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EXECUTIONERS AND VICTIMS: THE BRITISH PERCEPTION OF NAZI CRIMES (A CASE STUDY OF THE RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE WEEKLY “BRITISH ALLY”, 1944-1945)

Elena Kokkonen

Abstract

The Russian-language weekly "British Ally", published in the USSR since August 1942, informed Soviet citizens about the course of the Allied military operations. Covering the events of the week and giving an overview of the British press, the newspaper also reported on Nazi crimes in the occupied territories. The change that occurred in World War II in 1943 enabled correspondents to get more comprehensive and reliable information about camps for prisoners of war and concentration camps and publish reports on the horrors of "death factories". They also covered visits of political and public figures to the USSR and the countries of Europe – those people who formed a clear view of Nazi war crimes. The analysis of publications shows that, despite the facts given in the stories, articles, and reports, it was difficult for some part of British people to believe that Germany, a civilized country sharing European values, was able to spawn "death factories" in which millions of people died. The weekly "British Ally" set out to show that Nazi crimes were not isolated cases but a consistent pattern resulted from fascist ideology engraved in people's minds. Trials and punishment of war criminals were the only possible way to stamp out fascist ideas in society and prevent their development in the post-war world.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2018H/21/S05.002

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