Plans for the Anschluss of Switzerland during the Second World War

Since 1933, when Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, to the end of World War II the independence of Switzerland was constantly threatened. Nazi propaganda from the beginning talked about the unification of the German peoples under the banners of the Third Reich. However, Swiss neutrality gave the Germans such great material benefits that it ultimately stopped them before the execution of the annexation plans.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump presented his Peace Plan for Israel and the Palestinians. The plan also dealt with the future boundaries of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the only city ruled by a sovereign regime, the State of Israel, which declared Jerusalem as its Capital city and draw its boundary lines. Except for the US, the status and boundaries of Jerusalem are not accepted by any other international or national entity. Only the United States, which accepts Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel, agreed to accept its Israeli declared boundaries. Jerusalem’s status and boundaries stand at the core of the dispute between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which wishes to restore the pre-1967 line. The city of Jerusalem was divided during the years 1948-1967 between Israel and Jordan. The Palestinian Authority thus calls for a separation of Jerusalem between two independent states. Today, Jerusalem has an urban boundary that serves partly as a separating line between Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy, but most countries do not accept the present boundaries, and its future permanent line and status are far from establishing. Jerusalem is a unique city. This article presents a brief history that should help understanding its uniqueness.

My case study examines an issue of Slovak occupation of the northern parts of Spisz and Orava regions in years 1939–1945 in the narration of the „Nový svet” – weekly newspaper. Slovak Army`s participation in invasion of Poland in September 1939 was an important topic for press all over that new country. Media platforms were informing their readers about military successes and diplomatic arrangements. In the article I analyse the process of creating propaganda narrative about attack, annexation and then administration over the conquered lands. The weekly was richly illustrated, so I write about role of the text as well as the picture. It should be remembered that many Slovaks were still illiterate at that time. The article considers if the narration has changed over the years.

Russian Disinformation and Propaganda Campaign Justifying the Annexing of Crimea in 2014

On February 26, 2014, the Russian Federation annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Russia’s unlawful actions have been condemned in the international arena, but this has in no way changed the decision of the authorities in the Kremlin. In order to prove the legitimacy of the occupation of Crimea, the Russian Federation launched a disinformation and propaganda campaign aimed primarily at the internal arena, i.e. at the Russians. The aim of the article is to analyze selected statements by Vladimir Putin regarding the annexation of Crimea and to try to answer the question of whether disinformation and internal propaganda were effective in convincing Russians that the occupation of Crimea was an act of restoring historical justice. For the purposes of the article, research methods appropriate for international relations were used.