The Soviet Paradise (German original title "''Das Sowjet-Paradies''") was the name of an exhibition and a propaganda film created by the Department of Film of the propaganda organisation (''Reichspropagandaleitung'') of the German

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

(NSDAP), and was displayed in the larger cities of the

Reich ( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...

and occupied countries:

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and others. Its goal was to show "poverty, misery, depravity and need" of the nations in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

under ''" Jewish Bolshevist"'' rule and thus to justify the war against the Soviet Union. The accompanying guide for the exhibition noted, "The present Soviet state is nothing other than the realization of that Jewish invention". The exhibition included entire households with its contents, transported from the Eastern Front, on display. The exhibition contained images of firing-squads and bodies of young girls, some still children, who had been hung and were dangling from ropes. There was also a captured

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

KV-2

Kliment Voroshilov tank The Kliment Voroshilov (KV; ) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour ...

in front of the entrance. From 8 May to 21 June 1942, the exhibition was in the

Lustgarten The Lustgarten (, ''Pleasure Garden'') is a park in Museum Island in central Berlin at the foreground of the ''Altes Museum''. It is next to the (Berlin Cathedral) and near the reconstructed (''Berlin City Palace'') of which it was originally ...

in Berlin and according to official information 1.3 million people visited the show. The Berlin exhibition was opened with a large parade and a speech by the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Propaganda,

Leopold Gutterer Leopold Gutterer (25 April 1902 – 27 December 1996) was a Nazi Party official and propagandist. He rose to the positions of State Secretary in the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and Vice President of the Reich Chamber ...

, in front of the exhibition hall. On May 18 a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

resistance group called "Baum-Group" organized an arson attack, which although it only caused minor damage to the exhibits, was deeply embarrassing to the regime.

Herbert Baum Herbert Baum (February 10, 1912 – June 11, 1942) was a Jewish member of the German resistance against National Socialism. Baum organized a large network of resisters within Berlin. Most of these activists, like Baum, were Jewish and had backgr ...

, Marianne Baum, and over 30 other people were arrested and executed. The exhibition also attracted the attention of members of the Red Orchestra resistance group who affixed posters advertising the event with their own anti-Nazi stickers. Unfortunately for these anti-Nazi resistance groups one of the main sponsors of the exhibition

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

was assassinated in Prague at the end of May 1942. The

assassination of Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Heydrich, the commander of the German Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), the acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a principal architect of the Holocaust, was assassinated during the Second World War in a coordin ...

caused an increase in Nazi reactions to any perceived resistance and vastly increased the retributions on any resistor and their associates, with

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

a particular focus of these attacks. As well as the glossy brochure, a short propaganda film was created to supplement the exhibition. A series of postcards was also created and these were geographically franked as the exhibition moved around the

starting in

(13 December 1941) and ending in Essen (30 October 1942), via Prague, Berlin and Hamburg.

External links

A partial English translation of a brochure from the exhibitThe original Das Sowjet-Paradies short movie directed by Friedrich AlbatOriginal German brochure of the Exhibition

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Paradise Nazi works 1942 films Anti-communism in Germany Nazi propaganda Works about the Soviet Union Documentary films about the Soviet Union