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Oliver MacDonald

Left-wing Defence Bulletins on Eastern Europe

(November 1978)


Labour Focus on Eastern Europe, Vol. 2 No. 5, November–December 1978, pp. 21–22.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’ Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).



In Labour Focus, Vol. 1 No. 5 we published a comprehensive list of left-wing defence committees in the West concerned with political prisoners in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Many people found this useful and we were pleased to see that it is been reproduced in a number of other publications. Here we are following that list up with a survey of left-wing defence bulletins on Eastern Europe. Labour Focus is by no means alone in the field. As with our survey of defence committees, the following list may well not be complete and we would ask our readers to help us fill in the gaps in future issues of Labour Focus. We are confining our list to left-wing bulletins in West European languages.

Sozialistische Osteuropa Bulletin

*Sozialistische Osteuropa Bulletin: This German-language magazine is, as far as we know, the most long-standing journal of its kind in the West. It appears about once every two months and has a similar range of coverage to Labour Focus. Especially valuable for information on the German Democratic Republic it also does in depth studies of particular issues, including for example nuclear energy in Eastern Europe and political prisoners in Cuba. It is printed and illustrated and is run by a number of collectives of socialists in various cities in West Germany who take turns editing the issues. Write to: A. Brandt, 2000 Hamburg 39, Grossheidestr. 1, West Germany.

D’Ici–D’Est

*D’Ici–D’Est: This French-language Belgian bulletin is produced by the Committee of the 1st May, For Democratic Liberties and Workers’ Rights in the Countries of the East. It combines material written by the Committee’s members with reprints of important articles from both the Belgian and French press. Covering both repression in Eastern Europe and labour movement solidarity action in the West, it is the most comprehensive French-language source of information. The bulletin is printed and illustrated. Write to: Gross, Elie, 16 Avenue du Bois de la Chambre, 1170 Brussels, Belgium.

*The Information Bulletin: This news bulletin produced by the Committee to Defend Soviet Political Prisoners in Edmomon, Canada, covers repression throughout Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on the USSR. A very useful short record of events, the bulletin draws on North American Ukrainian sources of information not otherwise readily available to socialists. Write to: P.O. Box 6574, Station C, Edmonton, Alta., Canada.

*Samizdat 78: This is the French-language bulletin of the Committee in Solidarity with Oppositionists in Countries of the East, based in Geneva. It covers the whole of Eastern Europe; recent issues have contained important information on anti-Semitism in the USSR. Write to: Case Postale 31, 1213 Petit-Laney, Geneva, Switzerland.

Osteuropa och Vi

*The French and German Editions of Listy: These journals, derived from the Czech Socialist journal Listy which has been produced by the Czechoslovak Socialist Opposition abroad since the end of the 1960s, provide the fullest coverage of Czechoslovak events in journal form. Both journals extensively translate documentary material from Czechoslovakia. The French Listy has also carried material from another Czechoslovak socialist journal Informacni Materialy. All those wishing to follow events in Czechoslovakia will find these journals indispensable. Both are printed and illustrated. The French Listy is edited by the International Committee against Repression. Write to: Jean-Jacques Marie, BP 221, 75564 Paris. For Listy Blatter, write to: 6 Frankfurt a.M. Postfach 3602.

*Palach Press: This is a news agency run by Czechoslovak socialist exiles and its bulletins can be received by subscription only. It is by far the best source of information on developments in Czechoslovakia, providing both news and documents. Recently the agency has expanded its coverage to include Poland and it has also opened an office in Vienna. Write to: Palach Press, 19 Earlham House, 35 Mercer St., London WC2 9QS.

*Osteuropa och Vi: A new Swedish-language quarterly bulletin covering very similar areas to Labour Focus and the most attractively produced of all the bulletins covered here. Two issues have appeared so far, printed and very fully illustrated. Write to: Henryk Rubenstein, Sodra Vagen 67, 412 54 Goteborg, Sweden.

*Meta: This is a quarterly journal produced by Ukrainian socialists in Canada with a wide coverage of events in Eastern Europe, but with special emphasis on the Ukraine. The latest issue includes an interview with Polish film director Andrej Wajda, an article on the history of the Ukrainian nationalist movement, a detailed survey of the current political opposition in Ukraine, and a dossier on the struggle to defend workers’ rights in the USSR. The journal is printed and illustrated. Write to: P.O. Box 324, Station P, Toronto, Ont., Canada.


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