Cheerful ‘Rollbahn’ to Moscow
In January 1942, the Wehrmacht propaganda department authorises publication of this map and an accompanying book of photographs. The map has a cinematic, fresh, and cheerful appearance, but the consequences of the war on show are gruesome. During Operation Barbarossa, the Ulmer division advances to invade the Soviet Union, part of an attempt to take Moscow. Vast numbers of Soviet soldiers are surrounded, besieged, and captured. Several cities, including Smolensk, are razed to the ground. However: the ‘Rollbahn’ to Moscow stalls. At the time of this map’s publication, the onslaught has already failed. Emphasis on the role of horses during the advance is striking – usually, propaganda focuses on the German army’s mechanisation. The map suggests everything on the German side is well coordinated, while on the Soviet side, on the contrary, chaos rules.
W. Köstlin, Eine Bildfolge vom Einsatz der Ulmer Infanterie-Divisio (Deployment of the Ulm Infantry Division in pictures), Stuttgart 1942, in: Chr. Beller Verlagsbuchhandlung, Mit uns im Osten (Chr. Beller publishing bookstore, ‘To the East with us). Coll. S/T W.2v.168.51 x 133 cm.
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