Ideology wars between the Soviet and Nazi press in the light of the magic bullet theory: A study on Krokodil and Fliegende Blätter magazines

In the context of the Magic Bullet Theory, it was claimed that the media was in an effective position during the Second World War, and in this respect, it was contended that the ideological discourses in the media in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany directly affected people like a magic bullet. It was aimed to reveal the reflection of the struggle between the ideologies of Communism and Nazism in the media during the Second World War in the context of the Magic Bullet Theory within the scope of the study. For this purpose, the Krokodil humor magazine, which was used effectively in the ideological propaganda of the Soviet Union at the time, and the Fliegende Blätter humor magazine, which was effectively used in the ideological propaganda of Nazi Germany, were examined using the semiotic method in the context of Magic Bullet Theory in this study. In this context, Krokodil's anti-Nazism and Fliegende Blätter's anti-Communism cartoons were analyzed in order to reveal the ideological struggle between the two magazines. In the analysis part of the study, the written and visual indicators of both magazines were discussed through Karl Bühler's Organon Model, Roman Jakobson's Communication Functions and John Searle's Speech-Act Theory, respectively. In the study, findings were found that Krokodil tried to form perceptions in people's minds that the ideology of Nazism caused massacres against civilians, eliminated freedom, deceived people and led to commit crimes against humanity. On the other hand, it was determined that the magazine sought to form thoughts in the public opinion that the ideology of Communism planned to take Europe hostage, dragged the world into disaster, took a pro-war line and encouraged to take over the world in the findings regarding Fliegende Blätter. It was concluded that the Soviet regime, through Krokodil, and the Nazi regime, through Fliegende Blätter, tried to both establish (or strengthen) their ideological domination in their countries and discredit the opposing ideology by taking advantage of the strong influence of the media.