Operational Bulletin: The Turn of the Tide (1955)

BRAINWASHING MANUAL
HISTORY

In our studies of brainwashing it has been necessary to procure what information existed on the subject. Fortuitously, in Phoenix there came into our hands two manuscripts on the subject; as well as I can recollect, they were left there at the front desk with the request that they be mailed back to their owner. We are not sure exactly from whom these came, but we understand now that this is unimportant since the subject is broadly rather well known in a book on Psychopolitics. It is to be found in the Library of Congress. It is in German, but we suppose it is the same manual. As we needed this material for research, we read it off onto a tape, compiling the two manuals and removing from them some of their very verbose nomenclature, substituting for it more common English terms, and we have had a few copies of this struck off for use in our research.

It is necessary if one is confronted by a case of brainwashing to understand the motives and general procedures of the people who did it. I must say an inspection of this manual does not make for much respect for the motives of people who brainwash other people. In the early pages of this manual, there is a letter from the person who purportedly gave these manuals to the organization, “Charles Stickley”, supposed to be a professor at Columbia University in New York City. This letter, included in the manuals as printed, makes it definitely and adequately clear that these manuals were reprinted for study by research workers. However, in handing out a copy of one of these manuals to one of our own people who had not heard of it, he made several wrong estimates of the manual itself. At first he thought it was a piece of communist propaganda. Then he thought it was something the organization had composed. Then on further inspection, he did not know what to think and it had to be pointed out to him very specifically that this was a synthesis of a Russian instruction book on the subject of brainwashing, and it had to be pointed out to him that it was reprinted for the benefit of people working to remedy and heal brainwashing. It had to be pointed out to him additionally that there was a cover letter in it which explained these things. Thus if you have one of these copies and it gets away from you which it might, you may find it necessary to explain exactly what it is.

We certainly have the right to have in our possession materials covering something as intimately connected to mental research as brainwashing. We have the right to know why and where and who. Furthermore, this material is evidently well known to various governments and is not classified, since the subject “Psychopolitics” (which is the technical name for brainwashing) is to be found in the major libraries of the world.

In the original text of this book there was a warning to psychopolitical operatives that they must stamp out Dianetics, Christian Science, and practical psychology, as these alone represented a menace to the brainwashing programmes. This reference in the text to Dianetics (which has been known to the Russians since 1938) makes the matter very much our business, quite aside from research. Yet if most of the vagaries and upsets from which we have been suffering have stemmed from a desire on the part of some political group attempting to accomplish a political coup and in the road of which we have been standing, then we certainly have the right to know why we have been knocked around by press and governments to the degree that we have been. Hardly a word uttered against Dianetics and Scientology has had any truth in it. The prevalent official but not the public opinion regarding Dianetics and Scientology is that they are phony sciences, tricked up to hoodwink people. Contrast this with the fact that in Dianetics and Scientology alone in all the world of mental healing lie the answers to increased intelligence and ability, and not very incidentally, in Dianetics and Scientology and in Dianetics in particular, we have the total antidote for the eradication of brainwashing. In other words we could unbrainwash them with Dianetics as fast as they are being brainwashed, given enough staff. Furthermore we can put troops and persons in a condition where they cannot be brainwashed. This we can do in Scientology.

Thus if brainwashing is being counted upon heavily to accomplish a great deal inside and outside the nations under attack, there would be only one organization which would be standing thoroughly in the road of that programme, and if that programme inside a country had advanced to a point where officials could be influenced, then you would discover of course this odd official opinion of Dianetics and Scientology, that they are quack sciences.

We are not planning to use this reprinted manual for purposes of propaganda. However, to prevent any misunderstanding from occurring, the highest police in England and America have both received copies and have been told that this is a reprint manual, and that we do not wish to cause them any extra labour in case another one of them falls into their hands. Actually, however, it is my belief that they have had the original, which is to say the communist version of these manuals, in their possession for years, and have simply been unable to credit it or unable to do anything about it. Thus our reprinted version should come as no shock to them.

It has been my experience with Anglo-Saxon governments that where idea propaganda line attacks were concerned they couldn’t care less. They do not believe that propaganda is effective. Otherwise they would themselves engage in more propaganda activities. The Anglo-Saxon traditionally depends upon force in order to accomplish his ends.

This is one of the reasons why communism has made such vast progress across the face of the world. It is an idea advancing against arms, and the arms of course will never be able to  stop an idea. An idea will be necessary to stop the idea. We may very unfortunately be those persons in possession of the idea that will stop the other idea. Certainly the way things are going, if we don’t use our ideas to stop the incoming ideas across the face of earth, we are going to wind up one of these days in the middle of a total communism, living in a totally brainwashed society, the way I look at it.

WASHINGTON CONGRESS

My very best wishes to the Congress and my hopes for a highly successful time by all. I have made several recent tapes on material of some interest and value which have been sent swiftly and rapidly across so that the latest material would be available at the Congress. I have not made, however, a welcoming tape as I ordinarily would, and take this opportunity to thank those people who came, and hope that they go away feeling better, and feeling happier about things. There is no doubt that the Washington operation is on the steep upgrade and my principal communication in Scientology is between myself and the Washington operation where Bill Young, Julia Lewis, Ken Barrett, Don Breeding have things pretty well in hand. The silver ministers’ crosses are ready now and are supposed to be a knockout. The Co-Auditor’s Manual is ready, the “Brainwashing” pamphlet is being released to those who are interested in the subject, and it should be with all a very successful Congress indeed. I wish I were there.¹

Notes