UNREALIZED DREAM

Maya Nemirovskaya

Viktor Koretsky, Honored Artist of Russia, laureate of two State Prizes of the USSR, was never a daring intelligence officer, or a brave partisan, or an army commander. However, Hitler considered him the worst enemy of the Third Reich and appointed a large reward for the head of a hated Jew who aptly fought Nazism with using a poster.

The generation that survived the Great Patriotic War remembers the work of Koretsky, one of the oldest masters of photomontage posters. His poster “Save the Red Army Soldier!” is best known: a woman, clutching a child to her, is ready with her breast, with her life, to protect her daughter from the bloodied bayonet of a Nazi rifle. Published in 14 million copies, it hung during the war in headquarters, in dugouts and dugouts, on the walls of houses, and in the form of a leaflet - in tanks, aircraft cabins. The front-line soldiers saw in this angry, rebellious woman their mother, wife, sister, in a frightened defenseless girl - a daughter, a sister, a blood-drenched Motherland, her future. The generalizing power of the artistic image revolted the heart, calling for a mortal battle with a hated enemy.

Then posters appeared: “Fighter, save me from slavery!”, “Death to child killers!”, “Who is Hitler?” and many others. And later, when the Red Army was already beating the enemy on his land, “I can’t take it anymore!” - the agony of a fascist killer, whose days are numbered.

“Samed goes to his death so that Semyon does not die, Semyon sacrifices himself for the life of Samed”, 1943.

Victor Borisovich Koretsky was born in 1909 in Kyiv in the family of an opera singer. In the 1920s he moved with his family to Moscow and entered an art college. He talked with famous avant-garde artists of the 30s - Malevich, Kandinsky and Leblanc, whose student he considered himself, But his soul did not lie in avant-garde art, realism was closer to him. The poster became the defining genre of creativity for many years. He brought fame to the artist, world fame, awards. His poster "Partisan Lullaby", a baby in a cradle made of a machine-gun belt hanging on a leafless bough of a tree burned by a flame, was acquired by the Dresden Gallery. Koretsky created about seven hundred works, but the most expensive and memorable “Warrior of the Red Army, save!” The internal strength and dynamics of the poster led the soldiers into battle with the Nazis, sometimes more confidently than the commanding order. One day, a gray-haired colonel came to the artist's studio with rows of slats of military decorations on his chest. Seeing the original of this poster on the wall, he knelt down, and a stingy male tear slowly flowed down his face.

"Our forces are innumerable!", 1941.

For the last decade of his life, Koretsky did not work on the poster, in Russia this genre is almost forgotten. But the artist did not part with his brush and easel. He returned to the artistic ideas of his youth, created a whole gallery of paintings of amazing beauty and craftsmanship. In 1997, French filmmakers made a film about Koretsky, his painting is close in spirit to theirs. traditional school. In 1998, his solo exhibition took place in Moscow.

"Death to child killers!", 1942.

Shortly before his death (July 4, 1998), Viktor Borisovich introduced the author of this short essay to his last work: the prophet Moses on the shores of the Red Sea. Wise old man, herald of all humane organizational principles human society, looks at the world, at us, descendants, with a searching and demanding look.

“Fighter, save me from slavery!”, 1943.

“I have been going to this work all my life,” the artist said quietly, as if fearing to intrude into the secret train of thought of the prophet. “All my long life...” And suddenly he asked: “Do you know what I dream about? I am old and sick, I am not destined to see the land of my ancestors. I dream that this picture will continue its life in Israel. So that the prophet written on it with my hands, with my heart, would bring him peace and prosperity.

“The Motherland will not forget the heroic deeds of its sons!”, 1947.

The dream of the artist has not come true to this day. Foreign collectors tried to acquire this wonderful painting, offering a lot of money for it. The artist did not agree, but not a single Jewish organization showed sufficient interest in the painting, and Victor Koretsky, already seriously ill, donated it among 41 of his paintings to Moscow. Now it is stored in the storerooms of the State Exhibition Hall "Small Manege", and could take its rightful place in the Israeli Art Center in Tel Aviv, become the artistic heritage of Jews around the world.

No wonder propaganda and agitation was called the third front of the Great Patriotic War. It was here that the battle for the spirit of the people unfolded, which, in the end, decided the outcome of the war: Hitler's propaganda did not sleep either, but it turned out to be far from the sacred wrath of Soviet artists, poets, writers, journalists, composers ...

a great victory gave the country a reason for legitimate pride, which we also feel, the descendants of the heroes who defended their native cities, liberated Europe from a strong, cruel and insidious enemy.
The image of this enemy, as well as the image of the people rallied to defend the Motherland, is most vividly presented on wartime posters, which raised propaganda art to an unprecedented height, which has not been surpassed to this day.

Wartime posters can be called soldiers: they hit right on target, shaping public opinion, creating a clear negative image of the enemy, rallying the ranks of Soviet citizens, giving rise to the emotion necessary for war: anger, rage, hatred - and at the same time, love for the family threatened by the enemy home, to the Motherland.

Propaganda materials were an important part of the Great Patriotic War. From the first days of the offensive of the Nazi army, on the streets of Soviet cities appeared campaign posters, designed to raise the morale of the army and labor productivity in the rear, such as the propaganda poster "Everything for the front, everything for victory"!

This slogan was first proclaimed by Stalin during an address to the people in July 1941, when a difficult situation developed on the entire front, and German troops were rapidly advancing towards Moscow.

At the same time, the famous poster "The Motherland Calls" by Irakli Toidze appeared on the streets of Soviet cities. The collective image of a Russian mother calling on her sons to fight the enemy has become one of the most recognizable examples of Soviet propaganda.

Reproduction of the poster "The Motherland Calls!", 1941. Author Irakli Moiseevich Toidze

The posters varied in quality and content. German soldiers were portrayed as caricatured, miserable and helpless, while the Red Army soldiers demonstrated fighting spirit and unbroken faith in victory.

In the post-war period, propaganda posters were often criticized for excessive cruelty, but according to the memoirs of war participants, hatred of the enemy was that help, without which Soviet soldiers would hardly have been able to withstand the onslaught of the enemy army.

In 1941-1942, when the enemy rolled like an avalanche from the west, capturing more and more cities, crushing the defenses, destroying millions of Soviet soldiers, it was important for propagandists to inspire confidence in victory, that the Nazis were not invincible. The plots of the first posters were full of attacks and martial arts, they emphasized the nationwide struggle, the connection of the people with the party, with the army, they called for the destruction of the enemy.

One of the popular motives is an appeal to the past, an appeal to the glory of past generations, reliance on the authority of the legendary commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Suvorov, Kutuzov, heroes civil war.

Artists Viktor Ivanov “Our Truth. Fight to the death!”, 1942.

Artists Dmitry Moor "How did you help the front?", 1941.

"Victory will be ours", 1941

Poster V.B. Koretsky, 1941.

To support the Red Army - mighty civil uprising!

Poster by V. Pravdin, 1941.

Poster by artists Bochkov and Laptev, 1941.

In an atmosphere of general retreat and constant defeats, it was necessary not to succumb to decadent moods and panic. In the newspapers then there was not a word about the losses, there were reports of individual personal victories of soldiers and crews, and this was justified.

The enemy on the posters of the first stage of the war appeared either impersonal, in the form of “black matter” bristling with metal, or a fanatic and marauder, doing inhuman deeds that cause horror and disgust. The German, as the embodiment of absolute evil, turned into a creature that the Soviet people had no right to endure on their own land.

The thousand-headed fascist hydra must be destroyed and thrown out, the battle is literally between Good and Evil - such is the pathos of those posters. Published in millions of copies, they still radiate strength and confidence in the inevitability of defeating the enemy.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) "The "face" of Hitlerism", 1941.

Artists Landres "Napoleon was cold in Russia, and Hitler will be hot!", 1941.

Artists Kukryniksy "We beat the enemy with a spear ...", 1941.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) “Why does a pig need culture and science?”, 1941.

Since 1942, when the enemy approached the Volga, took Leningrad into a blockade, reached the Caucasus, captured vast territories with civilians.

Posters began to reflect the suffering of Soviet people, women, children, the elderly in the occupied land and an irresistible desire Soviet army defeat Germany, help those who are unable to fend for themselves.

Artist Viktor Ivanov "The hour of reckoning with the Germans for all their atrocities is near!", 1944.

Artist P.Sokolov-Skala "Fighter, take revenge!", 1941.

Artist S.M. Mochalov "Revenge", 1944.

The slogan "Kill the German!" spontaneously appeared among the people in 1942, its origins, among others, are in the article “Kill!” by Ilya Erengburg. Many posters that appeared after it (“Dad, kill the German!”, “Baltic! Save your beloved girl from shame, kill the German!”, “Less German - victory is closer”, etc.) combined the image of a fascist and a German into one object of hatred.

“We must tirelessly see before us the face of a Hitlerite: this is the target at which you need to shoot without a miss, this is the personification of what we hate. Our duty is to incite hatred of evil and strengthen the thirst for the beautiful, the good, the just.”

Ilya Erenburg, Soviet writer and public figure.

According to him, at the beginning of the war, many Red Army soldiers did not feel hatred for enemies, respected the Germans for the "high culture" of life, expressed confidence that German workers and peasants were sent under arms, who were just waiting for the opportunity to turn their weapons against their commanders.

« It's time to dispel the illusion. We understood that the Germans are not people. From now on, the word "German" is the worst curse for us. …If you haven't killed at least one German in a day, your day is gone. If you think that your neighbor will kill a German for you, you have not understood the threat. If you don't kill the German, the German will kill you. …Don't count the days. Don't count miles. Count one thing: the Germans you killed. Kill the German! - this is asked by the old woman-mother. Kill the German! This is a child begging you. Kill the German! - it screams native land. Don't miss. Do not miss. Kill!"

Artists Alexei Kokorekin "Beat the fascist reptile", 1941.

The word "fascist" has become synonymous with an inhuman killing machine, a soulless monster, a rapist, a cold-blooded killer, a pervert. Bad news from the occupied territories only reinforced this image. Fascists are depicted as huge, scary and ugly, towering over the corpses of the innocently killed, pointing weapons at mother and child.

It is not surprising that the heroes of military posters do not kill, but destroy such an enemy, sometimes destroy with their bare hands - professional assassins armed to the teeth.

The defeat of the Nazi armies near Moscow marked the beginning of the turn of military success in favor of Soviet Union.

The war turned out to be protracted, not lightning fast. The grand battle of Stalingrad, which has no analogues in world history, finally secured the strategic superiority for us, conditions were created for the Red Army to go on the general offensive. The mass expulsion of the enemy from Soviet territory, about which the posters of the first days of the war were repeated, has become a reality.

Artists Nikolai Zhukov and Viktor Klimashin "Defend Moscow", 1941.

After the counter-offensive near Moscow and Stalingrad, the soldiers realized their strength, unity and the sacred nature of their mission. Many posters are devoted to these great battles, as well as the Battle of Kursk, where the enemy is depicted as a caricature, ridiculed by his predatory pressure, which ended in destruction.

Artist Vladimir Serov, 1941.

Artist Irakli Toidze "Defend the Caucasus", 1942.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) "Stalingrad", 1942.

Artist Anatoly Kazantsev "Do not give the enemy a single inch of our land (I. Stalin)", 1943.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) "The broom of the Red Army, the evil spirits will sweep to the ground!", 1943.

The miracles of heroism shown by citizens in the rear were also reflected in poster plots: one of the most frequent heroines is a woman who replaced men at a machine tool or driving a tractor. The posters reminded us that the common victory is also created by heroic work in the rear.

Artist unknown, 194.

A poster in those days is also needed by those who live in the occupied territories, where the content of the posters is passed from mouth to mouth. According to the memoirs of veterans, in the occupied areas, patriots pasted panels of “TASS Windows” on fences, sheds, and houses where the Germans stood. The population, deprived of Soviet radio, newspapers, learned the truth about the war from these leaflets that appeared from nowhere ...

“Windows TASS” are propaganda political posters produced by the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. This is an original form of agitation-mass art. Sharp, intelligible satirical posters with short, easy-to-remember poetic texts exposed the enemies of the Fatherland.

Okna TASS, produced since July 27, 1941, was a formidable ideological weapon, it was not for nothing that Propaganda Minister Goebbels sentenced in absentia to death everyone who was involved in their release:
“As soon as Moscow is taken, everyone who worked at the TASS Windows will hang from lampposts.”

More than 130 artists and 80 poets worked at Okny TASS. The main artists were Kukryniksy, Mikhail Cheremnykh, Pyotr Shukhmin, Nikolai Radlov, Alexander Daineka and others. Poets: Demyan Bedny, Alexander Zharov, Vasily Lebedev-Kumach, Samuil Marshak, poems by the late Mayakovsky were used.

In a single patriotic impulse, people of various professions worked in the workshop: sculptors, artists, painters, theater artists, graphic artists, art critics. The team of artists "Windows TASS" worked in three shifts. For all the time of the war in the workshop, the light never goes out.

The Political Directorate of the Red Army made small-format leaflets of the most popular "Windows TASS" with texts on German. These leaflets were thrown into the territories occupied by the Nazis, and distributed by partisans. The texts typed in German indicated that the leaflet could serve as a pass for surrender for German soldiers and officers.

The image of the enemy ceases to inspire horror, posters call to reach his lair and crush there, to liberate not only your home, but also Europe. The heroic popular struggle is the main theme of the military poster of this stage of the war; already in 1942, Soviet artists caught the still distant theme of victory, creating canvases with the slogan “Forward! To the west!".

It becomes obvious that Soviet propaganda is much more effective than fascist, for example, during Battle of Stalingrad The Red Army used original methods of psychological pressure on the enemy - the monotonous beat of a metronome transmitted through loudspeakers, which was interrupted every seven beats by a comment in German: “Every seven seconds a German soldier dies at the front". This had a demoralizing effect on the German soldiers.

Warrior-defender, warrior-liberator - such is the hero of the poster of 1944-1945.

The enemy appears small and vile, it is such a predatory reptile that can still bite, but is no longer capable of causing serious harm. The main thing is to finally destroy it in order to finally return home, to the family, to a peaceful life, to the restoration of destroyed cities. But before that, Europe must be liberated and rebuffed by imperialist Japan, on which the Soviet Union, without waiting for an attack, itself declared war in 1945.

Artist Pyotr Magnushevsky “Formidable bayonets are getting closer…”, 1944.

Reproduction of the poster "The Red Army's step is menacing! The enemy will be destroyed in the lair!", artist Viktor Nikolayevich Denis, 1945

Reproduction of the poster "Forward! Victory is near!". 1944 Artist Nina Vatolina.

“Let's get to Berlin!”, “Glory to the Red Army!” posters rejoice. The defeat of the enemy is already close, the time requires life-affirming works from artists, bringing closer the meeting of the liberators with the liberated cities and villages, with their families.

The prototype of the hero of the poster "Let's get to Berlin" was a real soldier - sniper Vasily Golosov. Golosov himself did not return from the war, but his open, joyful, kind face lives on on the poster to this day.

Posters become an expression of people's love, pride for the country, for the people who gave birth to and raised such heroes. The faces of the soldiers are beautiful, happy and very tired.

Artist Leonid Golovanov "Motherland, meet the heroes!", 1945.

Artist Leonid Golovanov "Glory to the Red Army!", 1945.

Artist Maria Nesterova-Berzina “They Waited”, 1945.

Artist Viktor Ivanov "You gave us life back!", 1943.

Artist Nina Vatolina "With Victory!", 1945.

Artist Viktor Klimashin "Glory to the victorious warrior!", 1945.

The war with Germany did not officially end in 1945. Having accepted the surrender of the German command, the Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, only on January 25, 1955, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree "On the termination of the state of war between the Soviet Union and Germany", thereby legally formalizing the end of hostilities.

The Great Victory gave the country a reason for legitimate pride, which we also feel, the descendants of the heroes who defended their native cities, liberated Europe from a strong, cruel and insidious enemy.
The image of this enemy, as well as the image of the people rallied to defend the Motherland, is most vividly presented on wartime posters, which raised propaganda art to an unprecedented height, which has not been surpassed to this day.

Propaganda materials were an important part of the Great Patriotic War. From the first days of the offensive of the Nazi army, propaganda posters appeared on the streets of Soviet cities, designed to raise the morale of the army and labor productivity in the rear, such as the propaganda poster "Everything for the front, everything for victory"!

Reproduction of the poster "The Motherland Calls!", 1941. Author Irakli Moiseevich Toidze

One of the popular motifs is an appeal to the past, an appeal to the glory of past generations, reliance on the authority of the legendary commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Suvorov, Kutuzov, the heroes of the civil war.

Artists Viktor Ivanov “Our Truth. Fight to the death!”, 1942.

Artists Dmitry Moor "How did you help the front?", 1941.

"Victory will be ours", 1941

Poster V.B. Koretsky, 1941.

To support the Red Army - a mighty people's militia!

Poster by V. Pravdin, 1941.

Poster by artists Bochkov and Laptev, 1941.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) "The "face" of Hitlerism", 1941.

Artists Landres "Napoleon was cold in Russia, and Hitler will be hot!", 1941.

Artists Kukryniksy "We beat the enemy with a spear ...", 1941.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) “Why does a pig need culture and science?”, 1941.

Since 1942, when the enemy approached the Volga, took Leningrad into a blockade, reached the Caucasus, captured vast territories with civilians.

Posters began to reflect the suffering of Soviet people, women, children, the elderly in the occupied land and the irresistible desire of the Soviet Army to defeat Germany, to help those who are unable to fend for themselves.

Artist Viktor Ivanov "The hour of reckoning with the Germans for all their atrocities is near!", 1944.

Artist P.Sokolov-Skala "Fighter, take revenge!", 1941.

Artist S.M. Mochalov "Revenge", 1944.

Ilya Erenburg, Soviet writer and public figure.

Artists Alexei Kokorekin "Beat the fascist reptile", 1941.

It is not surprising that the heroes of military posters do not kill, but destroy such an enemy, sometimes destroy with their bare hands - professional assassins armed to the teeth.

The defeat of the fascist German armies near Moscow marked the beginning of a turn in military success in favor of the Soviet Union.

Artists Nikolai Zhukov and Viktor Klimashin "Defend Moscow", 1941.

Artist Vladimir Serov, 1941.

Artist Irakli Toidze "Defend the Caucasus", 1942.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) "Stalingrad", 1942.

Artist Anatoly Kazantsev "Do not give the enemy a single inch of our land (I. Stalin)", 1943.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) "The broom of the Red Army, the evil spirits will sweep to the ground!", 1943.

Artist unknown, 194.

The Political Directorate of the Red Army made small leaflets of the most popular TASS Windows with texts in German. These leaflets were thrown into the territories occupied by the Nazis, and distributed by partisans. The texts typed in German indicated that the leaflet could serve as a pass for surrender for German soldiers and officers.

It becomes obvious that Soviet propaganda is much more effective than Nazi propaganda, for example, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army used original methods of psychological pressure on the enemy - the monotonous beat of a metronome transmitted through loudspeakers, which was interrupted every seven beats by a comment in German: “Every seven seconds a German soldier dies at the front". This had a demoralizing effect on the German soldiers.

Warrior-defender, warrior-liberator - such is the hero of the poster of 1944-1945.

Artist Pyotr Magnushevsky “Formidable bayonets are getting closer…”, 1944.

Reproduction of the poster "The Red Army's step is menacing! The enemy will be destroyed in the lair!", artist Viktor Nikolayevich Denis, 1945

Reproduction of the poster "Forward! Victory is near!". 1944 Artist Nina Vatolina.

Posters become an expression of people's love, pride for the country, for the people who gave birth to and raised such heroes. The faces of the soldiers are beautiful, happy and very tired.

Artist Leonid Golovanov "Motherland, meet the heroes!", 1945.

Artist Leonid Golovanov "Glory to the Red Army!", 1945.

Artist Maria Nesterova-Berzina “They Waited”, 1945.

Artist Viktor Ivanov "You gave us life back!", 1943.

Artist Nina Vatolina "With Victory!", 1945.

Artist Viktor Klimashin "Glory to the victorious warrior!", 1945.

Compilation of material - Fox

POSTERS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1941-1945

In Soviet times, posters were one of the most widespread means of mass propaganda. With the help of posters, talented artists expressed the will of the people, called for certain actions, pointed out the good and bad sides of life, instilled in people self-esteem, a sense of patriotism and love for their country, their people. Posters from the times of the USSR touched on different aspects of life and affected almost everything that happened in society. For all the time, a huge number of propaganda posters were created that condemned drunkenness, talked about the benefits of work and sports, and reflected all aspects of the country's life. However, the most striking, most important, deep, touching and even tragic posters are those of the Great Patriotic War.

Soviet posters from the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 called on all the people of the vast country to oppose fascism. In the most vivid and graphic images, they showed all the horror of the war and all the inhumanity of fascism, which decided to conquer the whole world. Posters during the war were one of the mass stimulating means of agitation, acting on a par with newspapers and radio. Many of these posters have become so famous that they are used even today and are considered true masterpieces of poster art. These posters can touch the heart, awaken special feelings even now, when many decades have passed since that terrible war that claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians.

Talented artists, whose names have remained in history, were engaged in the creation of propaganda posters visual arts the Soviet people. The most famous artists of this genre were Dmitry Moor, Victor Denis, Mikhail Cheremnykh, Irakli Toidze, Alexei Kokorekin, Viktor Ivanov, Viktor Koretsky, the Kukryniksy group of artists, the TASS Windows group of artists and others. In their art, they created majestic, memorable and inspiring images, a tense plot that appealed to sincere feelings, and also accompanied their works with phrases that were remembered and engraved in memory. Without a doubt, the art of the propaganda poster contributed to the formation of a sense of patriotism in the people of that time, because it was not without reason that propaganda and agitation were then called the third front of the Great Patriotic War. It was here that the battle for the spirit of the people unfolded, which ultimately decided the outcome of the war. Hitler's propaganda was also on the alert, but it turned out to be far from the sacred wrath of Soviet artists, poets, writers, journalists, and composers.

There are two stages in the development of the poster of the Great Patriotic War. For the first two years of the war, the poster had a dramatic, even tragic sound. The posters of M.I. Toidze "The Motherland Calls!" (1941) and V.G. Koretsky "Warrior of the Red Army, save!" (1942). The first one depicts an allegorical female figure against the background of bayonets, holding the text of a military oath in her hands. On the poster V.G. Koretsky depicts a woman clutching a child in horror, at whom a bayonet with a swastika is pointed.

At the second stage, after a turning point during the war, the mood and image of the poster changes, it is imbued with optimism and humor. L.A. Golovanov in the poster "Let's get to Berlin!" (1944) creates an image of a hero close to Vasily Terkin.

The Great Victory gave the country a reason for legitimate pride, which we also feel, the descendants of the heroes who defended our relatives.

cities that liberated Europe from a strong, cruel and insidious enemy. The image of this enemy, as well as the image of the people who rallied to defend the Motherland, is most clearly presented in wartime posters, which raised propaganda art to an unprecedented height, which has not been surpassed to this day.

Wartime posters can be called soldiers, they hit right on target, forming public opinion, creating a well-aimed negative image of the enemy, rallying the ranks of Soviet citizens, giving rise to the emotions necessary for the war, anger, rage, hatred - and at the same time, love for the family, which the enemy threatens, to his native home, to his homeland.

Propaganda posters were an important part of the Great Patriotic War. From the first days of the offensive of the Nazi army, propaganda posters appeared on the streets of Soviet cities, designed to raise the morale of the army and labor productivity in the rear, such as the propaganda poster: “Everything for the front! Everything for the victory!

In 1941-1942, when the enemy rolled like an avalanche from the west, capturing more and more cities, crushing the defenses, destroying millions of Soviet soldiers, it was important for propagandists to inspire confidence in victory, that the Nazis were invincible. The plots of the first posters were full of attacks and emphasized the nationwide struggle, the connection of the people with the army, they called for the destruction of the enemy.

The enemy on the posters of the first stage of the war was the embodiment of absolute evil, which the Soviet people should not tolerate on their soil.

Since 1942, when the enemy approached the Volga, took Leningrad into a blockade, reached the Caucasus, captured vast territories with civilians, posters began to reflect the suffering of Soviet people, women, children, the elderly in the occupied land and the irresistible desire of the Soviet Army to defeat Germany, to help those who are unable to take care of themselves.

The word "fascist" has become synonymous with an inhuman machine for killing millions of people. Bad news from the occupied territories only reinforced this image. Fascists are portrayed as huge, ugly and ugly, towering over the corpses of the recently murdered, pointing their weapons at women and children.

It is not surprising that the heroes of military posters do not kill, but destroy such an enemy, sometimes destroy him with the bare hands of professional assassins armed to the teeth.

The defeat of the Nazi armies near Moscow marked the beginning of a turn in the course of the war in favor of the Soviet Union.

The war turned out to be protracted, not lightning fast. The grand battle of Stalingrad, which has no analogues in world history, finally secured the strategic superiority for us, conditions were created for the Red Army to go on the general offensive. The mass expulsion of the enemy of Soviet territory, about which the posters of the first days of the war were repeated, has become a reality.

After the counter-offensive near Moscow and Stalingrad, the soldiers realized their strength, unity and the sacred nature of their mission. Many posters are devoted to these great battles, as well as the Battle of Kursk, where the enemy is depicted as a caricature, his predatory pressure, which ended in destruction, is ridiculed.

Those who live in the occupied territories also needed a poster in those days, where the content of the posters was passed from mouth to mouth. According to the memoirs of veterans, in the occupied areas, patriots pasted panels of “TASS Windows” on fences, sheds, and houses where the Germans stood. The population, deprived of Soviet radio, newspapers, learned the truth

about the war from these leaflets that appeared from nowhere.

"Windows of TASS" are propaganda and political posters produced by the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS). This is an original form of agitation-mass art. Sharp, intelligible satirical posters with a short, easy-to-remember text exposed the enemies of the Fatherland.

"Windows TASS", produced since July 27, 1941, were a formidable ideological weapon, not without reason that Minister of Propaganda Goebbels sentenced in absentia everyone who was related to the release to death.

“As soon as Moscow is taken, everyone who worked at the TASS Windows will hang from lampposts.”

In "Windows TASS" collaborated M.M. Cheremnykh, B.N. Efimov, Kukryniksy - the union of three artists, M.V. Kupriyanova, P.N. Krylova, N.A. Sokolov. Kukryniksy also worked a lot in magazine and newspaper caricature. The whole world went around their famous caricature "I lost my ringlet ..." (and in the ringlet 22 divisions) - on the defeat of the Germans near Stalingrad (1943).

A photo. Caricature "I lost my ring..."

The Political Directorate of the Red Army issued small-format leaflets of the most popular TASS Windows with texts in German. These leaflets were thrown into the territories occupied by the Nazis, and distributed by partisans. The texts typed in German indicated that the leaflet could serve as a pass for surrender for German soldiers and officers.

"Window TASS".

arr As soon as the enemy ceases to be terrified, the posters call to reach his lair and destroy him there, to liberate not only his home, but also Europe. The heroic popular struggle is the main theme of the military poster of this stage of the war, already in 1942, Soviet artists caught the still distant theme of victory, creating canvases with the slogan “Forward! To the west!".

It becomes obvious that Soviet propaganda is much more effective than Nazi propaganda, for example, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army used original methods of psychological pressure on the enemy - the monotonous beat of a metronome transmitted through loudspeakers, which was interrupted every seven beats, comments in German “Every seven seconds at the front one German soldier dies. This had a demoralizing effect on the German soldiers.

The enemy appears small and vile. The main thing is to finally destroy it in order to return home, to the family, to a peaceful life, to the restoration of destroyed cities. But before that, Europe must be liberated.

V. Koretsky. Poster "Warrior of the Red Army, save!"

Naturally, during the war years, efficiency in artistic coverage of events at the front and in the rear was especially valued. Thousands of posters, leaflets, postcards were created. At the same time, not only artistically generalized images were used, but also photographs - which became documentary evidence of those events. So, one of the best posters of that time was the poster “Save the Red Army Soldier!” created by V. Koretsky, based on an amazingly expressive photograph.

Front-line soldiers recall that the emotional posters of V. Ivanov "We drink the water of our native Dnieper, We will drink from the Prut, Neman and Bug" and L. Golovanov's "Let's get to Berlin" helped to strengthen faith in our strength and the inevitability of defeating the aggressors.

A special role was played by satirical posters. Quite often, eye-catching sheets of “Windows TASS”, made by hand just a few hours after the events and reproduced using a stencil, became the first artistic evidence of the victories of the Red Army. It was the efficiency of the "Windows" that was their main advantage compared to printed posters and leaflets.

The best domestic artists took an active part in the production of posters: Kukryniksy, B. Efimov, M. Cheremnykh, G. Nissky and many others. Our military posters enjoyed amazing popularity not only in the USSR, their exhibitions during the war years were held with great success in England, the USA, Sweden, Iran, and China.