Collaborative leaflets in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.
| 11 May 2010
Posted in
Publication of archival documents
Annotation / Аннотация
In the publication activity in days of the Great Patriotic War of the German agitation and propaganda device created on temporary of an occupied territory of the USSR in which the great value was given to leaflets in Russian is investigated. During war the majority of the Soviet society the overall objective saw struggle against aggressors, therefore collaborative propagation could not render solving influence on the population of the USSR.
В публикации исследуется деятельность в годы Великой Отечественной войны немецкого агитационно-пропагандистского аппарата, созданного на временно оккупированной территории СССР, в которой большое значение придавалось листовкам на русском языке. В ходе войны большинство советского общества своей главной целью видело борьбу с агрессорами, поэтому коллаборационистская пропаганда не смогла оказать решающего влияния на население СССР.
Keywords / Ключевые слова
The Great Patriotic War, manipulation public opinion on temporary an occupied territory of the USSR, the occupational agitation and propaganda device, the Ministry of national education and propagation of Germany, the Ministry of occupied east territories of Germany, the Joint Staff of the German army, a propagation company, Russian liberation army, the national-labour union, German censorship, collaborative press, journalists, leaflets in Russian, national socialism, stalinism.
Великая Отечественная война, манипулирование общественным мнением на временно оккупированной территории СССР, оккупационный агитационно-пропагандистский аппарат, Министерство народного просвещения и пропаганды Германии, Министерство оккупированных восточных территорий Германии, Генеральный штаб германской армии, роты пропаганды, Русская освободительная армия, Народно-трудовой союз, немецкая цензура, коллаборационистская пресса, журналисты, листовки на русском языке, национал-социализм, сталинизм.
At Great Patriotic War’s time the General Headquarter of the German armies has created the powerful agitation and propaganda instrument on an occupied territory of the USSR. On the eve of war agencies of propagation of fascist Germany were one of the most effective in the world. For two years of operations in Europe German propagandists have saved up a wide experience of work with soldiers of the opponent and with civilians of occupied territories. They used this experience in war against the USSR. In the activity of the German propaganda instrument was occupied the big place with leaflets. It was succeeded with them to react quickly to varying mood of people. Since first days of the Great Patriotic War has fallen the stream of fascist flying editions on fighters and commanders of Red army, on inhabitants of the occupied areas of the USSR. Leaflets were issued in many languages of the people of the USSR. Among them a special role played leaflets editions in Russian.
The general management of ideological work on occupied territories of Soviet Union realized the Ministry of national education and propagation. Propagation management was one of the most important structures. I. Goebbels was the head of this Ministry.
By the time of an invasion of the USSR by Nazi German have been in the Nazi armies 19 mouths of propagation organized. In their structure were news departments organized. Besides, in armies SS were 6 platoons of war correspondents.
Work on release of leaflets for east front has begun in the Ministry of national education and propagation since April, 1941
In the editors of collaborative newspapers and magazines have been always presented professional German propagandists, and also the Russian emigrants who had the pre-war experience of cooperation with propaganda bodies of Germany. Collaborators from the local population entered gradually in the structure of editions.
Activity of collaborative editions and printing houses were supervised by occupational administration which provided material resources of their work. In Berlin at propagation department of Wehrmacht has been created the special laboratory. For each category of the population of the USSR prepared special leaflets: for fighters and commanders of Red army, for communists and members of the Komsomol, for workers, peasants and intelligency, for the guerrilla, for women and youth, for workers of the Soviet back, for the different nations of the USSR.
Some leaflet editions were made out like the form of trophy documents of People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs and orders of command of Red army, letters and the diaries founded at captured or killed Red Army men. It was ordered to German soldiers to collect all trophy documents and books and to transfer them to propagation bodies of Wehrmacht. The department of propagation of the Supreme command of armed forces of Germany had at the order «some tens thousand Russian books» and «paper mountains» of trophy documents which it could use in propaganda work.
Bodies of east ministry of Rosenberg were engaged in a robbery of the Soviet museums, libraries and archives. The part of the grasped materials was used in the propaganda purposes. In the let out reference to citizens of the USSR has been used with an appeal to revolt against the Soviet government the leaflet of the Moscow bureau of Central Committee RSDRP in the year 1916, printed on the eve of war in the collection “Leaflets of the Moscow organization of Bolsheviks 1914-1920”.
One of versions of collaborative leaflets were leaflets-forgeries. In such form were issued references on behalf of management of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs and political bodies РККА, the leaflet from the nonexistent anti-Soviet organizations operating in the Soviet rear, repentance Soviet the guerrilla and underground workers. In some cases leaflets-forgeries were made out in the form of letters captured, endurances from diaries of the killed Red Army soldiers, cuttings from the Soviet newspapers.