The Soviet Union, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, implemented a policy of communism in the early 1920s. As part of this policy, the Soviet regime used propaganda extensively to control and manipulate the population. One aspect of this propaganda campaign was the use of posters that conveyed strong messages and slogans. One particularly striking poster from this era declared, “To eat your own children is a barbarian act.”
This poster was created during a period of extreme food shortages in the Soviet Union, known as the Holodomor, which occurred in the early 1930s. The famine was caused by a combination of factors, including the forced collectivization of agriculture, which was a core component of the Soviet Union’s implementation of communism. Under this policy, small farmers were forced to give up their land and resources to collective farms run by the state. This led to the seizure of grain and other foodstuffs from small farmers, causing widespread food shortages and famine.
The poster’s message, however, is not referring to the literal act of eating one’s own children, but rather the idea of cannibalism. The poster is intended to convey the idea that those who engage in such acts are barbaric, uncivilized, and morally repugnant. The poster is a way to condemn those who would resort to such desperate measures in order to survive.
The poster also serves as a reminder of the human cost of the Soviet regime’s policies and the devastating effects of the famine. It is a powerful reminder of the suffering that the Soviet people endured under Stalin’s rule, and the terrible consequences that can result from implementing a communist system.
The poster is also an example of how the Soviet regime used propaganda to control the population and deflect blame for the famine away from the government and its policies. By portraying those who resorted to cannibalism as barbarians, the poster served to justify the regime’s actions and blame the famine on the actions of individuals, rather than the systemic failures of the communist system.
In conclusion, the poster “To eat your own children is a barbarian act” reflects the Soviet regime’s use of propaganda in the implementation of communism. The poster was created during a period of extreme food shortages and famine caused by the forced collectivization of agriculture, a core component of communism. The poster serves as a reminder of the human cost of the Soviet regime’s policies and the devastating effects of the famine. It also serves as an example of how the regime used propaganda to control the population and deflect blame for the famine away from the government and its policies.