The representations of the Middle Ages in the 20th Century War Propaganda were quite abstract, the reason was because Britain, Germany, and the U.S.S.R had used medieval imagery in their propaganda efforts. First off the word, “Propaganda”, is known as a form of communication directed towards influencing the thought process of a community facing a position by showing only one specific side of an agreement. Propagandas could’ve been true or false. Why was medieval imagery used? Simply because there were allegories found in medieval imagery. An “allegory” is a literary device. Within this device the characters or events that occur in a visual, literal or a musical form stand for different ideas and concepts. The main purpose of allegories is that it has an immense strength to show complex concepts in different aspects that can be easily understood by the reader, observer or one whom is listening. The 2 pictures that will be discussed about below have significant allegories ranging from the German Propaganda to the U.S.S.R Propaganda.
Just an example of an 20th Century War Propaganda poster.
The first image is related to the German Propaganda. Firstly, the German Propaganda is actually known as the NAZI Propaganda. During this period, propaganda was used by the NSDAP, known as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. They used them in the years leading to and during Adolf Hitler’s leadership in Germany (1933-1945). The NSDAP sustained important equipment for wanting and maintaining power and for also their performance of how their polices will work. This unfortunately did involve total war and the extermination of millions of innocent lives, the Holocaust. The image is called, “Der Bannertrager” which means the “The Standard Bearer”. It was created by an Austrian-born artist, Hubert Lanzinger (1880-1950) in 1935 in oils on a wood panel. This image shows Hitler as an angelic figure looking toward a better future for Germany with the NAZI flag waving right behind him. The allegory in this image is trying to show that Hitler is trying to make Germany a better country through his own divine power; it’s true but also false. Hitler was not an angelic figure. Yes, he wanted to make Germany become a higher power but within that process he possessed a demon like nature of destructing areas and eliminating innocent lives. Angel or Demon? Hitler was nowhere close to a symbol of an angel, even if he was trying to make his country dominant, his actions spoke otherwise because in that process he killed violently and with no remorse. [1]After the war, a U.S. soldier pierced the painting with his bayonet. It was then transferred to the U.S. Army Collection, German War.
The second image is related to the U.S.S.R Propaganda. The U.S.S.R Propaganda was known as the Communist Propaganda, which had only one purpose to just move the thought of communism forward. [2]Communism is a social movement to create a classless, moneyless, and stateless social order structured upon common ownership of the means of production, as well as a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of this social order. The Communist propaganda in the U.S.S.R was heavily based on the Marxism-Leninism ideology to simply promote the Communist Party. [3]Marxism-Leninism is a political ideology combining the scientific socialist concepts theorized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, collectively known as Marxism, with theoretical expansions developed by Vladimir Lenis, collectively known as Leninism, which consist of anti-imperialism, democratic centralism, and necessity of a vanguard part of class conscious cadres to coordinate the social revolution and construction of socialism. Heading back to the image itself, known as, “The Road to Victory” was created by V. Ivanov and O. Burova back in 1942. It has two significant years on it with two separate images, each resulting two different scenarios but one significant meaning. This image is also known as “Aleksandr Nevsky” in other words, “Alexander Nevsky” (“Alexander The Great). The year, 1242, is the date of Alexander’s victory. After the city of Pskov was invaded by the Livonian Order ([4]The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435 to 1561) [[5]The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly the Teutonic Order, is a German medieval military order, and became in modern times a purely religious Catholic order], the Novgorod forces were sent for Alexander. In the spring of 1241, Alexander had returned from his exile, and had assembled an army to drive out the invaders. Alexander and his army faced the strong Livonian army, the leader being Hermann ([6]Hermann of Dorpat [1163-1248] was the first Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Dorpat [1224-1248] within the Livonian Confederation), who was the brother of Albert Von Buxhoeveden ([7]Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia, [c.1165-17 January 1229] was the third Bishop of Riga in Livonia. In 1201 he founded Riga, the modern capital of Latvia and built the city’s cathedral in 1221]. Alexander the Great faced the army on the ice of Lake Peipus and had defeated the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights on April 5th, 1242. This battle was one of the most significant battles in the history of the Middle Ages. 1942, was the date that the poster was published, but there’s a reason, Stalin had declared in a 1941 broadcast that Germany had pursued a war to eliminate the people of the U.S.S.R. The allegory in this image is now seen, because look how the 1242 and the image behind the “colored” image is in light font with an image of a man in a 1200s uniform on a horse and how there is a bold image of a man on the horse in uniform of the 1900s with the 1942 bolded. The image is trying to tell that the U.S.S.R should fight the war exactly how Alexander The Great did. The way he had led the Livonian branch of Teutonic Knights out of Pskov, is exactly what the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R) had to do to the Germans. “Otstoim Moskvu!” in English means “We Will Defend Moscow!” and “Kto s mechom k name voydyot, otmecha I pogibnet” in English means “He who comes at us with a sword, from a sword shall perish”, which was said by Aleksandr Nevsky (Alexander The Great). In fact, it was the Russians who did stop the German invasion and put an end to NAZI Germany. Alexander The Great served as a role model.
In conclusion, the representations of the Middle Ages in the 20th Century War Propaganda was quite abstract, the reason was because Britain, Germany, and the U.S.S.R had used medieval imagery in their propaganda efforts. Why were medieval imagery used? Simply because there were allegories found in medieval imagery. An “allegory” is a literary device, within this device the characters or events that occur in a visual, literal or a musical form stand for different ideas and concepts. The main purpose of allegories is that it has an immense strength to show complex concepts in different aspects that can be easily understood by the reader, observer or one whom is listening. In the two images discussed, out of the four interpretations of Allegories, those being literal, typological, moral, and anagogical, “Der Bannertrager” is a literal allegory, [8]the literal interpretation of the events of the story for historical purposes with no underlying meaning. And “The Road to Victory”, is a literal and moral allegory, [9]which is how one should act in the present, the “moral of the story”.
-AP.
[1] “Der Bannerträger (“The Standard Bearer”), by Hubert Lanzinger, circa 1935”, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/exhibit.html#/records/data/records/painting-the-standard-bearer.xml
[2] “Communism”, last modified November 19th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism
[3] “Marxism-Leninism”, last modified November 19th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism-Leninism
[4] “Livonian Order”, last modified November 26th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livonian_Order
[5] “Teutonic Knights”, last modified November 26th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Order
[6] “Hermann of Dorpat”, last modified November 24th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_of_Dorpat
[7] “Albert of Riga”, last modified October 24th, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_of_Buxhoeveden
[8] “Allegories in the Middle Ages”, last modified September 1st, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_in_the_Middle_Ages
[9] “Allegories in the Middle Ages”, last modified September 1st, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_in_the_Middle_Ages
Section 16.2 