Oldal 171 [171]
Soviet Prisoners of War in Finnish and German Propaganda Photography 1941-1944
unknown in German propaganda photography. Because of their racially-motivated
propaganda, demonisation of the enemy was much more categorical in Germany
than in Finland (for the role of humour in German war propaganda, see Alexander
Kozintsev, this volume). Finland and Russia had a much longer common history
as well—either as one state or as neighbours—which in turn makes it possible to
notice such comical features (Kirves 2008: 38-42). Ihe photos showing comical
features of the Russians were, however, only taken in fairly small numbers at the
beginning of the war and were not published in the Finnish magazines analysed.
In the spring of 1942, Finnish propaganda troops were given an order to stop
describing the enemy as ridiculous or pathetic, because the heavy losses that the
Finns had suffered by then would otherwise have been difficult to explain if the
enemy was described as clearly inferior (Kleemola 2011: 86). Ihis instruction may
have prohibited Finnish propaganda troops from taking further humorous photos.
Visual Propaganda with Different Starting Points
Studying the photos of both countries showing prisoners of war indicated that
there were indeed common themes in the photographic propaganda materials of
Finland and Germany: the photographs of surrender, as well as the photos of well¬
treated prisoners and large crowds of captives, can be found in the photo archives
of both countries. The differences between the Finnish and German photographic
materials were, as expected, to be found in the pictures concerning race. The
Germans aggressively propagated their racial policies visually, while the Finns were
more careful in this respect. The photos common to both countries, intended
for foreign and enemy propaganda, were those of well-treated prisoners and
surrendering enemies as well as crowds of captives, while the photos concerning
the racial and humorous aspects of the enemy image were mainly intended for
domestic propaganda, and thus more strongly reflected the different ideologies of
each country.
‘The analysis of wartime illustrated magazines showed that the German propa¬
ganda machinery had clear strategies that were consistently realised: propaganda
troops produced the pictures that were needed for the time being, and magazines
supported the construction of the enemy image with their picture choices (Ha¬
mann 2003: 18-22). Meanwhile, Finnish propaganda troops often produced pic¬
tures that were neither published in illustrated magazines nor used in propaganda
leaflets. This may be because, in contrast to the German Propagandakompanien,
Finnish propaganda troops had been given no special training in producing propa¬
ganda.
Common to both Finnish and German photo material is the fact that only
quite small changes can be seen in the material. As mentioned previously, pho¬
tos with humorous aspects disappeared from Finnish internal propaganda in the
spring of 1942 as the propaganda troops were instructed to treat the enemy with
more respect; and the visual counterparts typical of the German propaganda at the
169