Poster red army warrior save the history of creation. Posters of the Great Patriotic War

Poster is a universal genre. But the posters of the Great Patriotic War are more than a genre, they are a chronicle that predetermined the Great Victory of a great nation over fascism.

Toidze I. The Motherland is calling! 1941

Fighter, liberate your Belarus!
Poster. Hood. V. Koretsky, 1943

01/27/43: Hitler’s degenerate wanted a war like in France, but not like in Russia. He wanted, like pimps, to live at someone else’s expense, drink someone else’s champagne and eat someone else’s chocolate, send stolen cloth, silks and stockings to his greedy, wolf-like wife, who invariably repeated in her “touching” letters two words “let’s go and let’s go”... With a dim, German-fascist males rush with frenzied gaze at women of a foreign nationality, breathing into their faces the stench of rotten teeth, staining them with drops of their poisoned saliva. (“Red Star”, USSR)
Kill the fascist fanatic!
Poster. Hood. V. Denis. 1942

Sailor! Deliver your dear girl from vile reptiles! Be merciless with the executioners, kill the rapists in battle! (1941)

Red Army warrior, save me!
Poster. Hood. V.A. Serov, 1942.

Fascist captivity means atrocities, suffering and torture.
Poster. Hood. V.A. Kobelev, 1941.

06/29/41: The main idea of the fascists is the superiority of the German race over other races. They compiled a description of an exemplary representative of the Germanic race. This is how a description of a purebred bull or a purebred dog is made. According to the “scientists” of fascism, a pure German is distinguished by his slimness, tall stature, light skin and hair color, and elongated head shape. It must be said that the three leaders of the fascists hardly fit the listed signs. Hitler is a dark-haired man of average height, Goering is an extremely corpulent creature. And Goebbels generally bears little resemblance to a person - German or non-German - he is a tiny monkey, ugly and fidgety. The appearance of the leaders does not prevent the fascists from persisting in the exaltation of the German race...

The fascists turned people into animals, and the complex world of human feelings was replaced by a textbook on pedigree cattle breeding... The ancestors of the current German fascists declared: “The Slavs are only fertilizer for the German race.” The fascists picked up such a “smart” idea. They consider the Slavs “a minor race, created for agriculture, for dancing or choral songs, but absolutely unsuitable for urban culture and for independent state existence.” Russians, in the words of fascist “scientists”: “a cross between Mongols and Slavs, created to live under someone else’s leadership.” (“Red Star”, USSR)

Fascism is hunger, fascism is terror, fascism is war! 1941 Karachentsev Petr Yakovlevich

Fascist captivity means torture and death.
Poster. Hood. Yu.N. Petrov, 1941

08/24/41: In one of the hotels in the city of Smolensk, the German command opened a brothel for officers with 260 beds. Hundreds of girls and women are forced into this terrible den; they were dragged by the arms, by the braids, and mercilessly dragged along the pavement. The Germans also opened a brothel in the village of Levikino, Glinkovsky district, Smolensk region. The fascist barbarians forced 50 collective farm girls, including schoolgirls, there. This is what the bearers of the “new order” do in many other villages and cities. (“Pravda”, USSR)

To a total war, the Russians give a total response: even women and children fight the enemy. One German correspondent reported that he saw in a broken truck the body of a beautiful girl of about seventeen with lieutenant's buttonholes - she never let go of a self-loading rifle. Other Amazons, sometimes poorly equipped, but always well armed, continue to cause a lot of trouble for the Germans. Girls and boys aged 8-16 who belong to the Young Pioneers organization - the Russian equivalent of Boy Scouts - are formed into groups to detect parachutists. Even Russian mosquitoes in the endless Pripyat swamps are waging their own “partisan war” against the Germans. (“Time”, USA)

Take revenge! Poster. Hood. D. Shmarinov, 1942

05.27.42: Now the war interests us: we want to liberate the regions and cities captured by the Germans. We cannot breathe while German soldiers are rampaging through Smolensk and Novgorod. We will not sleep while German corporals rape Ukrainian girls. We will not rest until we exterminate the fascists. Our strength is in our consciousness: there is no Red Army soldier who does not understand why we are fighting. (“Red Star”, USSR)

01/14/42: These were not buried. They are lying near the road. Either a hand or a head sticks out from under the snow. A frozen German stands by a birch tree, his hand is raised - it seems that he is dead, he still wants to kill someone. And next to him lies another, covering his face with his hand. Can’t count... On the birch cross the hand of a Russian wrote: “We went to Moscow, ended up in the grave”...

Here are their corpses. And next to it are bottles of French champagne, Norwegian canned food, and Bulgarian cigarettes. It’s scary to think that these pitiful people are the gentlemen of today’s Europe... Some of the “gentlemen,” however, will no longer drink champagne: they lie in the frozen ground.

It's good when they are taken by surprise. In the village of Belousovo, dinner remained untouched. They uncorked the bottles, but didn’t have time to take a sip. In the village of Balabanovo, the staff officers were sleeping. They ran out in their underpants - and solemnly, in silk French long johns, died from a Russian bayonet. (“Red Star”, USSR)

09.13.41: Drunken fascist bastard shoots, hangs, bayonets, tears into pieces, burns old people, women and children at the stake. Fascist two-legged brutes rape girls and women, and then kill them... Nazi-German trash commits its atrocities with the cold calculation of professional murderers and executioners. Intoxicated with blood, sadists carry out the program proclaimed by the cannibal Hitler who sent them. (“Pravda”, USSR)

09/10/41: Animals in the uniforms of Nazi officers and soldiers show what they are capable of. They gouge out the eyes of the wounded, cut out the breasts of women, they shoot old people and children with machine guns, burn collective farmers in their huts, rape girls, and drive them into brothels. Cowardly fascist dogs, under threat of execution, drive Soviet women and old people in front of them, covering their skin with their bodies. (“Pravda”, USSR)

I'm waiting for you, warrior-liberator! Poster. Hood. D. Shmarinov, 1942

12/27/41: A brothel instead of a family - such is the bestial morality of the Nazis!... This morally and physically corrupted, dirty, lousy, syphilis and gonorrhea-stricken fascist soldier rapes Soviet women in captured cities and villages. The scoundrels mock their victims doubly - they trample on their honor and deprive them of their health. It becomes scary when you think how many unfortunate victims of fascist rapists are infected with severe venereal diseases!... (“Red Star”, USSR)

Poster. Hood. YES. Shmarinov, 1942

01/14/42: Women cry when they see ours. These are tears of joy, a thaw after a terrible winter. They were silent for two or three months. They looked at the German executioners with dry, hard eyes. They were afraid to exchange a short word, a complaint, a sigh. And then it moved away, broke through. And it seems, on this chilly day, that it really is spring outside, the spring of the Russian people in the middle of the Russian winter.

The stories of peasants about the black weeks of the German yoke are terrible. Not only the atrocities are terrible, but the appearance of the German is terrible. “He shows me that he’s throwing a cigarette butt into the stove and asks: “Kultur. Cultures." And he, excuse me, was recovering in the hut with me and a woman in the hut. It’s cold, it doesn’t work out”... “They are dirty. I washed my feet, dried them, and then my face with the same towel...” “One is eating, and the other is sitting at the table and killing lice. It’s disgusting to look at”… “He’ll put his dirty laundry in a bucket. I tell him the bucket is clean, and he laughs. They desecrated us”...

“They desecrated us” are good words. They contain all the indignation of our people before the dirt, not only physical, but also spiritual, of these Hans and Krauts. They were reputed to be cultured. Now everyone has seen what their “culture” is - obscene postcards and drinking. They were reputed to be clean, but now everyone saw lousy brats with scabies who set up a latrine in a clean hut. (“Red Star”, USSR)

My son! You see my lot... Defeat the fascists in holy battle!
Poster. Hood. F. Antonov, 1942

10/18/41: They commit atrocities in captured villages and villages. Robbers with swastikas, they revel in the blood of Soviet people. They are intoxicated by blood and schnapps. They drink vodka and do their bloody deeds. Then they drink again and commit atrocities with redoubled force... The Germans began to beat the prisoners and spit in their faces. Several people who resisted were immediately shot. Then the robbers with swastikas staged a ride on the captured Red Army soldiers. They found a pig somewhere. One of the soldiers sat on the shoulders of a captured Red Army soldier, the other on a pig, both were driven to make it look like a race. The drunken Germans giggled, gloated, and mocked.

The fascist beast cannot escape retribution!
Poster. Hood. V. Koretsky, 1942

01/30/43: Ten years ago you chose Hitler. You went after the ogre. You went to France. You came to us. Now you have only one thing left: die. You thought on January 30, having received a double portion of schnapps, to hang the Russians. You will meet this day in your grave. (“Red Star”, USSR)

01/28/42: Comrade soldiers, look again to see if hand grenades have any effect on the “unfeeling” non-human. Check again whether the bayonet strikes reach them. Look how well they die from our mines and shells... They demand: “be cruel,” they torture, rape, burn. We say: you woke up, a new day is before you, - in the name of philanthropy, kill a couple more Krauts - your children and grandchildren will remember your name. (“Red Star”, USSR)

01/25/42: Be silent, Krauts, so that we don’t find out how scared you are. Be silent, Gretchen, so that we don’t know how hard it is for you... Do you perhaps think that we are eager to study your animal psychology? No. We want one thing - to destroy your Hitler tribe. (“Red Star”, USSR)

01/28/42: Anticipating his death, he is eagerly preparing new tortures. Disciples of the lame-legged one, all these “Herr-Doctors” sit and figure out how else to torture our wives and our children. They were not particularly “sensitive” to us. They ripped open the bellies of pregnant women. They gave horse urine to the dying wounded. They raped the girls, and then took them to the ice and raped them again...

10.30.41: In Hitler’s army, mass rape of women is a general legalized phenomenon. It is encouraged by the entire policy of fascism in the army. Abuse of the population, savage torture and mass rape of women, widely practiced by fascist gangs before, intensified many times over in the war against the USSR. Cruelty serves as a cover for the cowardice of the fascists, who did not expect such resistance from the Soviet people. (“Red Star”, USSR)

Hood. Kukryniksy (M. Kupriyanov, P. Krylov, N. Sokolov), 1942

03.25.42: The Germans announced with special posters: Staraya Russa is an original German city. Apparently wanting to give the city a “German” appearance, the Nazis drove cattle into the beautiful ancient Russian cathedral, hung the corpses of the people they tortured at the intersections of the main streets, and opened brothels where women and teenage girls were dragged by force. Yes, after all this the city looked truly German!

However, even Hitler’s bigwigs apparently became somewhat stumped by such Germanization. It turned out that during the German occupation in the city, 20 percent of all women, driven by the Germans under threat of execution into brothel houses, fell ill with venereal diseases. The order that announced this does not deny that the disease was brought in by German officers and soldiers. The order strongly advises patients not to rape women. Caring for the population? No. “One sick soldier can make dozens of others sick”... What about unhappy women? I don’t care, here’s more tenderness!

There is an announcement: “At the birth of their ninth living child or seventh son, parents have the right to choose Adolf Hitler or Imperial Marshal Hermann Goering as godparents.” And nearby on the street two pregnant women - Nilova and Boytsova - were hanged. There is a third woman hanging right there - Prokofieva, after whom there are four little guys left. Why were these women hanged? Yes, just for fun. (“Red Star”, USSR)

Poster. Hood. Antonov Fedor Vasilievich, 1942

12/30/41: The German command ordered us to be placed in a completely cold building. For several days we were starved and not even given water. Everyone suffered terribly, some were on the verge of madness. Finally... the Germans threw us a dead horse. Hungry people began to tear pieces of carrion. It was a terrible sight. Some comrades, outraged by such mockery, raised a cry. Then one officer ordered to place a machine gun at the door and ordered them to shoot at us. A German machine gunner opened fire at point blank range. We began to hide behind the ledges of the walls, but not everyone could do this. 25 people were killed and wounded. The corpses of the dead were left lying there; they were not allowed to be taken out. (“Red Star”, USSR)

Poster. Hood. B.V. Ioganson, 1943.

The beast is wounded! Let's finish off the fascist beast!
Poster. Hood. D.S. Moore, 1943

04/12/45: In many Soviet libraries and clubs you will probably see a solid volume. A single word is stamped on the cover: “They.” They are Germans. The book contains many illustrations - terrible illustrations, because we are talking about torture and torment that the Germans subjected Soviet citizens: men, women, children. We read equally terrible facts in press reports about German death camps on the territory of the USSR and Poland: what happened there cannot be described in words, these are manifestations of absolute evil. Let's add to this the completely destroyed and devastated western regions of Russia and gigantic losses at the front. Every Russian understands: the disaster that befell Europe is not just a war, but something more. Who is to blame for this? (“The Times”, UK).

I was waiting for you - warrior liberator! 1945

01/10/43: Every Soviet soldier knows what he is fighting for. Killing a German became our air, our bread. Without this we have no life. (“Red Star”, USSR)

01/01/43: From a soldier’s flask we drank the icy water of hatred. It burns your mouth stronger than alcohol. Damn Germany has intervened these days. Europe dreamed of flying into the stratosphere, now it must live like a mole in bomb shelters and dugouts. By the will of the possessed man and those close to him, the darkening of the century came. We hate the Germans not only because they basely and vilely kill our children. We also hate them because we have to kill them, and of all the words with which man is rich, we are now left with only one: “kill.” We hate the Germans not only because they basely and vilely kill our children. We hate them also because we have to kill them, because of all the words with which man is rich, we now have only one: kill. (“Red Star”, USSR)

Red Army warrior, save me! Hood. Koretsky Viktor Borisovich, 1942
“Pravda” from August 5, 1942.

Glory to the liberators of Ukraine! Death to the German invaders!
Poster. Hood. D. Shmarinov, 1943

01/30/43: Fritz howled: “What bad did he do?” He had not said this before... For nineteen months he calmly killed, robbed and hanged. Now he howled: “For what?”... Because in Kislovodsk we found a five-year-old girl with her stomach ripped open. Because in Kalach we found a three-year-old boy with his ears cut off. Because in every city the Germans kill innocents. For all the executions. For all the gallows. Fritz howls: “If only we could live peacefully!” I remembered too late, damn it. Who called you to our land? (“Red Star”, USSR)

Let's save the Soviet guys from the Germans!
Poster. Hood. L.F. Golovanov, 1943

10.30.41: The German fascist command proceeds from the basic Hitlerian position that terror and fear are the most powerful means of influencing people, and that therefore the German must frighten the population everywhere. Therefore, the most brutal methods of execution are encouraged in the fascist army: executions take place in public and, moreover, in a deliberately frightening environment. But this does not help the executioners; The Soviet people respond to the ferocious terror of the fascists by developing the partisan movement. (“Red Star”, USSR)

Guard attack pilot Senior Lieutenant Andrei Filippovich Kolomeets told how the Germans blinded his father:
One morning I opened the newspaper and read in the Sovinformburo report the name of my native village, liberated by the Red Army.

I wrote a letter and received the long-awaited answer: everyone is alive and well - my sister, my mother, and my father. They ask me to tell you about myself, how I fight, how I live.

Only one thing surprised me: why the letter was written in my sister’s hand, why doesn’t my dad write - he’s a literate, talkative person. I began to repeat in my letters: I want, dad, to receive news written by your hand. And my sister still writes letters from home. At this point I got angry: if my father didn’t answer, I’d stop writing. And here comes the answer to my letter: “Don’t be angry, Andryusha, with daddy - he can’t write to you with his own hand because he’s blind: the Germans burned out his eyes. He didn’t want to work for them at the iron foundry. They took him to the Gestapo, kept him for two days, then released him. Instead of eyes there are two wounds...”

Since then I have been twice as sharp in flight. No matter how the German disguises himself, I find him and beat him. Nothing can hide the bandit from my fire. I am mercilessly taking revenge on the damned little woman for the injury of my own father.

Son, take revenge!
Poster. Hood. N. Zhukov, 1944

07/27/42: It was to the peasant soul that Tymoshenko and all of Russia addressed in his last May Day order that Stalin, the man whose face symbolizes the entire country: “They [the Red Army soldiers] learned to truly hate the Nazi invaders. They realized that it is impossible to defeat the enemy without learning to hate him with all the strength of the soul.”

It was these forces of the soul - the souls of the soldier and the worker - that the secretary of the Moscow trade union organization Nikolaeva had in mind when speaking to the weavers: “All work in the rear takes place under the banner of hatred.”

This is the hatred of the defenders, and the Red Army is still on the defensive: it has not yet been able to achieve great success in offensive operations, and now it is looking through its own experience to answer the question whether defense alone can give the desired result. It is precisely this hatred that Moscow’s communiqués appeal to, emphasizing the need to exterminate German soldiers, destroy German tanks, guns, and planes.” (“Time”, USA)

I will take revenge on the Nazis for your torment!
Poster. Hood. B. Dekhterev, 1943.

And the more hopeless the position of the Nazis becomes, the more furious they become in their atrocities and robberies. Our people will not forgive these crimes to the German monsters. Joseph Stalin, 1943

10.30.41: These scoundrels with swastikas, going into attacks, drive civilians ahead of them. In recent days, in only one sector of the front - on the approaches to Crimea - the Germans several times tried to hide, like armor, with the bodies of old people, women and children. These scoundrels, the Germans, trampling all the laws of warfare, which they recognized in words, villainously deal with the wounded and captured Red Army soldiers, and turn the survivors into their slaves. Our soldiers know hundreds of facts when the Nazis burned the wounded alive, gouged out their eyes, and tore them to pieces with tanks. And how many such crimes remained unknown!... (“Red Star”, USSR)

No army has disgraced itself with such vile and dishonest tricks as the Nazi army.
Poster. Hood. N. Bylyev, 1943

Daddy, save me!
Poster. Hood. I. Kruzhkov, 1943

11.11.41: A letter from his father was found in the pocket of a German soldier. He wrote: “I don’t understand you, Hans. You write that in Ukraine they hate you, they shoot from behind every bush. You need to explain it well to these brutes, because you are liberating them from the Bolsheviks, maybe they didn’t understand you.” (“Pravda”, USSR)
Fighter, Ukraine is waiting for you!

Poster. Hood. N. Zhukov, V. Klimashin, 1943

During the war years, political posters took a leading place among other types of fine art. State Publishing House “Art” (Moscow and Leningrad), “TASS Windows”, “Combat Pencil” (Leningrad), studio named after M.B. Grekov, publishing houses in the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, cities of Siberia and the Far East, in Kuibyshev, Ivanovo, Rostov-on-Don, visiting editorial offices of central newspapers and teams of artists created at creative unions, art institutes - the entire gigantic propaganda industry of socialist realism worked like a well-oiled machine.

Perhaps nowhere in the world during the war years did such a wide range of the greatest masters of their time work in the genre of political posters: D. Moor, V. Denis, A. Deineka, Kukryniksy, D. Shmarinov, G. Vereisky, S. Gerasimov, B Ioganson and others. Summer. 1941 22nd of June. Sunday. On the radio - a TASS message about Germany's treacherous attack on our country.

And already on June 24, a poster “We will ruthlessly defeat and destroy the enemy!” appeared on the streets of Moscow and became an integral part of the austere appearance of the capital.

Within a few days, the whole country recognized him, and a week later, the whole world. This poster was followed by others. Posters, cartoons in newspapers, “TASS Windows”, book illustrations, anti-fascist leaflets for German soldiers, even packaging for food concentrates sent to the front - all these diverse forms were used by artists Mikhail Kupriyanov, Porfiry Krylov and Nikolai Sokolov (Kukryniksy), forcing them to serve their purpose.

At the same time, posters dedicated to the army and home front, the ideological and practical role of the country's leadership in organizing resistance to the enemy, were published in large quantities. “Poster artists are very often pressed closely to the events,” wrote the famous artist Viktor Ivanov. With each new year of the war, the tonality of the pre-historic paintings also changed.

In 1943, the topic suggested itself. ... A soldier uses the butt of a machine gun to knock down the “Drang nach osten” sign board installed by the Nazis. From now on, the wave of the campaign rushes to the west, and it seems that no force can stop this impulse. "To the west!" – theme and title of the most popular posters of this period. 1944, 1945. The war entered a new phase. The roads of war, slow, containing traces of retreat, where death awaited at every step, were left behind.

Swift roads of advance, joyful roads of return and meetings become the theme of posters: “Let's get to Berlin!”, “Motherland, meet the heroes!” (Leonid Golovanov), “Let's free Europe from the chains of fascist slavery!” (I. Toidze), “Hello, Motherland!” (Nina Vatolina), “Glory to the winner!” (Valentin Litvinenko), “May Day greetings to the heroes of the front and rear!” (Alexey Kokorekin). The memory collection, like the museum collection, firmly preserves what is no longer there, what was and has passed. Time... He has something to remain silent about, and something to remember. And all this remained in the posters: “Stalin is the greatness of our era” (A. Zhitomirsky), “For the Motherland! For Stalin!" (A. Efimov), “Stalin’s order is the order of the Motherland” (A. Serov), “Chatterbox is a godsend for a spy” (L. Elkovich), “Comrade! Be alert, don’t blurt out secrets to the enemy” (B. Zhukov). M. Nesterova 1945 The main monuments of the Stalin era were blown up and destroyed. Once famous works are in inaccessible museum storage rooms.

Koretsky V. Be a hero! 1941

Koretsky V. Partisans, beat the enemy without mercy! 1941

Moore D. Everything is “G”. 1941

Dolgorukov N. So it was... So it will be! 1941

Kukryniksy. We fight great... 1941

Avvakumov N., Shcheglov V. We will not give up the conquests of October! 1941

Zhukov N., Klimashin V. Let's defend Moscow! 1941

Ivanov V. Let him inspire you in this war... 1941

Kokorenkin A. This front-line report also contains my combat work! 1943

And only recently has this cultural layer begun to gradually emerge from oblivion, showing its unchanged face to the world. And perhaps the only thing in our power is to try not to distort the truth behind the discordant memories. This selection presents both famous works by masters of political posters of the Soviet era, as well as works that are not so well known today, which for various reasons were not included in albums and catalogs published in recent decades. Without them, the poster chronicle of the Great Patriotic War would not be accurate.

Ivanov V. Drinking the water of our native Dnieper... 1943

Sachkov V. Glory to the Liberator Warrior

This poster from 1946 is interesting because it contains the inscription “Glory to the Russian people” as a quote from the Reichstag wall. Subsequently, Soviet propaganda did not allow this to happen, and instead of the “Russian people”, the posters featured the “Soviet people”.

Here's another poster from 1946. As you can see, the Russian people already appear in the main slogan on the poster:

It is obvious that the use of the term “Russian people”, instead of the “Soviet people” constantly used by official propaganda before, became possible after Stalin’s famous toast to the Russian people at a Kremlin reception on May 24, 1945 in honor of the commanders of the Red Army. Here is the transcript of this toast:

- Comrades, allow me to raise one more, final toast.

I, as a representative of our Soviet government, would like to raise a toast to the health of our Soviet people and, above all, the Russian people. (Stormy, prolonged applause, shouts of “hurray”)

I drink, first of all, to the health of the Russian people because they are the most outstanding nation of all the nations that make up the Soviet Union.

I raise a toast to the health of the Russian people because in this war they have earned and have previously earned the title, if you like, of the leading force of our Soviet Union among all the peoples of our country.

I raise a toast to the health of the Russian people, not only because they are the leading people, but also because they have common sense, general political common sense and patience.

Our government made many mistakes; we had moments of despair in 1941-42, when our army retreated, left our native villages and cities in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, the Leningrad region, the Karelo-Finnish Republic, left because there was no other way out. Some other people could say: you did not live up to our hopes, we will install another government that will make peace with Germany and provide us with peace. This could happen, keep in mind.

But the Russian people did not agree to this, the Russian people did not compromise, they showed unlimited trust in our government. I repeat, we made mistakes, for the first two years our army was forced to retreat, it turned out that we did not master the events, did not cope with the situation that had arisen. However, the Russian people believed, endured, waited and hoped that we would still cope with the events.

For this trust in our government that the Russian people have shown us, we thank them greatly!

For the health of the Russian people!

1945 Kokorekin A. Glory to the Victorious Motherland!

HAPPY VICTORY DAY!!!

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But we also live in wartime! And today our country is occupied by the enemy and is being plundered. Russian culture is being destroyed, the national spirit is being replaced by greed, conscience is being driven underground.

Yes, today is also war time. War, however, is different. Then it was clear who the enemy was and where he was. Today the enemy does not invade our land with machine guns, tanks and cannons. It uses different methods and has more long-term goals than simple military occupation.

Nowadays, the enemy uses weapons that are less flashy, almost invisible, but no less effective. They are trying to dehumanize a Russian person, as is already happening in the West, to change his essence, to deprive him of spiritual support, to expel conscience from his soul and to leave only a human shell, ideally stuffed with gadgets. For ease of control and slow but steady killing. Influencing through the soul and genes on future generations, which, according to the enemy’s plan, should not be born at all.

But we remember and honor the exploits of our ancestors. Which give us strength and confidence that we will drive the enemy out of the Russian land and celebrate the victory over the adversary, no matter what guise he may appear in!

Our cause is just, we will win!

The first poster thesis (now it would be called a slogan) was a phrase from Molotov’s speech on June 22, 1941: “Our cause is just, the enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours.” One of the main characters of the war poster was the image of a woman - mother, Motherland, friend, wife. She worked in the rear at the factory, harvested, waited and believed.

“We will mercilessly defeat and destroy the enemy,” Kukryniksy, 1941

The first military poster, pasted on the walls of houses on June 23, was a sheet of artists Kukryniksy, depicting Hitler, treacherously breaking the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany. (“Kukryniksy” are three artists, the name of the group is made up of the initial letters of the surnames of Kupriyanov and Krylov, and the name and first letter of the surname of Nikolai Sokolov).

“The Motherland is Calling!”, Irakli Toidze, 1941

The idea of creating the image of a mother calling her sons for help arose by chance. Hearing the first message from the Sovinformburo about the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, Toidze’s wife ran into his workshop shouting “War!” Struck by the expression on her face, the artist ordered his wife to freeze and immediately began sketching the future masterpiece. The influence of this work and the song “Holy War” on people was much stronger than the conversations of political instructors.

“Be a hero!”, Victor Koretsky, 1941

The slogan of the poster became prophetic: millions of people stood up to defend the Fatherland and defended their freedom and independence. In June 1941, Koretsky created the composition “Be a Hero!” The poster, enlarged several times, was installed along the streets of Moscow, along which columns of mobilized city residents passed in the first weeks of the war. In August of this year, the “Be a Hero!” postage stamp was issued. Both on the stamp and on the poster the infantryman is depicted wearing a pre-war SSh-36 helmet. During the war, helmets were of a different shape.

“Let's have more tanks...”, Lazar Lisitsky, 1941

Excellent work by the outstanding avant-garde artist and illustrator Lazar Lisitsky. Poster “Let's have more tanks... All for the front! Everything for victory! was printed in thousands of copies a few days before the artist’s death. Lissitzky died on December 30, 1941, and the slogan “Everything for the front!” throughout the war was the main principle of the people remaining in the rear.

“Warrior of the Red Army, save!”, Viktor Koretsky, 1942

The woman, holding her child close to her, is ready with her breasts and her life to protect her daughter from the bloody bayonet of a fascist rifle. One of the most emotionally powerful posters was published with a circulation of 14 million. The front-line soldiers saw in this angry, disobedient woman their mother, wife, sister, and in the frightened, defenseless girl - a daughter, sister, a Motherland drenched in blood, its future.

“Don’t talk!”, Nina Vatolina, 1941

In June 1941, the artist Vatolina was asked to graphically design Marshak’s famous lines: “Be on the lookout! On days like these, the walls listen. It’s not far from chatter and gossip to betrayal,” and after a couple of days the image was found. The model for the work was a neighbor with whom the artist often stood in line at the bakery. The stern face of a woman unknown to anyone became for many years one of the main symbols of a fortress country located in a ring of fronts.

“All hope is for you, red warrior!”, Ivanov, Burova, 1942

The theme of revenge against the invaders became the leading one in the work of poster artists at the first stage of the war. Instead of collective heroic images, faces that resemble specific people come first - your girlfriend, your child, your mother. Take revenge, free, save. The Red Army was retreating, and women and children who remained in enemy-occupied territory silently cried out from the posters.

“Avenge the grief of the people!”, Viktor Ivanov, 1942

The poster is accompanied by Vera Inber’s poems “Beat the Enemy!”, after reading which, perhaps, no words are needed...

Beat the enemy so that he becomes weak

So that he chokes on blood,

So that your blow is equal in strength

All my motherly love!

“Fighter of the Red Army! You will not let your beloved be disgraced”, Fyodor Antonov, 1942

The enemy was approaching the Volga, a huge territory was occupied, where hundreds of thousands of civilians lived. The heroes of the artists were women and children. The posters showed misfortune and suffering, calling on the warrior to take revenge and help those who are unable to help themselves. Antonov addressed the soldiers on behalf of their wives and sisters with a poster: “...You will not give up your beloved to the shame and dishonor of Hitler’s soldiers.”

"My son! You see my share...", Antonov, 1942

This work has become a symbol of the people's suffering. Maybe mom, maybe an exhausted, bloodless Motherland - an elderly woman with a bundle in her hands, who is leaving a burnt village. She seemed to stop for a second, lamenting sadly, she asks her son for help.

“Warrior, answer the Motherland with victory!”, Dementy Shmarinov, 1942

The artist very simply revealed the main theme: the Motherland grows bread and puts the most advanced weapons into the hands of a soldier. A woman who assembled a machine gun and gathered ripe ears of corn. A red dress, the color of the red banner, confidently leads to victory. The fighters must win, and the home front workers must provide more and more weapons.

“A tractor in a field is like a tank in battle,” Olga Burova, 1942

The bright, optimistic colors of the poster assure that there will be bread and victory is just around the corner. Your women believe in you. There is an air battle in the distance, a train with fighters is passing, but the faithful girlfriends are doing their job, contributing to the cause of victory.

“Red Cross warriors! We will not leave either the wounded or his weapon on the battlefield,” Viktor Koretsky, 1942

Here a woman is an equal fighter, nurse and savior.

“We drink the water of our native Dnieper...”, Viktor Ivanov, 1943

After the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, it was obvious that the advantage was on the side of the Red Army. Artists were now required to create posters that would show the meeting of the liberators of Soviet cities and villages. The successful crossing of the Dnieper could not remain aloof from the artists.

“Glory to the liberators of Ukraine!”, Dementy Shmarinov, 1943

The crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv is one of the glorious pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Mass heroism was adequately appreciated, and 2,438 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. For crossing the Dnieper and other rivers, and for the feats accomplished in subsequent years, 56 more people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

“Join the ranks of front-line girlfriends...”, Viktor Koretsky, Vera Gitsevich, 1943

The front needed reinforcements and female forces.

"You gave us life back"Victor Ivanov, 1944

This is how a Red Army soldier was greeted - like family, like a liberator. The woman, unable to hold back her outburst of gratitude, hugs the unfamiliar soldier.

“Europe will be free!”, Victor Koretsky, 1944

By the summer of 1944, it became clear that the USSR could, on its own, not only expel the enemy from its land, but also liberate the peoples of Europe and complete the defeat of Hitler’s army. After the opening of the Second Front, the topic of the joint struggle of the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States for the liberation of all of Europe from the “brown plague” became relevant.

“We have one target - Berlin!”, Viktor Koretsky, 1945

There is very little left. The goal is close. It is not for nothing that a woman appears next to the soldier on the poster - as a promise that they will soon be able to see each other.

“We reached Berlin”, Leonid Golovanov, 1945

Here is the long-awaited victory... The posters of the spring of 1945 breathe spring, peace, and the Great Victory! Behind the hero’s back is visible a poster by Leonid Golovanov “Let’s get to Berlin!”, published in 1944, with the same main character, but so far without an order.

Natalia Kalinichenko

UNREALIZED DREAM

Maya Nemirovskaya

Viktor Koretsky, Honored Artist of Russia, winner of two State Prizes of the USSR, was never a daring intelligence officer, nor a brave partisan, nor an army commander. However, Hitler considered him the worst enemy of the Third Reich and placed a large reward on the head of the hated Jew, who accurately fought Nazism with using a poster.

The generation that survived the Great Patriotic War remembers the works of Koretsky, one of the oldest masters of photomontage posters. His most famous poster is “Warrior of the Red Army, save!”: a woman, clutching her child to herself, is ready with her breasts and her life to protect her daughter from the bloody bayonet of a fascist rifle. Published in a circulation of 14 million, it hung during the war in headquarters, in dugouts and dugouts, on the walls of houses, and in the form of leaflets - in tanks and airplane cockpits. The front-line soldiers saw in this angry, disobedient woman their mother, wife, sister, in the frightened defenseless girl - a daughter, sister, a Motherland drenched in blood, its future. The generalizing power of the artistic image outraged the heart and called for a mortal battle with the 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 do 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 Samed’s life,” 1943.

Viktor Borisovich Koretsky was born in 1909 in Kyiv into the family of an opera singer. In the 1920s he moved with his family to Moscow and entered an art college. He communicated with famous avant-garde artists of the 30s - Malevich, Kandinsky and Leblanc, whose student he considered himself to be. But his soul was not in the avant-garde art, realism was closer to him. The poster became the defining genre of creativity for many years. It brought fame, world fame and awards to the artist. His poster “Partisan Lullaby”, a baby in a cradle made of machine-gun belt, hanging on a leafless branch of a tree burned by flames, 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 fascists, sometimes more confidently than the commander’s order. One day, a gray-haired colonel with rows of military decorations on his chest came to the artist’s studio. Seeing the original of this poster on the wall, he knelt down, and a stingy man’s tear slowly flowed down his face.

“Our forces are innumerable!”, 1941.

For the last decade of his life, Koretsky did not work on posters; 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 and created a whole gallery of canvases of amazing beauty and craftsmanship. In 1997, French filmmakers made a film about Koretsky; his painting is close in spirit to their traditional school. In 1998, his personal 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. The wise old man, the herald of all humane organizational principles of human society, looks at the world, at us, descendants, with an inquisitive and demanding gaze.

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

“I have been pursuing this work all my life,” the artist said quietly, as if afraid to intrude on the prophet’s secret train of thought. “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 to live in Israel. So that the prophet written on it with my hands, with my heart, will bring him peace and prosperity.

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

The artist’s dream has not come true to this day. Foreign collectors tried to purchase this wonderful painting and offered a lot of money for it. The artist did not agree, but not a single Jewish organization showed sufficient interest in the painting, and Viktor 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 occupy a worthy place in the Israeli Arts Center in Tel Aviv, becoming the artistic property of Jews around the world.

Soldiers fought on the fronts, partisans and scouts fought in occupied territory, and home front workers assembled tanks. Propagandists and artists turned pencils and brushes into weapons. The main objective of the poster was to strengthen the faith of the Soviet people in victory. The first poster thesis (now it would be called a slogan) was a phrase from Molotov’s speech on June 22, 1941: “Our cause is just, the enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours.” One of the main characters of the war poster was the image of a woman - mother, Motherland, friend, wife. She worked in the rear at the factory, harvested, waited and believed.

“We will mercilessly defeat and destroy the enemy,” Kukryniksy, 1941

“The Motherland is Calling!”, Irakli Toidze, 1941

“Be a hero!”, Victor Koretsky, 1941

“Let's have more tanks...”, Lazar Lisitsky, 1941

“Warrior of the Red Army, save!”, Viktor Koretsky, 1942

“Don’t talk!”, Nina Vatolina, 1941

“All hope is for you, red warrior!”, Ivanov, Burova, 1942

“Avenge the grief of the people!”, Viktor Ivanov, 1942

The poster is accompanied by Vera Inber’s poems “Beat the Enemy!”, after reading which, perhaps, no words are needed...

Beat the enemy so that he becomes weak

So that he chokes on blood,

So that your blow is equal in strength

All my motherly love!

“Fighter of the Red Army! You will not let your beloved be disgraced”, Fyodor Antonov, 1942

"My son! You see my share...", Antonov, 1942

“Warrior, answer the Motherland with victory!”, Dementy Shmarinov, 1942

“A tractor in a field is like a tank in battle,” Olga Burova, 1942

“Red Cross warriors! We will not leave either the wounded or his weapon on the battlefield,” Viktor Koretsky, 1942

Here a woman is an equal fighter, nurse and savior.

“We drink the water of our native Dnieper...”, Viktor Ivanov, 1943

“Glory to the liberators of Ukraine!”, Dementy Shmarinov, 1943

“Join the ranks of front-line girlfriends...”, Viktor Koretsky, VeraGitsevich, 1943

The front needed reinforcements and female forces.

"You gave us life back"Victor Ivanov, 1944

This is how a Red Army soldier was greeted - like family, like a liberator. The woman, unable to hold back her outburst of gratitude, hugs the unfamiliar soldier.

“Europe will be free!”, Victor Koretsky, 1944

“We have one target - Berlin!”, Viktor Koretsky, 1945

There is very little left. The goal is close. It is not for nothing that a woman appears next to the soldier on the poster - as a promise that they will soon be able to see each other.

“We reached Berlin”, Leonid Golovanov, 1945

“We Waited,” Maria Nesterova-Berzina, 1945

The front-line soldiers returned home with the consciousness of their own dignity as people who had fulfilled their duty. Now the former soldier will have to restore the farm and establish a peaceful life.

The father met the hero-son,

and the wife hugged the husband,

and the children look with admiration

for military orders.

It is not for nothing that propaganda and agitation were 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 not asleep, but it was far from the sacred wrath of Soviet artists, poets, writers, journalists, composers...

The Great Victory gave the country a reason for legitimate pride, which we, the descendants of the heroes who defended their hometowns and liberated Europe from a strong, cruel and treacherous enemy, feel.
The image of this enemy, as well as the image of the people who rallied to defend the Motherland, is most clearly represented on wartime posters, which raised the art of propaganda to unprecedented heights, unsurpassed to this day.

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

Propaganda materials were an important part of the Great Patriotic War. From the first days of the offensive of Hitler’s 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”!

This slogan was first proclaimed by Stalin during an address to the people in July 1941, when the situation was difficult along 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 is Calling!”, 1941. Author Irakli Moiseevich Toidze

The posters varied in quality and content. German soldiers were portrayed as caricatures, pitiful 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 recollections of war participants, hatred of the enemy was the help without which Soviet soldiers would hardly have been able to withstand the onslaught of the enemy army.

In 1941-1942, when the enemy was rolling in like an avalanche from the west, capturing more and more cities, crushing defenses, destroying millions of Soviet soldiers, it was important for propagandists to instill confidence in victory, that the fascists were not invincible. The plots of the first posters were full of attacks and martial arts, they emphasized the nationwide nature of the 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 legendary commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Suvorov, Kutuzov, heroes of the civil war.

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

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

"Victory will be ours", 1941

Poster by 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.

In an atmosphere of general retreat and constant defeats, it was necessary not to succumb to decadent moods and panic. There was not a word about losses in the newspapers at that time; 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 depersonalized, in the form of “black matter” bristling with metal, or as a fanatic and marauder, committing inhumane acts that caused horror and disgust. The German, as the embodiment of absolute evil, turned into a creature that the Soviet people had no right to tolerate on their soil.

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 the defeat of the enemy.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) “The “Face” of Hitlerism”, 1941.

Artists Landres “Napoleon was cold in Russia, but 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, besieged Leningrad, reached the Caucasus, and captured vast territories with civilians.

Posters began to reflect the suffering of Soviet people, women, children, old people on the occupied land and the irresistible desire of the Soviet Army to defeat Germany and 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 “We will take revenge”, 1944.

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

“We must constantly see before us the image of a Hitlerite: this is the target at which we must shoot without missing, 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 hate their enemies, respected the Germans for their “high culture” of life, and expressed confidence that German workers and peasants had been sent to arms, just waiting for the opportunity to turn their weapons against their commanders.

« It's time to dispel illusions. We understood: the Germans are not people. From now on, the word “German” is the most terrible curse for us. …If you haven’t killed at least one German in a day, your day is wasted. 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 the miles. Count one thing: the Germans you killed. Kill the German! - this is what the old mother asks. Kill the German! - this is the child’s prayer to you. Kill the German! - this is the cry of the native land. Don't miss. Do not miss. Kill!”

Artists Alexey 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. The sad news from the occupied territories only reinforced this image. The fascists are depicted as huge, scary and ugly, towering over the corpses of innocent victims, pointing weapons at mother and child.

It is not surprising that the heroes of war posters do not kill, but destroy such an enemy, sometimes destroying them with their bare hands - heavily armed professional killers.

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

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

Artists Nikolai Zhukov and Viktor Klimashin “Let’s Defend Moscow,” 1941.

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

Artist Vladimir Serov, 1941.

Artist Irakli Toidze “Let’s Defend the Caucasus”, 1942.

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) “Stalingrad”, 1942.

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

Artist Victor Denis (Denisov) “The Red Army has a broom, it will sweep away the evil spirits to the ground!”, 1943.

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

Artist unknown, 194x.

In those days, posters were also needed by those who lived in the occupied territories, where the content of posters was passed on by word of mouth. According to the recollections of veterans, in the occupied areas, patriots pasted panels of “TASS Windows” on fences, barns, and houses where the Germans stood. The population, deprived of Soviet radio and newspapers, learned the truth about the war from these leaflets that appeared from nowhere...

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

“TASS Windows,” produced since July 27, 1941, were a formidable ideological weapon; it was not without reason that Propaganda Minister Goebbels sentenced in absentia to death all those involved in their release:
“As soon as Moscow is taken, everyone who worked at TASS Windows will hang from lampposts.”

More than 130 artists and 80 poets worked at TASS Windows. 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, painters, painters, theater artists, graphic artists, art critics. The group of artists at TASS Windows worked in three shifts. During the entire war, the lights in the workshop never went out.

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

The image of the enemy ceases to inspire horror; posters call to reach his lair and crush him there, to liberate not only your home, but also Europe. The heroic people's struggle is the main theme of the military poster of this stage of the war; already in 1942, Soviet artists grasped 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 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 commentary in German: “Every seven seconds one German soldier dies at the front." This had a demoralizing effect on the German soldiers.

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

The enemy appears small and vile, this is a predatory reptile that can still bite, but is no longer capable of causing serious harm. The main thing is to completely destroy it, so that you can finally return home, to your family, to a peaceful life, to the restoration of destroyed cities. But before that, it is necessary to liberate Europe and repel imperialist Japan, to which the Soviet Union, without waiting for an attack, itself declared war in 1945.

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

Reproduction of the poster “The Red Army is facing a threatening step! The enemy will be destroyed in its lair!”, artist Viktor Nikolaevich Denis, 1945

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

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

The prototype of the hero of the “Let's get to Berlin” poster was a real soldier - sniper Vasily Golosov. Golosov himself did not return from the war, but his open, joyful, kind face lives 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 soldiers' faces 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 “We waited,” 1945.

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

Artist Nina Vatolina “Happy 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 ending the state of war between the Soviet Union and Germany,” thereby legally formalizing the end of hostilities.