THE IMAGE OF THE ENEMY IN SOVIET PROPAGANDA DURING THE TURNING POINT OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FASCISM (June 1942 – August 1943)
Authors: Makarova Olesya S. 
Published: April 2024

The article examines the problems of the enemy image evolution during the turning point of the struggle of the Soviet people against fascism. The most important aspects of the ideological struggle between Germany and the Soviet Union in June 1942 – August 1943 are studied. The reasons for the transformation of the enemy’s image are substantiated based on the analysis of the wartime events that took place. The relevance of this issue is determined primarily by the importance of preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War, in which knowledge about the enemy played a decisive role. This victorious experience can help to counteract the resurgence of the Nazi ideas in the modern world. Thanks to deep and comprehensive studying the mechanism of military patriotic propaganda and the introducing new technologies into it, the tasks of preserving identity and developing our society were solved. Currently, these historical processes will help to broaden the horizons and develop moral and patriotic values in modern youth.

The purpose of the article is to consider the transformation of the enemy image the during the radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War in June 1942 – August 1943 in order to identify the most characteristic features of its depiction in various materials of Soviet patriotic propaganda.

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of this research is both general scientific and special historical principles and methods of cognition, including the principles of historicism, objectivity and consistency, as well as a set of methods that made it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of archival and other research sources, including historical-genetic, historical-typological, historical-systemic and others. The work is based on archival documents and periodical materials.

Study results. The most important circumstances of this period are noted, which played a decisive role in the development of the enemy image in the Soviet propaganda. The article presents the most characteristic features of the enemy’s image created by the Soviet propaganda. The article examines the changes in German propaganda among the population of the occupied territories. A comparative analysis of the activities performed by propagandists of the Nazi Germany and the USSR is carried out. The author provides examples of creating the enemy image based on the study of documentary sources, embodied in works of literature and art. The metaphorical image of the enemy reflected in the Soviet propaganda is revealed based on the study of archival materials and periodicals. At this, the importance of naturalistic description of the crimes committed by the fascists against the civilian population of the occupied territories is assessed in order to present the true face of the invaders and mobilize the society to fight the enemy. The issues of the legitimacy of the power of the warring parties are revealed.

Conclusions. During this crucial period of the Great Patriotic War, significant changes are taking place in the image of the enemy. The original image of an inhuman, bestial enemy enslaving more and more lands, after the defeats suffered by the German army, is transformed into a caricature of a defeated cowardly enemy. The enemy is still strong, cruel and insidious, but the image of the defeated enemy is becoming dominant in the works of the Soviet propaganda and in public mind. The inevitability of victory becomes the dominant leitmotif in the Soviet propaganda and the enemy in the images created by propaganda should cause a feeling of disgust. Naturalization of the submitting the information about crimes committed by fascists and their accomplices becomes an important factor. It is referred to the development of a counter-propaganda system that convinces people that an inhuman enemy who kills women and children cannot be trusted. The images created in Soviet propaganda works achieved their goal and were firmly rooted in the public consciousness.