The post-war period in Czechoslovakia saw the spread of Soviet propaganda films and art throughout the country. These films were initially received well among Czechoslovakians, as they “resonated with…viewers who had just lived through six years of German occupation.” (Applebaum, 24) Czechoslovakians were more receptive to Soviet film and art in this post-war era in part due to the recently vanquished Nazi occupation and to a growing nationalism surrounding their pan-Slavic identity shared with Russia. The United States made a limited effort to influence the Czechoslovakians but this effort was insufficient to change the eventual domination of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had become the “friend” of Czechoslovakia. In some ways, this friendship was not honored by the Soviet Union. In chapter two the Soviet Union propagandizes itself as more advanced and modern than its “friends” in the Eastern Bloc. (58) Foreign students were prohibited from marrying Soviet citizens as well.
What caused the Soviet Union’s chauvinism and superiority complex? How did propaganda about the superiority of the Soviet Union affect it’s interactions with “friendly” nations such as Czechoslovakia?
