Bidspirit auction | ”Verdict” – an antisemitic propaganda

”Verdict” – an antisemitic propaganda story portraying the Jew as the cruel agent of the murderous communist regime. Serbia, early 1940s - Пресуда - ”Verdict” – an antisemitic propaganda story portraying a Jew as the cruel agent of a murderous communist regime, aiming to reinforce the image of the “Jewish Bolshevik” – the enemy of the common man and the executor of a policy of persecution against innocent civilians. Serbia, early 1940s. In Serbian. Extremely rare. The plot centers on Pavel Petrovich Smirnov a civil servant in Tsarist Russia, born into a poor working-class family. Intelligent, honest, hardworking, and a passionate idealist who supports communism, he joins an underground movement during the Tsarist period. After the communist revolution, Smirnov continues to serve loyally as a local government official. He is respected by all  a fair, kind, and moral administrator. Smirnov remains in his post even as others flee in fear of the purges. From the moment a new commissar replaces the city mayor everything changes. One day, the office secretary arrives in shock and tells him that Smirnov has been accused of subversion against the revolution and sentenced to death! No one understands why. Even the commissar is stunned. The commissar appeals to the Soviet secret police to defend Smirnov, insisting it’s a mistake Smirnov is a loyal citizen, a devoted worker, and known for his honesty. But the agency replies: there is no mistake; the sentence stands Smirnov will be executed. Smirnov returns home, silent and broken, and sits with his family knowing these are his final hours. Then a truck pulls up in front of his home, and from it emerges a “typical Jew” (Један типичан Јеврејин) who enters first and asks: “Are you Pavel Smirnov?” “Yes.” “You’re under arrest. Come with us.” His wife and children try to stop them, crying. The Jew shoves them away roughly. The agent scoffs with contempt: “Of course he’s a counterrevolutionary you can see it on him.” “Don’t worry I’ll protect them…” (he adds with cruel sarcasm). The next day, the newspaper reports that a conspiracy against the regime was uncovered and 40 people were executed. Smirnov was among the first. The Jew in the story is portrayed as leading the arrests: coarse, cynical, devoid of compassion. He mocks Smirnov’s faith, saying: “You can tell he’s an enemy of the people.” The antisemitic message: the Jew is the agent and enforcer of Stalinist terror. The implicit yet clear message: Jews control the communist regime and are responsible for the bloodshed of innocents. Smirnov is the “pure Russian” loyal, moral, idealistic who is destroyed by the very system he believed in. The Jew is the one who, in effect, signs his death sentence. Extremely rare. Not listed in the WorldCat global library catalog. [4] pages. Good condition.