2025, Volume 7
Olga Grădinaru, BATALIOANELE DISCIPLINARE ÎN AL DOILEA RĂZBOI MONDIAL REFLECTATE ÎN FILMELE SOVIETICE ŞI POSTSOVIETICE: ÎNTRE DEPERSONALIZARE ŞI DEZUMANIZARE
Lecturer, Ph.D., Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca
Abstract: Penal Battalions in the Second World War Reflected in Soviet Films: Between Depersonalization and Dehumanization
The films examined in this study challenge traditional heroic narratives of World War II, focusing on a previously taboo topic: penal battalions. The heroicising patterns of the late Soviet period and early 2000s are replaced by trauma, dehumanization, and erased identities. The film “Gu-Ga” (1989) explores collective depersonalization under Soviet ideology, while “One Hundred Soldiers and Two Girls” (1989) reveals the brutal realities of trench life and the systemic abuse of women. “The Name” (1988) offers a symbolic portrayal of identity loss and psychological alienation in a totalitarian regime, while “Victory Day” (2006) depicts a former penal battalion soldier who, decades later, attends a modern Victory Day parade yet feels disconnected from the official celebration. Together, these films confront national myths and highlight the personal cost of war, offering a more humanized and critical vision of Soviet and post-Soviet memory.
Keywords: penal battalions, Soviet and post-Soviet war films, Great Patriotic War, depersonalization and dehumanization
Pages: 81 – 91