Preface

AS PEOPLE REACH, AND PASS, the proverbial three score years and ten, they inevitably look back more often on their past life and become curious about half-forgotten episodes and events, and the actions and beliefs these evoked at the time.They may be tempted to record such events and thoughts for descendants and friends, or even for a wider public.Only after overcoming doubts and inhibitions did I embark on writing a memoir devoted to the two central themes of my life: world communism and its manifestations in central and eastern Europe, and Czechoslovakia, a small country unfamiliar to most Canadians.By an unexpected twist of history -the seizure of power by the Communists in Czechoslovakia in 1948 -these two themes became interwoven and remained so until the peaceful overthrow of Communism in 1989.Together they formed a major current through much of my adult life.This book is in the first place an exploration and explanation of one Canadian's thinking about communism in central and eastern Europe.Why was I so fascinated by a worldwide movement alien to most Canadians, and why was I destined to devote a lifetime to attempting to understand it?As a young man I experienced the Depression and witnessed the birth of Canadian socialism; as a result I became a convinced socialist.In England, faced with the threats of fascism and impending war, I, like so many students, moved steadily to the Left and became enamoured of communism.My belief was strengthened by the failure of the West to stand up to Japanese, Italian, and German aggression, especially the Western sellout of Czechoslovakia at Munich, and the enormous Soviet contribution to victory in World War II.I was not alone in succumbing to illusions about communism, but I took longer than many to awaken to its realities.During the 1950s, in the United States, I tried to preserve some degree of political detachment and objectivity and thus became increasingly out of step with the prevailing American anti-Communist mood.I grew more and more aware of the imperfections and evil feaures of the various communist systems, and became actively engaged in the struggle for human rights in the communist world.As for Czechoslovakia, why did a Canadian-born scholar, of Scottish and English descent, develop a deep and abiding interest in this faraway country, of which the Western world knew so little?My sympathy was kindled during my time at Oxford in the late 1930s.Unlike its neighbours, this country had maintained a democratic

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