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Images of the Enemy from Both Sides of the Front: Ihe Case of Estonia (1942—1944)
them women and children, died after suffering terrible pain.”* News texts like this
one were frequent and complemented the images that portrayed the enemy as ir¬
rational, aggressive, disillusioned etc. Accusations of inhuman behaviour alternate
with verbal jokes, for example the following one from Tasuja, December 17, 1944:
Hitler and Goring disguised themselves and fled. They entered a pub on their
way and Hitler ordered a beer. The girl serving the tables called out at once:
“A beer for Hitler!” The same happened with Goring. After drinking up, Hitler
and Göring asked the girl how she had recognised them, and the girl replied:
“Tm Goebbels!”
Estonian Caricatures from the Nazi Side
The Nazi caricatures mainly come from one published source, Rindeleht. For the
editorial of the first number of this newspaper, the editors state that their aim is to
tighten the connection between the front and the rear, using the newspaper as an
information channel for mutual concerns, and also to offer light-hearted entertain¬
ment during leisure time. Ihe other source, Postimees, was less military, and con¬
centrated on bringing the daily news to people living in Estonia. The number of
caricatures published in Postimees was considerably smaller than in Rindeleht. The
main trends in depicting the enemy in these Nazi-minded sources are (1) describ¬
ing the daily life of the unambitious soldier, displaying only mild ridicule of the
enemy, with frequent use of puns and verbal jokes woven into the caricatures, and
(2) portrayal of general negative stereotypes with parallels in ethnic humour: above
all dirtiness, but also promiscuity, uncultured habits etc.
Typical examples target girlfriends or female acquaintances (Figs 89 and 90)
who are referred to as lousy cooks, good-time girls, or just as objects/decorations.
A rather blatantly although cheerfully sexist cartoon (Fig. 89) states that the best
flowers are the ones growing on the ground and not on the trees, whereas another
one combines two important topics, food and women, into a comic depiction of
army life (Fig. 90). Of course, caricatures are not only about women, they also
tell us about the relationships between soldiers and officers, the boredom, and the
food—the highlight (or disappointment) of the day. All in all, the main character
in the popular caricatures was a working class soldier who never questioned his
position in the army or the aim of the war itself.
Several caricatures depict the recurring motif of dirt and poverty in Russia,
tying this to the inferiority of the enemy. Attributing negative characteristics like
dirtiness to the Other is a common practice (also in jokes, see Davies 1990). As
with the Soviet-minded sources, this attitude towards the enemy is supported by
textual material in the newspapers, for example: “I saw children, men and women
2 Tasuja, February 17, 1944: Veri ihkab vere hinda! Vihka ja tasu! (‘Blood must be repaid with blood!
Hate and pay back’).
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