Figure 1.--Soviet posteres graphically depicted NAZI attricities. The legend hear reads, "All hopes on you, Red Army soldier." A Russian reader tells us, "Soviet posters never focused on particular nationalities, except rare posters dedicated to "friendship of peoples", alike "Russian and Chinese are brothers for ages". Soviet authorities dreamed to build a 'Soviet' people, without nationalities at all. About all people murdered by Nazis only the term 'Soviet citizens' was used."

This of course changed dramatically after the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa, the most massive military invasion in history (June 1941). Marxism soon took a back seat to Russian nationalism which suggests where the heart of the Russian people was at. In addition, the attacks on the religion cased, at least publically. The struggle became the Great Patriotic War, a modern day crusade against the evide embodied in Fascism. Soviet war posters provide graphic images of the Soviet struugle against the NAZIS. Images of women and children raveged by the NAZI invaders were meant to inspire the Red Army soldier. The images may seem over the top, only even the most graphic images do not capture the totality of what Hitler planned for the Russian people. It was with Barbarossa that the Germans began killing Jews in large numbers. There is no indication in Soviet war proaganda that the Germans were targeting Jews. This must have been known so this reflects a political decision by Soviet authorities. A Russian reader tells us, "Soviet posters never focused on particular nationalities, except rare posters dedicated to "friendship of peoples", alike "Russian and Chinese are brothers for ages". Soviet authorities dreamed to build a 'Soviet' people, without nationalities at all. About all people murdered by Nazis only the term 'Soviet citizens' was used." Of course the Soviet people normally depicted was recognizable Russians. Much of the propganda art focuses on the brutality of individual German soldiers. There does not seem to have been an awarness of the overall German design--Generalplan Ost. Some Soviet war propaganda had an almost religious tinge to it. But Communism in the Soviet state had in many ways the outward trapping of a state religion. But what is even more evident was the historicaal tone. Gone was the contanst emphasis on class struugle an evil capitalists. Patriotic images of great Tsarist military heros were a mainstay of Soviet war propaganda from the Napoleonic invasion back to the medieval struggle against the Mongols.era.

Created: 3:17 AM 1/16/2011
Last updated: 3:17 AM 1/16/2011