It is customary in wartime to attempt demoralize the enemy, soften his resolve to fight, and perhaps even convince opposition troops to give themselves up. Germans used sexualized images of American and British womenfolk at home falling prey to seducers while their men risked their lives at the front. In the Korean War, Chinese Communists used pamphlets emphasizing the unfairness of racism and poverty at home, telling G.I.s that they were pawns in a conflict waged to benefit fat capitalists.
Perhaps the most nakedly cynical such attempt was used by the Soviet Union to appeal to German love of Christmas. They bombarded Wehrmacht lines with brochures guaranteeing safe conduct to anyone surrendering and a cozy holiday in Russian captivity. Note the merry prisoners decorating a tree watched over by a grinning Santa figure. Other captives read letters from home and a German chef carves a huge roast for the sumptuous dining that awaited all those who went over to the Red Army.
Alas, the reality for Germans taken prisoner on the Eastern Front was far different. The USSR did not release POWs until the mid-1950s, having employed them for ten years as slave labourers. Of those captured at Stalingard only 5% (mostly officers) survived the camps to return to East Germany.
