Issue ? 42. February 2014

The Strategic Communication of Germany in Estonia during the Second World War

Associate Professor (PhD) at the Department of History at the University of Oulu, Finland.
E-mail: kari.alenius@oulu.fi

This article examines the “strategic communication” of German authorities during the occupation of Estonia. In the 1940s, the concept did not yet exist as such, but the same thing can be and has been expressed in different ways. Estonia was occupied by Germany from the summer of 1941 to autumn of 1944, during which time surveillance of individual’s sentiments and propaganda work were coordinated by Germany’s Security Police. Analysis shows that the organisation’s situation assessments and the operating plans compiled on that basis correspond nearly 100 percent to the principles compiled by, for instance, the U.S. Department of Defense almost 70 years later. This indicates that strategic communication is based heavily on viewpoints that are not dependent on time, place or culture. In addition to theoretical contemplation, this study also analyses the main points of what taking these principles into consideration meant in practice in Estonia during World War II.

Keywords

Propaganda, strategic communication, German Security Police, Estonia, World War II.