The Lies Machine

Lies Machine Gun (TASS Window #625)
Kukryniksy, Lebedev-Kumach, 1942

In a man to man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.
Erwin Rommel

No matter the actions,
Killer Hitler can’t hide his failures,
At Rzhev and Stalingrad.
To deceive people
He invented the “Lies Machine Gun”.
Which volleys lies nonstop.
The Machine talks nonsense at full speed,
But still cannot suppress the truth
As it is the truth that bellows at river Don,
And it can be heard on Volga too.
In Africa the truth is rumbling.
The “Lies Machine Gun” fires in vain.

This is a perfect example of the WW2 propaganda poster created by Kukryniksy. The poster shows Hitler, who fires a “Lies Machine”, resembling a machine gun. The device is actually a cartoon of Joseph Goebbels – the Nazi minister of Propaganda. The poster’s verses oppose the newspapers fired by this Lies Machine Gun against the cannonade of artillery at the last battles won by the Soviets. Battles of Rzhev (January 8, 1942—March 22, 1943) were a series of offensives aimed at eliminating the threat to Moscow. They were also named "Rzhev meat grinder" for the huge losses. The Stalingrad Battle (August 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943) was the turning point of World War II in the European Theater. Stalingrad was situated on the river Volga, and the river Don was one of fighting points during its siege. Africa is mentioned as despite the commander’s talent of Erwin Rommel Germans suffered significant losses at Gazala and Tobruk there.

Still although in 1942 the situation at battlefronts improved, the war was yet to win, both in Africa and Europe.

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There and back

To The West!
Ivanov V.S., 1943

Our strength consists in our speed and in our brutality. Genghis Khan led millions of women and children to slaughter—with premeditation and a happy heart. History sees in him solely the founder of a state. It’s a matter of indifference to me what a weak western European civilization will say about me. I have issued the command—and I’ll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad—that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death-head formation in readiness—for the present only in the East—with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space (Lebensraum) which we need. Who, after all, speaks to-day of the annihilation of the Armenians?

The “Armenian quote” from a speech by Adolf Hitler to Wehrmacht commanders at his Obersalzberg home on August 22, 1939, a week before the German invasion of Poland.

Drang Nach Osten (German “Drive towards the East”) is a conception of German expansion on the eastern lands. The idea goes back to the campaigns of Charles the Great. The term was widely used in 19th century by the German intellectuals. But only in the 20th century it matured in the works of Karl Ernst Haushofer – a German geopolitician, who laid grounds for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany. Drang Nach Osten was an essential part of Lebensraum (or living space), needed for the growth of the German population, so that to create a Greater Germany. This living space should have been found in the East where the traditional inhabitants of Russia, Poland, Ukraine and other Slavic states had to be exterminated.

The poster shows a sign with Drang Nach Osten slogan, nailed to the tree by the Germans during their offensive. After fighting the Soviet territory back a Russian soldier knocks it down by the rifle butt. In the background Soviet fighters attack and artillery men fire field-guns. The Battle of Kursk (July 4 – July 20, 1943) heroically won by the Red Army led to massive counteroffensive. So the slogan on the poster forms exact antithesis to the Drang Nach Osten saying: “To The West!”

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Dramatic Transformation

Transformation of fritzes (The TASS Window №640)
Kukriniksy, 1942

The poster verse says:

These are not the animals with wild howl
Crossing stormy river flow.
This is Hitler kicking
Troops eastward.

Here where all the windows are loop-holes,
And the bushes hide death,
Here after tasting the foreign ground,
The fooled fritzes
Transform into grave crosses.

And this death of German bastards
Have no magic whatsoever.
This is military triumph of
The Red Army

This poster is a great example of Okna “TASS” art. These series of posters drawn always on acute topics, were created during the WW2 by Kukriniksy – a group of three brilliant cartoonists.

The poster shows German lines marching under direct command of Hitler and transforming into swastikas and then into white birch grave crosses. This poster is a very significant artwork of the War as this is the first time German soldiers (pejoratively nicknamed “Fritzes”) are portrayed as being fooled by its rulers – namely Hitler. The first row of soldiers is archly pictured with red noses and in cowardly poses, but certainly not evil. The second row has undergone partial transformation in swastikas. The final transformation is death in a form of grave crosses. Such separation of the ordinary executors and organizers became possible when in the beginning of 1942 Soviet Army performed successful counteroffensive - the Battle of Moscow. This operation eliminated the direct threat to the Russian capital, made the blitzkrieg impossible and strengthened Soviet confidence in final Victory.

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Everything for the Victory

Everything for the Victory
Women of USSR for the Front
A. Kokorekin, 1942

It were not only the Soviet Soldiers who were the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. 15 mln of Soviet women were accomplishing a great labor feat on the home front. The evacuation which implied moving of 500 of factories and works from Moscow alone required a tremendous amount of labor force. As all the males were joining the Red Army women and children were operating machines on the factories. More than 374 thousand of housewives returned to the industry. By October 1941 45% of all workers in the Soviet Union were women.

The poster shows a determined woman in workers’ coveralls with a slide gauge in her pocket. Her hand leans on a general purpose aircraft bomb FAB-250 (250 is its mass in kg). The background has rows of smaller bombs FAB-100 ready for dispatch to the front. The aircraft bomb has a red star painted on – this goes back to the war tradition, when the workers painted encouraging notes for the soldiers on the arms they send to the battlefield. In this case this is just a Red Star.

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It’s the Hero’s heart who fights the fight

Glory to heroes of Brest Fortress
O. Savostjuk, B. Uspenskiy, 1969

This is a poster created to commemorate the great defense of Brest, performed by Soviet soldiers in 1941. The poster shows a soldier holding a RPG-40 antitank grenade ready to make a throw. The contrast red and black image along with the slogans form the Red Star. The slogans go clockwise starting from 9 o’clock: “I swear”, “Viva Motherland”, “No step backward”, “Never retreat from the fortress” and finally “Death to fascism”.

Brest Fortress was actually attacked two times – in 1939, being a Polish fortress, it was assaulted by German general Guderian, who according to the secret protocols of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact signed by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union was partitioning Poland. Later that year, Brest Fortress was given to Soviet Union according to that pact.

On June 22, 1941 the fortress and the city of Brest was attacked by Nazi Germany at the beginning of the surprise war – this was its second and the most famous siege. According to Operation Barbarossa (blitzkrieg or flash war) Brest Fortress was to be taken by 12 o’clock the first day the war broke out. But German generals, who had been planning the operation, certainly underestimated the devotion of Russian soldiers, who managed to defend the fortress for almost a whole month – surrounded and not knowing that the front line had been moved hundreds of kilometers deep into the Soviet territory. Finally, the defendants perished, and became one of the icons of Soviet WW2 Heroic Propaganda. Upon getting into the demolished fortress Nazis found writing on the part of the wall which said: “I die but never surrender. Farwell, Motherland. 20th of July, 1941”.

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No escape from the people’s revenge!

No escape from the people’s revenge!
I. Rabichev, 1941

In fighting against a guerilla warfare, the ratio is nine versus one or ten versus one.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - an Indonesian retired military general and statesman and the sixth President of Indonesia

In 1941 German forces were rapidly moving on the territory of the Soviet Union. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were in the zone of occupation. In July 1941 the Communist Party issued a directive which was organizing and regulating the partisan movement.

And it was organized well: the discipline was similar to the regular Red Army’s, all partisans swore partisan oath, the arms’ and ammunition supplies from the battlefront became regular starting from 1942. And of course the orders were given from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s (Joseph Stalin) headquarters.

Its goal of partisans was simple: to disrupt logistics of the German forces, to destroy valuable resources and to kill personnel and soldiers of the enemy. Their advantages were hard to beat as diversionist groups were formed of locals who knew the area well and were always supported by the civilians. Also partisan regiments were usually small and next to impossible to find and eliminate even with ample forces.

But one the keys to partisan's self-sacrifice and courage was the fact that very many of them had nothing to lose – as the occupation forces had left no roof over their heads and no relatives alive. This is why the partisan old man on the poster above stands in front of burning village houses and a gallows.

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Making no bones

All start with “Г”
D. Moor (Orlov), 1941

I want war. To me all means will be right. My motto is not "Don't, whatever you do, annoy the enemy." My motto is "Destroy him by all and any means." I am the one who will wage the war!

Adolf Hitler

This is a poster made in a form of political cartoon. Four distorted faces belong to Nazi officials: Heinrich Himmler (Minister of Internal Affairs, he controlled SS and security forces including Gestapo), Hermann Wilhelm Goring (minister of aviation and one of the most prominent political figures of the Third Reich), Adolf Hitler (the leader of Nazi Germany) and Paul Joseph Goebbels (Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda - known for his zealous oratory and virulent anti-Semitism). These are the Nazi politicians who were responsible for the WW2 and the war crimes which took place in its course.

In Russian all the four names (Himmler, Goring, Hitler and Goebbels) start with the same letter “Г” (pronounced “Gh”). In the right column of the poster these four letters consecutively form right-faced swastika - the symbol of Nazi Germany, and say “First Г.”, “Second Г.”, “Third Г.”, “Fourth Г.”.

The slogan says “All start with “Г”. It seems to be pretty irrelevant unless you know that in Russian “Г” with a dot is an abbreviation of “Говно”, or “Shit”.

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That’s the way to shoot

That’s the way to shoot – every shell is a foe.
V. Koretsky, 1943

This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.

US Marine Corps Rifle Creed (Full Metal Jacket)

Amazingly this poster features a real person – this is Vasiliy Zaytsev, a Russian sniper, who made 242 verified kills including 11 snipers between October 1942 and January 1943 during the battle of Stalingrad. He is the protagonist of famous Enemy at the Gates film.

He was born in Siberia, where hunting had always been one of the main sources of food. Since the age of four he accompanied his grandfather during his trips to taiga. His main weapon was a bow which he used to shoot squirrels for its fur. Short firing range and targets’ natural agility required excellent composure, persistence and a quick eye. At the age of 12 he was given his first rifle as a present. The shells were scarce so every shot had to be accurate. These two things – extensive bow shooting experience and lack of ammunition were the keys to Vasiliy’s excellent sharp shooting skills. In the beginning of WW2 he served in the Navy, but soon volunteered for front-line duty. There he gained fame as a perfect sniper and received order to establish a sniper school. Very soon the Germans got seriously annoyed by the sniper success, and sent a famous German sniper to stop Zaytsev. This very duel was portrayed in Enemy in the Gates. It took four days and lots of cunning and persistence of Zaytsev and his fellows to define the hideout of the German sniper and make the final shot.

In 1943 his eyes were seriously injured by a landmine blow. He got blind, but after several surgeries carried out by famous Russian medic Antonine Filatov he recovered and returned to the battlefield. He managed to survive the War and died peacefully in 1991. He was awarded a Hero of the Soviet Union medal for his courage.

On the poster Vasiliy Zaytsev is pictured with SVT-40 rifle in sniper version which replaced his famous Mosin-Nagant. Vasiliy is dressed in a camouflage cloak, which is a standard uniform for winter warfare. In his hand there are several empty shells. In the background the graves of German soldiers are marked with crosses and helmets.

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No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings

Glory to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War! Glory to the Stalin’s falcons!
P. Vandyshev, L. Torich, 1941

This airforce poster was created in 1941 - right after Soviet Union entered World War 2.

In the foreground there is an aircraft gunner who operates ShKAS – a 7.62 mm rapid fire machine gun, which was designed in the thirties and entered production in 1934. It had a firing rate of 1,800 rounds/min for wing or turret-mounted versions, and was significantly more powerful than all its rivals, which could reach only 1.100 rounds/min rate for the best ones like MG-17 (Germany). In 1936 ShKAS was first used in Spain Civil War where Spanish Republic forces received aid from USSR opposing the General Franco’s regime, backed by Nazi Germany and Italy.

1936 Spain Civil War was also a first experience under fire for the aircraft in the background of this poster – the Polikarpov I-16. This was an advanced monoplane fighter with cutting-edge innovations such as retractable landing gear and a fully enclosed cockpit. Although being built from plywood (fuselage) and duralumin only in wings it was designed for speed: with 900 horsepower it could reach 462 km/h at optimal altitude. But it wasn’t the speed that made it a real pre-war champion-killer. The short plane had superb horizontal maneuverability although requiring special skills to fly. Even when the army started receiving new advanced aircrafts some pilots managed to fight the generally superior Messerschmitt Bf 109s on their “Donkeys” – the nickname of I-16 (“donkey” in Russian is “Ishak” which is similar in pronunciation to the “I-16”). And like real donkeys I-16s were very reliable as half of those plains not hit yet were still operational in 1943. I-16 could have up to 4 ShKASes in his wings – obtaining an outstanding firing density.

These two Soviet weapons got together on this poster in order to strengthen the morale of the Soviet people and show the fighting potential the country was capable of. Unfortunately it took another year to put this potential in practice – and finally stop the German offensive at the Battle of Moscow in the early 1942.

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Still on duty

Our forces are innumerable
V. Koretsky, 1941

Victor Koretsky is the author of this poster. He is one of the most noted Soviet poster artists. His trademark technique was combination of black and white photos with pencil graphics and bright gouache fillings. This highly impressive technique was also quite practical in printing.

This poster was created in 1941, when the German forces were rapidly moving on the Soviet territory to capture Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev according to the “Barbarossa” Operation devised by Hitler’s generals. The situation was critical so all resources had to be combined to stop the offensive.

The poster was aimed at strengthening of morale of the citizens and soldiers, as the news they were hearing on the radio at that time were mostly cheerless.

In the foreground there is a soviet soldier – a private or most likely a partisan as his uniform is not buttoned up and he has got a beard. In his hand he is holding a 7.62 mm Mosin-Nagant magazine rifle, which was a standard issue weapon to Soviet troops due to its sturdiness and manufacturability. The man’s stare is full of determination and courage, but it’s the monument in the background which gives the poster gravity.

This is the monument which commemorates the deeds of trader Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who were heroes of the Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618). In 1611 Minin organized a fund collection among the people of Nizhniy Novgorod and together with Prince Pozharsky led the militia to Moscow kicking out the Poles.

It was Minin’s personal cunning and charisma which allowed him to unite Russians in order to free the country from invaders. And like always it was no holds barred event: all citizens were to give away one third of their property, otherwise all the belongings were confiscated and people with their families became bond slaves. Reportedly Minin gave all he had.

Minin’s words were: “We’d like to help the Moscow State, so no property should be spared, nothing should be spared – sell houses, pledge wives and children, and bless the one, who’s going to fight for the saint Orthodox church and would lead us!”

Minin and Pozharsky monument was set up in Moscow in 1818. Now it is situated on the Red Square right near the most beautiful Saint Basil's Cathedral (see it on Google Maps). On the pedestal there are words: “To citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky. Grateful Russia. 1818”. And Russia is grateful indeed as even 300 years after his life Minin did not resign from being an inspirer for those protecting the country.

If we don't end war, war will end us

Victory!
O. Savostjuk, B. Uspenskiy, 1969

This poster was created in naive manner which resembled children’s drawings. Hammer and Sickle on the red flag above celebrates the victory over the fascist regime in a form of thrown down black German banners at the bottom of the poster. The soldier holds his hand high in a gesture of joy because the long lasting War is finally over. He is not an ordinary private – on his chest there is a Hero of the Soviet Union star medal meaning that he obtained the highest honorary title after performing a truly heroic deed. Also he is holding a sub-machine gun PPSh-41 – the predecessor of AK-47. The famous war slogans and mottos written in chalk form the five-pointed Red Star – a symbol of communism. During the War people were often putting chalked notes and slogans on walls of the places they were passing by.

The slogans say (counter clock-wise, starting from 5 o’clock): “Have gone from Moscow to Berlin” (the Germans managed to get 30 km near Moscow and only after the Battle of Moscow in 1942 were thrown back), “The war way from Leningrad was complete on May 9, 1945” (The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade of 1941-1944 is one of the most dreadful events of the WW2, with more than 1.2 mln of Leningraders starving to death there), “Kursk-Berlin” (The Great Battle of Kursk in 1943 won by Soviets despite the outnumbering Germans and leading to the final counteroffensive), “1945 – we have won”, “From Volga to Berlin” (The Battle of Stalingrad on Volga River, which being the bloodiest battle in human history exhausted the Germans and led to the Victory) . The soldier’s head is crowned with “Hurrah! Victory” words. And the last phrase to the right is written with no inclination and is actually the message of the poster: “Be free and happy – forever”.

No holds barred

Father, kill the German!
Nesterova, 1942

In a couple of weeks we will be in Moscow. I will wipe this damned city off the face of the earth, I will dig an artificial lake on its place. The word “Moscow” will become extinct.

Adolf Hitler about Moscow

“Kill the German” – this a phrase from Ilya Ehrenburg’s article published in Red Star millitary newspaper in 1942. This article and leaflet based on the text is probably the most controversial piece of all Soviet WW2 propaganda.

The article had several extracts from letters of dead German soldiers with description of violent treatment of Soviet prisoners. The article ended with a call to kill Germans, which quite resembled the Nazi anti-Jewish and anti-Soviet propaganda:

“Now we understand the Germans are not human. Now the word “German” itself has become the most terrible curse. Let us not speak. Let us not be indignant. Let us kill. If you do not kill the German, the German will kill you. He will carry away your family, and torture them in his damned Germany. If you have killed one German, kill another. […] Do not count days. Do not count miles. Count your kills. Kill the German – that’s what your old mother calls for. Kill the German! – begs the child. Kill the German – cries the native land. Never miss. Never fail. Just kill!”

Antony Beevor (a famous British historian and author of “Berlin - The Downfall. 1945” book) attributed Ehrenburg's message as a motivating factor for the violence against German civilians which according to his sources took place as Soviet troops advanced through Nazi occupied territory toward the end of the war - thus encountering a great deal of criticism in Russia. The Russian ambassador to the UK denounced the book as "lies" and "slander against the people who saved the world from Nazism." O.A. Rzheshevsky, a professor and President of the Russian Association of WWII Historians, has charged that Beevor is merely resurrecting the discredited and racist views of neo-Nazi historians, who depicted Soviet troops as subhuman "Asiatic hordes" (citation from Wikipedia).

The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.

Every strike of hammer - hits the enemy!
V. Deni, A. Dolgorukov, 1941

Due to the attack of the Nazi armed forces, which could not be stopped at the moment, a great many of Soviet industrial works and factories had to be evacuated to the east, so that the invader could not make use of it and increase its power, which was already ample due to the capture of French and Polish industry and resources. The task was unbelievable – more than 1500 of works and factories with machinery along with the 10 mln of personnel had to cover thousands of kilometers to the new places where there was no infrastructure at all. And they had to start operation there as soon as possible, as the battle-front was in great need for the arms and munitions. Adults and children were working 12 hours a day without weekends, in order to protect the Motherland.

This incredible efforts paid off well: although in the second half of 1941 gross industry output dropped down 2.1 times, in the beginning of 1942 it started to grow at fast pace, fully eliminating the industry superiority of fascist Germany in 1943.

Liberation War

Soldier of the Soviet Army, save us!
Koretsky V. B., 1942

This is a very famous poster by Victor Koretskij. It captured the soviet people’s attitude to the Fascist aggressors after the start of WW2.

In June 1940 Nazis started developing the Operation Barbarossa plan. It was based on Blitzkrieg doctrine (also called Lightning war or flash war). According to Operation Barbarossa, Russians were to be caught by surprise, its main economical and political centers captured within 4-6 weeks from the start of the operation. This was a very ambitious plan, which was altered by the heroic actions of the Soviet Army.

Soviet soldiers did have something to fight for. German Generalplan “Ost” implied not only making the country a German economical colony, but also ethnical cleansing of the population. According to the Generalplan “Ost” more than 120 mln of Russians, Ukrainians, Poles and Lithuanians were subject to resettlement and genocide.