Surviving Master's-Level History Programs at Norwich University: A ...

Julius Yourman’s article, “Propaganda Techniques WithinNazi Germany,” serves as an interesting counterpoint toGoebbels perspective. Published at the beginning of thewar, it analyzes the primary methods employed by theGerman propaganda ministry and their effectivenessfrom the Allied point of view. Yourman pays particularattention to both the characterization of the Sovietsand the behavior cultivated among German women, sothe article is uniquely suited to my purposes while stillfalling in line with similar analyses. Like Goebbels’ diary,Yourman’s article points towards a deliberate effort tobuild fear of Soviet excesses among the female populationof Germany.Ruth Harris explores the legacy of the propagandaefforts during World War I, especially in regards tothe international perception of rape in “The Child ofthe Barbarian” Rape, Race and Nationalism in Franceduring the First World War.” In describing the Russiansduring World War II, the Germans co-opted manyof the techniques and characterizations pioneered bythe French and used to describe the Germans duringWorld War I. The fact that the destruction and massrape the French warned their citizens about actuallycame to pass only added further credence to the laterGerman warnings about the Russians.The traditional international acceptance of widespreadrape as part of military victory precluded any Germanassumptions of restraint on the part of the Russiansdue to fear of retribution. Roland Littlewood addressesthis issue from an anthropological perspective in hisarticle, “Military Rape,” while Theodor Meron’s, “Rapeas a Crime Under International Humanitarian Law,”applies a more historical approach. No matter whichangle one chooses, the evidence clearly suggests thatdefeated peoples expect to suffer large scale rape atthe hands of the victors. For the overly race consciousGerman people, few prospects represented as horrifyinga possibility as the contamination of “pure” Aryan bloodas a result of interbreeding with the Slavic race.Continuing in the vein of propaganda as it relatesto rape during wartime, I next turned my attentionto Susan Jeffords’, “Rape and the New World Order.”Although not directly related to World War II, the casestudy of the United States’ rescue of Kuwait duringthe First Gulf War contains interesting assertionsabout the political and military benefits of describingthe enemy as rapists. The study illustrates theeffectiveness of government propaganda on shapingthe subject population’s perceptions of the war. Thecharacterization of the enemy, namely the Soviets, asrapists not only solidified German support behindthe government’s decision to break the Nazi-SovietNon-Aggression Pact, but it also played on the alreadyexisting perception of the Soviet Union as a nation fullof barbarians.In more general terms, Rachel Bridges Whaley identifiesa striking relationship between equality and rape withina society. According to Whaley, societies in which womenare gaining equality with men experience a sharp increasein the number of rapes that occur. Although primarily asociological and not historical argument, the principle hasinteresting implications when applied to Nazi Germanyand Soviet Russia. The equality inherent to communismmay have resulted in an increased occurrence ofrape within Russia, thereby lending credence to Nazidepictions of the Soviets Army as barbarians intent onraping German women. In contrast, women probably didnot have to really worry about rape in ultra-masculineGerman society. Since most rapists draw motivationfrom a desire to establish power and dominance over thevictim, the already dominant German males had little togain from its perpetration under the Nazi social structure.Lynda Lytle Holmstrom and Ann Wolbert Burgessproduced yet another sociological argument withinteresting implications for Nazi Germany. Based onconclusions derived from a case study analyzing thereactions of husbands and boyfriends of rape victims,their article suggests that men often view rape asan attack against themselves and their masculinity.Applied to the situation in Nazi Germany, thatconclusion merely underscores the already prevalentimpulse of German men to protect German women.Soviet encroachment not only threatened womendirectly then, but also struck at the masculine identityof German men. This perceived personal affront morethan likely contributed to the excess brutality theNazis employed against the Russians as they sought toreassert their dominance and masculinity.41