Intelligence Report on German Propaganda

In this translated extract from a German broadcast to Russia, made on the day after Britain and the Soviet Union signed a Mutual Assistance Pact, the emphasis is very much on attacking Stalin as a poor socialist and proclaiming that the Soviet Army is almost defeated. The broadcast cleverly portrays Stalin's 'scorched earth' policy, in which the retreating Red Army were ordered to leave no supplies for the invading forces, as an attack on the Russian people themselves.

This transcript of German propaganda illustrates that the nations at war intercepted each other's broadcasts so they could combat their opponents' message. The department responsible for this in Britain was the Political Warfare Executive (PWE), which was set up in 1941 and worked extensively with the BBC. The PWE also managed to get hold of the twice-daily directive from Goebbels, which meant that they were always up to date with German news and propaganda.