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, and postcards were created. In this case, not only artistically generalized images were used, but also photographs - which became documentary evidence of those events. Thus, one of the best posters of that time was the poster “Warrior of the Red Army, save!” created by V. Koretsky, which was 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 “Let’s get to Berlin” helped strengthen faith in one’s own strength and the inevitability of defeating the aggressors.

Satirical posters played a special role. Often, the striking sheets of “TASS Windows”, hand-drawn just a few hours after the events took place and reproduced using a stencil, became the first artistic evidence of the victories of the Red Army. It was the efficiency of “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.

The Great Patriotic War lasted 1418 days. On each of these days, in thousands of places, thousands of events took place. It is almost impossible to cover and describe all these events - they all had different meanings. I decided to collect military propaganda posters of those times into a selection

Poster by Vatolin N.N. “You fought bravely with the enemy - enter, master, into your new home!” 1945

Poster by V. Denis "The Red Army's broom swept away the evil spirits to the ground!" 1945

Poster by Koretsky V.B. "We have one target - Berlin!" 1945

Poster by Zhukov N.N. "We're waiting for you, darling." 1945

Poster by Golovanov L.F. "Let's get to Berlin!" 1944

Poster by Ivanov V.S. and Burova O.K. "All hope is for you, red warrior!" 1943

Poster by Gordon M.A. “Let’s destroy the hated “new order in Europe” and punish its builders!” 1943

Poster by Koretsky V.B. "Warrior of the Red Army, save us!" 1942

Poster by V.B. Koretsky "Our forces are innumerable!" 1941

Poster by Zhukov N.N. and Klimashina V.S. "Let's defend Moscow!" 1941

Poster by V. Ivanov “For the Motherland, for honor, for freedom!” 1941

Poster by I. Toidze "Motherland - Mother Calls". 1941

Wait for me and I will come back.
Just wait a lot
Wait when they make you sad
Yellow rains.
Wait for the snow to blow
Wait for it to be hot
Wait when others are not waiting,
Changed yesterday.
Wait when from distant places
No letters will arrive.
Wait until you get bored
To everyone who is waiting together.
Wait for me and I will come back,
Don't be sorry for the good
To everyone who knows by heart,
It's time to forget.
Let the son and mother believe
In the fact that I am not there
Let friends get tired of waiting
They'll sit by the fire
Drink bitter wine
In honor of the soul...
Wait. And at the same time with them
Don't rush to drink.
Wait for me and I will come back
All deaths are out of spite.
Whoever didn't wait for me, let him
He will say: lucky.
Those who didn’t wait don’t understand,
Like in the middle of fire
By your expectation
You saved me.
We'll know how I survived
Just you and me -
It's just that you knew how to wait,
Like no one else.
Konstantin Simonov, Western Front, June 1941

Where the grass is damp with dew and blood,
where the pupils of machine guns look fiercely,
in full height above the front line trench
the victorious soldier rose.
The heart beat against the ribs intermittently, often.
Silence - Silence - Not in a dream, in reality.
And the infantryman said: “They’ve given up!” That's it!
And I noticed a violet in the ditch.
And in the soul, longing for light and affection,
the singing stream of the former joy came to life.
And the soldier bent down, and to the bullet-ridden helmet
Carefully adjusted the flower.
Came to life again in memory were alive
Moscow region under snow, Stalingrad on fire.
For the first time in four unimaginable years,
The soldier cried like a child.
So the infantryman stood, laughing and sobbing,
trampling the thorny fence with his boot.
A young dawn burned behind my shoulders,
foreshadowing a sunny day.

During the war, posters were the most accessible form of fine art. Capacious and clear, it reflected the whole essence at once.

The so-called TASS Windows were especially popular. These are posters that were replicated by hand by transferring images using stencils, and were aimed at raising the morale of soldiers and performing feats of labor by the population. This type of campaigning made it possible to instantly respond to current events. The images were more colorful than printed posters. When working with Windows, contrasting colors and short, sharp phrases were used that “hit like shells.”

The poster art of the Great Patriotic War featured several popular motifs.

The first motive is Until the last bullet! They urge you to stand to death, save your ammunition, and shoot straight at the target. Because it is known for certain that metal for weapons was obtained with great difficulty from home front workers. Most often, the central figure on such posters was the personality of the fighter, whose facial features were etched in the memory for a long time.

Another popular call was “ Attack!" Posters with this motif depicted military equipment - the T-35 tank, airplanes, Pe-2. Sometimes legendary heroes, generals of past years or heroes were depicted.

Also common was the motive about fighter, wincurrentenemy in hand-to-hand combat. On these posters, the Red Army soldier was depicted as red, and the fascist as gray or black.

Widely known use caricatures in posters. Sometimes not only the enemy himself was ridiculed, but also the destructiveness and inhumanity of his actions. It is noteworthy that the artists who worked on the image always very accurately noted the character, habits, gestures, and distinctive features of the characters depicted. Such a subtle impact on people’s souls through a poster required not only long, painstaking work studying German newsreels, photographs of Hitler, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler and others, but also the skill of a psychologist.

No less popular was the motive Death to child killers. Such posters usually depicted the suffering or death of children, and called for help and protection.

Motive Do not chat! called on the local population to be vigilant.

There was a call to the population to collect scrap metal, to work without absenteeism, to harvest to the last grain, to bring victory closer with every blow of the hammer.

When it comes to posters, paintings and images, it is better to see once than to read their description a hundred times. We bring to your attention the most famous posters from the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Posters of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.

Text on the poster: Conquer the world! Bondage to the peoples! - Fascist rate. Red Army amendment!

Artist, year: Victor Denis (Denisov), 1943

Main motive: caricature

Brief explanation: Hitler's overconfidence was ridiculed. They tried to remove fear of the enemy from the Red Army soldiers by portraying Hitler as funny and absurd.

Text on the poster: Take revenge!

Artist, year: Shmarinov D., 1942

Main motive:Death to child killers

Brief explanation:The poster raises the topic of the suffering of Soviet citizens in the occupied territories. The poster shows a full-length image of a woman holding her murdered daughter in her arms. The suffering and grief of this woman is silent, but so touching. In the background of the poster there is a glow from the fire. One word “Take revenge” raises a storm of indignation and anger towards the fascist barbarians.

Text on the poster:Dad, kill the German!

Artist, year: Nesterova N., 1942

Main motive:Death to child killers

Brief explanation:The poster depicted the suffering of the people in the occupied territories.He aroused fierce hatred towards the enemy who encroached on the most sacred things - women and children.The slogan on the poster was based on a phrase from Konstantin Simonov’s poem “Kill him!”

Text on the poster:Hit like this: no matter the shell, it’s a tank!

Artist, year: V.B. Koretsky, 1943

Main motive:Until the last bullet!

Brief explanation:The poster encourages soldiers to improve their combat skills.

Text on the poster:A fighter who finds himself surrounded, fight to the last drop of blood!

Artist, year: HELL. Kokosh, 1941

Main motive:A fighter defeating the enemy in hand-to-hand combat

Brief explanation:They called upon us to stand to the death, to fight with all our strength.

Text on the poster:Death to the Nazi invaders!

Artist, year:N.M. Avvakumov, 1944

Main motive: Attack!

Brief explanation:The poster called on the soldiers to selflessly go into battle, attack . In the background there are tanks and planes that are rapidly rushing into battle against enemies. This is a kind of symbol of the fact that all forces are concentrated in the fight against the Germans, that all military equipment follows the Soviet soldier into battle, instilling fear in the fascists and confidence in the Soviet soldiers.

Text on the poster:This is what the German beast looks like now! So that we can breathe and live and finish off the beast! (on the drum - lightning war, behind the belt - the extermination of the Slavs, on the flag - total mobilization)

Artist, year: Victor Denis (Denisov), 1943

Main motive: Caricature

Brief explanation:The artist caricatures a ragged, tortured German beast. The beaten German can see all his slogans with which he so arrogantly attacked Russia. The author, making the German funny and pitiful, tried to add courage and remove fear from the soldiers.

Text on the poster:To Moscow! Hoh! From Moscow: oh!

Artist, year: Victor Denis (Denisov), 194 2

Main motive: Caricature

Brief explanation:The poster is dedicated to the Great Battle of Moscow and the failure of the plan for a lightning war (Blitzkrieg).

Text on the poster:The Motherland is calling! (Text of the military oath)

Artist, year: I. Toidze, 1941

Main motive: Attack!

Brief explanation: Artist r It lays out a complete monolithic silhouette on the plane of the sheet, using a combination of only two colors - red and black. Thanks to the low horizon, the poster is given a monumental feel. But the main force of influence of this poster lies in the psychological content of the image itself - in the expression of the excited face of a simple woman, in her inviting gesture.

Text on the poster:Do not chat! Be on alert, on days like these the walls listen. Not far from chatter and gossip to betrayal.

Artist, year: Vatolina N., Denisov N., 1941

Main motive: Do not chat!

Brief explanation:Just before the start of the Great Patriotic War and during its years, many German sabotage groups and spies operated on the territory of the Soviet Union, especially in the border regions. These groups carried out various acts of sabotage - violations and breaks of power and communication lines, destruction of important military and civilian facilities, disruption of water supply in cities and destruction of wooden bridges, as well as murders of military and party workers and technical specialists. These days, the task has arisen to bring to the attention of the population the need to be careful and vigilant in conversations and communication, especially with strangers.

Text on the poster:Comrade! Remember that a well and warmly dressed fighter will defeat the enemy even more powerfully.

Artist, year:A. and V. Kokorekin, 1942

Main motive:Everything for the front, everything for victory

Brief explanation:The poster calls for mobilizing all the resources of the population and giving everything they need to the soldiers who are fighting for their Motherland.

Text on the poster:The Red Army is taking a threatening step! The enemy in the lair will be destroyed! Conquest of the world. Slavery to peoples. Fascism. Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, Himler.

Artist, year: Victor Denis (Denisov), 1945

Main motive:Attack! Caricature.

Brief explanation:The poster makes you think about the atrocities of German fascism against humanity.

Text on the poster:Victory will be in the country where women and men are equal. Comrade woman! Your son fights like a hero at the front. And the daughter joins the RoKK squad. And you strengthen our rear: dig a deeper trench into the swarm, go to the machine. And drive your tractor instead of the drivers who are now driving tanks. You sister women! You, citizen mothers! Take a crowbar, a shovel, a steering wheel, a chisel! For realunderstand, finally, the stronger the rear, the firmer the army’s step, and the sooner the enemy will die!

Artist, year: I. Astapov, I. Kholodov, 1941

Main motive:Everything for the front, everything for victory!

Brief explanation:The poster carries a political connotation on the superiority of a society where men and women are equal, especially during the war, when men fight on the fronts, women provide security at the rear.

Text on the poster:Blood for blood, death for death!

Artist, year: Alexei Sittaro, 1942

Main motive:Death to child killers; Attack!

Brief explanation:The poster is aimed at instilling the inevitability of victory over the enemy and his complete expulsion from Soviet soil.

Text on the poster: Strike to death!

Artist, year:Nikolai Zhukov, 1942

Main motive:Until the last bullet!

Brief explanation: Appeal to the soldiers of the Red Army to beat the enemy harder for the sake of saving mothers, children and the Motherland.The poster is designed to raise the morale of soldiers.

Text on the poster:Red Army warrior, save me!

Artist, year:Victor Koretsky, 1942 year

Main motive:Death to child killers

Brief explanation:The poster made the soldiers hate the enemy.The dramatic power of this poster is still astonishing to this day. The most difficult stage of the war for the Russian people was reflected in Koretsky’s work. The ancient motif - a mother with a child in her arms - receives a completely different interpretation in the poster than we are used to seeing in the paintings of past masters. In this work, there is no idyllic quality, cordiality and warmth that is usually present in scenes with a mother and child, here the mother is depicted protecting her child from danger. On the one hand, in the poster we see an unequal clash of two forces: cold, bloody weapons on the one hand, and two defenseless human figures on the other. But at the same time, the poster does not make a depressing impression, thanks to the fact that Koretsky was able to show the strength and deep righteousness of the Soviet woman, despite the fact that she has no weapons in her hands, she symbolizes the strength and spirit of the Russian people, who will not bow to the aggressor . With its protest against violence and death, the poster heralds the coming victory. Using simple means, Koretsky’s work inspires strength and confidence, becoming at the same time a call, a request, and an order; This is how it expresses the danger hanging over people and the hope that never leaves them.

Text on the poster:There is no force that could enslave us. Kuzma Minin. Let the courageous image of our great ancestors inspire you in this war! I. Stalin.

Artist, year:V. Ivanov, O. Burova, 1942

Main motive: Attack!

Brief explanation:The poster contains a second symbolic plan depicting Kuzma Minin’s liberation of the Motherland from the interventionists. Thus, even the great heroes of the past call on the soldiers to fight and fight for their homeland.

Text on the poster:Combat menu for the enemy for each day.The Russian meal begins with an appetizer. Excellent pies with different fillings...Then some soups: naval borscht and okroshka. For the main course there are Cossack-style meatballs and Caucasian-style shish kebab and for dessert - jelly.

Artist, year: N. Muratov, 1941

Main motive: Caricature

Brief explanation:The poster is made in a satirical style and reinforces confidence in the victory of the Soviet people over the enemy.

Text on the poster:The enemy is insidious - be on alert!

Artist, year:V. Ivanov, O. Burova, 194 5 year

Main motive: Do not chat

Brief explanation:The poster calls for vigilance among the population and soldiers.The subject of the poster reminds us that underneath virtue a fascist criminal can be hidden.

Text on the poster:TASS window No. 613 A German went to the Volga to get drunk - a Fritz was hit in the teeth,

I had to run away - my side ached, my back hurt. Apparently, Volga water is not good for a fascist, it is cold for a Fritz, a salty man!

Artist, year: P. Sargsyan

Main motive: Caricature

Brief explanation: The poster emphasizes the idea that the Russian people are invincible and the enemy will still be defeated.

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 Ehrenburg, 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 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.

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, sheds, 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.

Compilation of material - Fox

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.