Anti-Communist Broadcasting and Slovak Catholic Diaspora in the Context of the Post-War Pontificate of Pius XII: Vatican Radio and Radio Free Europe
Abstract
According to the newest research in the Vatican archives of Pius XII’s post-war pontificate the paper deals with the special role the Slovak post-war emigration played in the creation of anti-Communist strategies of the Holy See in the nascent Cold War. It also examines the activities of the Vatican Radio as an instrument of anti-Communism and as an important tool of communication across the Iron Curtain. It focuses on the role the Vatican Secretariat of State had in this process. Current research confirms that the Holy See respected the religious broadcasts of Radio Free Europe, even though its overall attitude towards it was ambivalent.
Submitted: Aug. 26, 2025 | Accepted: Feb. 9, 2026 | Published April 30, 2026 | Language: en
Keywords Radio Free Europe • Slovak diaspora • Anti-communism • Vatican Radio • Pius XII
Copyright © 2026 Beáta Katrebová Blehová. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/JoMaCC/2785-6046/2026/01/005