Radicalization process, including state control over the press, public spaces, and political indoctrination of programs

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Manuscripts and Archives > Andrew St. George papers (MS 1912) > Series II: Photographs > Cuba > Cuban Revolution and aftermath > Radicalization process, including state control over the press, public spaces, and political indoctrination of programs

10020870

Description

Title: Radicalization process, including state control over the press, public spaces, and political indoctrination of programs
Creator: From the Collection: St. George, Andrew, 1924-2001
Published / Created: 1960
Description: The radicalization process of 1960 and the participation of the population in various state programs of political indoctrination and economic management were modeled on the Soviet and Chinese Communist system. These photographs include a shot of a political education class in which all participants wear the uniform of the Revolutionary Militia; a rally before the Presidential Palace, shot from the balcony or its roof; young girls marching military-style under the supervision of drill instructors on San Lázaro Street, a main artery that connects the University of Havana with Centro Habana; Fidel and other officials gathered at the monument to José Martí in Revolutionary Plaza, minutes before a major rally; hand-made signs posted on the storefront of Western Union on Havana’s Obispo Street, protesting the closure of the office and the firing of Cuban employees; a wide-angle street scene taken on Carlos III, a wide avenue in Havana, showing the nationalist political postings on the median and wall of a building (these claim revolutionary goals as “National Sovereignty, Economic Independence, Agrarian Reform, Industrialization”); a newsstand featuring only government-controlled media and magazines from socialist countries; a government print shop with political propaganda books published recently; men suiting up for militia duty (duplicate print is in Box 8, folder 4); and a wall with graffiti supporting Fidel. The image of the girls marching includes a strip caption on back by St. George that reads “In typical tableau, group of 6-8 year old schoolgirls [sic] drill under 2 rebel army instructors on Havana’s central San Lazaro St.” The photograph with Fidel and other leaders assembled on the speaker’s platform at the monument to Martí includes notes on the back that correspond to numbers St. George penciled in, pinpointing certain figures standing with Fidel. They are American William Morgan (later shot for treason in 1961), Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo (later founder of the exile guerrilla Alpha 66) and Aubelz (?). St George seems to be indicating who were members of the Segundo Frente Escambray, an independent guerrilla organization that allied with Fidel’s movement to topple Batista. After 1960, the Segundo Frente’s members became suspect because they were all avowedly anti-Communist and therefore believed to be tied to the CIA. The photograph of the men suiting up for military duty includes this caption: II: MILITARY FEVER GRIPS CUBA / With all Cubans (of both sexes) between the ages of 6 and 60 eligible for milicia duty, and with new anti-Castro guerrilla forces fighting in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra (mountains in the background) all Cuba is getting into uniform, like these shivering and reluctant milicianos of the Havana Architects’ and Lawyers Militia Battalion: they are called to duty to defend the government against anti-Castro “bandits” (who have entered violent battle against the Castro regime during first weeks of April) and against a “foreign invasion” which has not yet materialized, but which Castro seems to expect. This photo was taken in brand-new – as yet unfinished – militia camp at Las Mercedes, among Sierra Maestra foothills.
Provenance: Purchased from Jean Szentgyorgyi by the Latin American Curator, June 2009; transferred from the Latin American Curator to Manuscripts and Archives, 2012.
Extent of Digitization: This object has been partially digitized.
Language: English

Item Location

Repository

Manuscripts and Archives

Call Number

MS 1912

Search for Additional Digitized Material in This Collection

Manuscripts and Archives
- Andrew St. George papers
  - Series II: Photographs, 1949 - 1972
    Cuba
    Cuban Revolution and aftermath
    THIS ITEM Radicalization process, including state control over the press, public spaces, and political indoctrination of programs

Container / Volume

Box 46, folder 14

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Access And Usage Rights

Access: Public
Rights: The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.
Citation: Andrew St. George Papers (MS 1912). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.

Identifiers

Orbis Record: 9060277
Object ID (OID): 10020870