it, anci I'm glad I said it," without a gang of N. K. V. D.'s (G. P. U.'s) coming down on him to give him the usual treatment. Fascism, communism, nazism. I see no difference in these "isms." Choose any one of them and you come off second best. My belief, from 6 BOOKTAB NO. 1 the time I left Europe until tOday and until I die, is that the single decision type of government is dictatorship and nothing said· in favor of these governments should· be taken in by the American people. I know that they have been, and . are, in direct opposition to the Constitution of the United States and all · I believe in. And this freedom ·that I have· must be good,· because they are after it. It isn't that they want ·it for their people; · they want it for themselves, to use to enslave others. And, so long as I am on this earth, I will do all I can to see that we keep it.
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