“The second reason is the participation of the Soviet Union in the victory over Nazism which allowed the Communists to use fervent patriotism as a mask to conceal their latest plans to take power into their own hands… And they “played the martyr” in order to sanctify the Communist cause and to silence their blood alongside their communist fellows. As a result of this past these non-communists may have been willing to turn a blind eye to certain things” (courtois et al. 21-22).
Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades,” cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, “surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?”(Orwell 36).
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a striking allegory against totalitarianism. It sharply criticizes the ways in which power can be maintained and strengthened through fear and manipulation. The same methods of control can be seen in any totalitarian regime. The Black Book of Communism highlights how the Soviets masked themselves as martyrs in the struggle against antifascism. In “play[ing] the martyr” against facism the Soviets were able to sanctify their oppressive strategies and ultimately appear upstanding similar to how Squealer represses dissent and perpetuates a positive sentiment by threatening the return of Jones, the greater evil.
The Soviet Union rationalized their cruel methods of control by portraying sacrifice as a noble act against the cause of antifascism. This narrative reframed the meaning of suffering into something meaningful. In the midst of World War II, Communists in all occupied countries commenced an active armed resistance against Nazi or Italian occupation forces. The price of this resistance cost thousands of lives. However, Communists took this opportunity to reframe their resistance as fighting, or dying, for a cause – a fundamental communist belief. Thus, the strategy of “play[ing] the martyr” became highly effective and silenced many critics of communism (22). Furthermore, the resistance triggered a large sentiment of solidarity and encouraged people to “shed blood against their communist fellows”(22). This seemingly positive and patriotic act of resistance helped many non-communists turn a blind eye to certain problematic aspects of the Communist Party. Because the Allies considered Nazism to be the highest evil, Communism in its antifascist fight, ended up on the side of good. The communist victory of the Nazis was instrumentalized as a way to demonstrate the superiority of the Communist Party. For the parts of Europe liberated by Britain and America where occupations hadn’t occurred, this was a perfect place for the Soviet Union to implement propaganda to trigger a strong sense of gratitude to the Red Army and guilt towards the sacrifices made by the U.S.S.R. The Communists played upon the sentiments of Europeans to spread the Communist message.
Similarly, George Orwell reveals Squealer’s manipulation tactics in invoking the terror of Jones’s return to justify the poor conditions endured by the animals on the farm. When the animals start to express silent doubts about the pigs possession of the milk and apples, Squealer as expected is sent out to stifle their uncertainties. Instead of giving an honest explanation, he distorts his explanation as something positive that benefits the animals, not the pigs. He goes on to tie in a subtle threat questioning “surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?”(36). In consistently threatening the return of Jones, Squealer is injecting fear as a method of control. This goes alongside with the constant reminder and fervent belief held by every animal that hardship is preferable to life under Jones. Squealer’s strategic explanations successfully repress any doubts had by the animals while continuing to strengthen his power and authority. Orwell utilizes the totalitarian concept of how fear of a greater enemy can be used to make oppressive conditions seem acceptable.
In both The Black Book of Communism and Geroge Orwell’s Animal Farm the presence of an external villain distorts oppression into something almost tolerable as it presents the illusion that it protects against a far greater danger. For the Soviet Communists it was facism that allowed them to “play the martyr” and in fervently fighting against antifascism, appear to be on the right side of history. In Animal farm it was the fear of Jones that manipulated the animals into enduring arguably worse conditions than prior to the rebellion, purely in fear of his return. Comparing the two reveals the striking similarities in that both terror and fervent loyalty and patriotism can make individuals blind to oppression.
The fundamental strategy of using fear as a method of control is seemingly ubiquitous. The Soviet Union fighting antifascism as a way to present themselves as martyrs and Squealers weaponization and persistent threat of jones frames these struggles into something essential against the fight of a greater evil. However, suffering goes beyond this as something not only unavoidable but also aspirational. Orwell’s Allegory is chillingly powerful as it mirrors the very strategies used by Communist regimes of the 20th century to install fear, and silence dissent. As we’ve seen, living in fear makes it dangerously easy to accept oppression as normal. However, acknowledging this is pivotal as it reminds us to criticize whether sacrifices are a tool to encourage unchecked power.
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