Farrell, James T. (1904-1979). Berlin Impressions

Original manuscript draft for an essay written by American writer James T. Farrell, documenting his visit to Berlin in 1950. 29 loose leaves (recto only), written in pencil, signed and titled on first leaf. In the summer of 1950 James T. Farrell visited West Berlin in order to attend Congress for Cultural Freedom, organised to promote intellectual freedom and counter Soviet totalitarianism. James T. Farrell who had earlier been a communist, became disillusioned after Stalin had seized power and eliminated his political opponents. Although Farrell remained active in some Trotskyist groups, he came to regard capitalism as the most effective means to opposing Stalinism. The present work reflects some of these ambiguities in his political thought: "West Berlin is an island of hope and of liberty behind the Iron Curtain. All of the problems of the West are focused most sharply and grimly in this section of the ruined German capital."