Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2025
DOI:
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Stalinist Propaganda in Poland in Light of Bernays’ Doctrine
Przemysław Kot
ABSTRACT:
The aim of this presentation is to examine Stalinist propaganda in Poland from 1944 to 1956 through the theoretical framework of Edward Bernays. Bernays was an American propaganda theorist whose ideas dominated the 1940s and 1950s. During this period, much of the academic world agreed with his approach to propaganda. Bernays was not only a theorist but also a practitioner, undertaking numerous commissions for the U.S. government and private companies.
However, it is important to emphasize that his concepts primarily concerned democratic societies, not totalitarian states like Poland during the Stalinist era. The communists regarded propaganda as one of the pillars of their power, alongside terror. They conducted extensive propaganda campaigns—organizing rallies, marches, sending thousands of agitators to engage with the public, and printing posters and leaflets.
Based on documents produced by the communist authorities on the subject of propaganda, an analysis of their actions in the field of propaganda will be conducted. Subsequently, the communists’ activities will be compared with Bernays’ doctrine. The following question will be addressed: To what extent was Bernays’ doctrine appropriate for assessing the propaganda efforts of the communists?
keywords: authoritarianism, cold war, communism, manipulation