@article{article_1535235, title={Ideology in Eastern European Cinema During the Second World War: A Semiotical Analysis}, journal={Trakya Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi}, volume={27}, pages={23–31}, year={2025}, DOI={10.26468/trakyasobed.1535235}, author={Yılmaz, Muzaffer Musab and Göker, Doğuşcan}, keywords={İkinci Dünya Savaşı, Doğu Avrupa sineması, göstergebilim, sinema ve ideoloji, Romanya}, abstract={Eastern Europe was as an important front during the Second World War. This region was occupied by the Nazi regime for a long time. The art of cinema was also significantly affected by this occupation. Film production decreased drastically and came to a standstill in some countries. In countries that cooperated with the Nazis, however, film production continued. In this study, the extent of cinematic production in Eastern Europe during the war and the ways in which ideological discourse was developed are explored. Accordingly, in order to understand the cinematic production and ideological discourse in Eastern Europe during the Second World War, the Romanian-Italian co-production Odessa in Flames (Odessa în flăcări, 1942) directed by Carmine Gallone was analyzed with a semiotic method. The film depicts the recapture of Bessarabia by German, Italian and Romanian troops after the Soviet Union captured the region during the war through the story of a family from Chisinau. Semiotics not only allows signs to be analyzed as a meaningful whole, but also allows their social context to be decoded successfully. The reason why this method is preferred is that it allows for a comprehensive analysis of the subtext of a prominent film at a time when cinema is intertwined with ideology and propaganda. In direct proportion to this, the film was chosen because it successfully reveals the Axis powers’ view of Eastern Europe. As a result of the study, it has been observed that the film provides an ideological basis for the presence of German and Italian soldiers in Romania, while at the same time conveying the message that the Soviet Union was a common enemy.}, number={1}, publisher={Trakya Üniversitesi}