Motherland in Danger

Karel C. Berkhoff

Published by Harvard University Press 2012

Motherland in Danger

Soviet Propaganda during World War II

Karel C. Berkhoff

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674064829

Overview
Contents

About this book

Much of the story about the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany has yet to be told. In Motherland in Danger, Karel Berkhoff addresses one of the most neglected questions facing historians of the Second World War: how did the Soviet leadership sell the campaign against the Germans to the people on the home front?

For Stalin, the obstacles were manifold. Repelling the German invasion would require a mobilization so large that it would test the limits of the Soviet state. Could the USSR marshal the manpower necessary to face the threat? How could the authorities overcome inadequate infrastructure and supplies? Might Stalin’s regime fail to survive a sustained conflict with the Germans?

Motherland in Danger takes us inside the Stalinist state to witness, from up close, its propaganda machine. Using sources in many languages, including memoirs and documents of the Soviet censor, Berkhoff explores how the Soviet media reflected—and distorted—every aspect of the war, from the successes and blunders on the front lines to the institution of forced labor on farm fields and factory floors. He also details the media’s handling of Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust, as well as its stinting treatment of the Allies, particularly the United States, the UK, and Poland. Berkhoff demonstrates not only that propaganda was critical to the Soviet war effort but also that it has colored perceptions of the war to the present day, both inside and outside of Russia.

Author information

BerkhoffKarel C.:

Karel C. Berkhoff is Senior Researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Stalinist Propaganda as a System for Control Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
2. Selfless Obedience and Heroism at the Front Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
3. A Single Forced Labor Camp Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
4. Material Privations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
5. Monstrous Atrocities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
6. A Bestial Plan for Physical Extermination Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
7. Hatred with All the Might of the Soul Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
8. The Motherland and Its People Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	202
9. Immortal Avengers and Enemy Accomplices Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
10. Allies Who Must Join the Action Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	244
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	269
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	389
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	393
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	397

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 416

eBook

Published: April 13, 2012
ISBN: 9780674064829