and social

[4h]

4. Control of Communication. This is one of the most effective
methods for creating a sense of helplessness and despair. This measure
might well be considered the cornerstone of the communist system of con-
trol. It consists of strict regulation of the mail,reading materials,
broadcast materials, and social contact available to the individual. The
need to communicate is so great that when the usual channels are
blocked,
the individual will resort to any open channel, almost regardless of the
implications of using that particular channel. Many POWs in Korea, whose
only act of "collaboration" was to sign petitions and "peace appeals,"
defended their actions on the ground that this was the only method of
letting the outside world know they were still alive. May stated that
their morale and fortitude would have been increased immeasurably had
leaflets of encouragement been dropped to them. When the only contact
with the outside world is via the interrogator, the prisoner comes to
develop extreme dependency on his interrogator and hence loses another
prop to his morale.