In January, 1942, the Soviet Union saw the victory of pushing the Nazi forces out of Moscow and the surrounding areas. A month later a Soviet war documentary was released to the world called, Moscow Strikes Back. It was directed by Leonid Varlamov and Ilja Kopalin and it featured footage from the frontlines of the Soviet troops.
The film opens with footage of civilians working to fortify Moscow from the Nazis. Men, women, and children are shown doing everything they can from making walls of sandbags, putting together ammunition, and carrying rifles after enlisting in the Red Army. It then cuts to speech from Stalin in which he inspires the people to continue to fight. The speech is actually rather soft spoken and calming compared to what a war speech would typically sound like. This is likely done to be a contrast to Adolf Hitler who would give very aggressive speeches and to further portray Stalin as the protector and father figure of the Soviet Union. The film then cuts to troops marching to battle as music is played that details the impending doom of the Germans. Several shots of artillery firing are then played along with tanks and troops moving across fields. Along with these are scenes of
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It shows the resilience of the Russian people and uniting qualities of communism. It also dehumanizes the Germans by showing how they defaced the Russian countryside, raped and murdered the people, and tortured and enslaved the rest. While other films have elements of propaganda with the intention to entertain, this film is just one large segment of pure propaganda. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. Audiences would have greatly enjoyed it around the allied world. It showed that the Germans and their military might could be pushed back. This would naturally increase morale in the war effort. The film was even enjoyed in the United states where it won the 1943 Academy Award for best