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[A BELARUSIAN SATIRICAL NEWSPAPER RIDICULING THE NAZIS] Razdavim fašysckuju hadzinu: hazieta-plakat [i.e. Let’s Crush the Fascist Viper: A Newspaper-Poster]

Item #1646

[Minsk]: vydanije CK KP(b) Bielarusi, 1941-1945. #13, 18 of 1941; #32, 38, 39, 58 of 1942; #84 of 1943. Overall, 7 issues. Two issues of 1941 in Russian, others in Belarusian. The number of pages varies from 2 to 4. 34,9x24,5 cm. Minor tears and minimal paper loss from the margins, with no damage to text. Generally near fine.
During the German occupation of Byelorussia (1941-1944), more than 160 underground newspapers and handwritten periodicals were issued in partisan detachments. Published from August 9, 1917, the oldest Belarusian newspaper Zvyazda [i.e. Star] was the leader of patriotic periodicals. From 1941 to 1945, Zvyazda issued the anti-Fascist satirical newspaper/poster Razdavim fašysckuju hadzinu [i.e. Let’s Crush the Fascist Viper], which became one of the most popular wartime editions in Byelorussia.
The newspaper’s first issue came out on July 5, 1941, two weeks after the country’s occupation. At different times, the leaflet was published in Gomel, Moscow, Novobelytsy (Gomel region), and with the liberation of the capital of Belarus - in Minsk.
The leaflet was printed on 2-4 pages with satirical texts and mostly one-color illustrations. Until March 1942, Razdavim fašysckuju hadzinu was issued in Russian (later in Belarusian) as a motivational poster. The editorial board was first headed by the Soviet writer Mikhas Chaussky and, since 1943, by Kondrat Krapiva.
The newspaper’s title was suggested by Vitaly Bukaty, a ninth-grader from Gomel, who drew the picture of Three Soviet Heroes on the wall of the entrance to Gomel park in the first days of the war. The concept caught the attention of the employees of the newly created editorial office of the newspaper. Vitaly explained that the three heroes were warriors, workers, and peasants who would ‘crush the fascist viper’. Thus, the title of the poster-newspaper was finally established, and the young artist was offered cooperation with the new edition.
This newspaper featured works of different genres, from sharp political pamphlets to partisan ditties. Caricatures played an important role, occupying more than half of the edition. Razdavim fašysckuju hadzinu published numerous photographic documents and information reports on the combat successes of partisans and soldiers of the Red Army. The editorial board exposed and ridiculed the plans of the Nazis and instilled hatred toward the invaders through satire. In 1945, a year after the liberation of Byelorussia, the newspaper was transformed into the satirical and humorous magazine Vozhyk [i.e. Hedgehog], which is published up to this day.
All seven issues feature an abundance of satirical illustrations (primarily black and white) ridiculing the Nazis and galvanizing the fighting spirit of the Soviet Union. The issues include numerous satirical texts and poems in which the authors mock the enemy and praise the Red Army. While all issues were printed during the German occupation of Byelorussia, the editorial board makes fun of the Nazis’ military strategies and skills. Among the authors of the texts are the Byelorussian writers and playwrights Anatol Astreyko (1911-1978), Konstantin Gubarevich (1906-1987), Yakub Kolas (1882-1956), etc.
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