Armored cars paraded through flag-draped Prague last week. Outside the huge Industrial Palace stood a cordon of Czech security police carrying Tommy guns. Inside, 1,000 delegates to the Ninth Congress of the Czech Communist Party met. Joseph Stalin was named "honorary chairman" of the meeting; his representative, Cominform Boss Georgy Malenkov, attended in his stead. The congress sent a telegram to "Dear Comrade Stalin": "We shall always stand faithfully by the side of the U.S.S.R."
Measures to insure this faithfulness were conspicuous. Party Secretary Rudolf Slansky reported that 107,133 party members had been expelled so far this year. That left...
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