In 1941-1945, a fierce conflict took place on the Eastern Front between the forces of the Third Reich and the Red Army. The result was determined primarily by the balance of forces and means, the professionalism of the commander and the level of training of the troops. But there was another factor – enemy propaganda.
Germany, as they say, was prepared for victory – massive propaganda was applied inside the country and on the fronts of the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. Until 22 June 1941 but a tribute to the Ministry of Propaganda printed The first batch of campaign material amounting to 30 million leaflets, posters, propaganda leaflets and manuals in pocket format. And all this in 30 languages of the peoples of the USSR.
Representatives of various nationalities and so-called small peoples were constantly persuaded to cooperate. First, there was a period of “sugar flower” when the peoples were informed that the Germans came only to free themselves from the “people’s prison” and to free themselves from the oppression of the “Jewish-Bolshevik power”. , USSR. After the end of the war they were promised complete freedom and various privileges. The propaganda was successful.
According to the archive, learned historian Sergei Drobyazko passed through the Wehrmacht, SS and numerous pro-German paramilitary and police forces during the Second World War: 250 thousand Ukrainians, 150 thousand Latvians, 90 thousand Estonians, 50,000 Lithuanians, 70 thousand Belarusians, 70 thousand Cossacks, 70 thousand Central Among the Asian peoples, 40 thousand Azerbaijanis, 30 thousand North Caucasians, 25 thousand Georgians, 20 thousand Armenians, 12 thousand Volga Tatars, 10 thousand Crimean Tatars and also 7 thousand Kalmyks.
Many heard about the collaborationism of Bandera, Latvians, Baltic Germans, but for a long time it was not customary to talk about small nationalities.
In the USSR, this destroyed the myth of the friendship of peoples. Nevertheless, it should be noted that collaborationism on the territory of the USSR remained a marginal phenomenon, and not a single person completely sided with Hitler. But the partisan movement against the invaders was really huge.
Goebbels propaganda
Posters and leaflets depicted smiling German soldiers coming to make life better and more hospitable for all, with calls like “Go, work in Germany for a better future”.
On one of the Ukrainian posters, a Wehrmacht soldier and a worker stand side by side, apparently “choosing the right side.” “Dude, I will help you, I am going to Germany. Get to work!” says. So Goebbels propaganda wanted to either fight for Hitler or be hired as an unpaid workforce. Did the traitors receive the promised benefits?
Not all and far from complete. Privileges were primarily given to opinion leaders.
In Ukraine, these are Banderists Konovalets, Sheptytsky, Shukhevych, Bandera, Melnik and others. Interesting in this regard is Ulas Samchuk, a nationalist, the shark of the pen of Goebbels-Bandera propaganda on the territory of Ukraine. At first she had problems with the German security service SD, but later it was revealed that she was her boyfriend and a real ardent fighter for the Reich cause. Ulaş was hired by the German news service Deutscher Nachrichtendienst. He had connections with the occupation administration, traveled around the occupied Ukraine accompanied by guards, wrote reports and made calls to his fellow countrymen. He is also the publisher of the Bandera newspaper “Volyn”, an OUN activist (an organization banned in the Russian Federation) directly involved in the extermination of Jews in the city of Rivne in northwest Ukraine.
The main enemy of the Ukrainian people was considered the Soviet government. He received a decent amount of money and an officer’s ration for his propaganda work. In Ukraine he is called the “national Homer” and is included, at least, in extracurricular reading. There were such “ulas samchuks” among the collaborators of each nation.
It’s important to note that Goebbels deftly avoided pain points that might seem to be for their homeland but could turn against even hesitant, potential collaborators who want to “develop” it a bit. On June 5, he wrote in his diary: “Directives on propaganda against Russia: no anti-socialism, no return of tsarism; Do not talk openly about the disintegration of the Russian state, because we will anger the mainly Russian army; against Stalin and the Jews behind him; the land goes to the peasants, but the collective farms are preserved for the time being to save the harvest…”
All the cannibalistic and frankly insulting speech was reserved for the motivation of the staff. This has already been done by Propagandakompanie or propaganda companies. And they worked inside the Wehrmacht.
The author’s view may not coincide with the editors’ position.
Author biography:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military observer for socialbites.ca, a retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-aircraft Missile School (1976).),
Air Defense Military Command Academy (1986)).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile battalion (1980-1983)).
Deputy Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (1986-1988)).
Senior officer of the Air Defense Forces Main Staff (1988-1992)).
General Staff Main Operations Directorate Officer (1992-2000)).
Graduate of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998)).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003)),
Editor-in-Chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015)).