March 11–17, 1944. 25 weeks before Liberation

A new project of the National Library of Belarus is dedicated to the Great Patriotic War – "Reading newspaper lines with your heart. On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders."
Every week from January to August 2024, the portal of the National Library publishes materials from newspapers of Soviet Belarus in 1944, reflecting the chronicle of news and events of that time.

March 11th. The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus and the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR adopted a resolution "On the mobilization of 700 Komsomol members and non-Union youth of Belarus for the restoration of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant."

March 12th. In Belarus, "the Rogachev military operational group of partisan formations of the Klichevsky, Kirovsky, Berezinsky and Krupsky districts has been created."

March 15th. "The Polesie offensive operation of the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front has begun in order to defeat the enemy's Kovno group. The operation lasted until April 5. Due to the lack of forces, the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front stopped the offensive. Nevertheless, during the operation, the front's troops pinned down large enemy forces and created favorable conditions for the subsequent offensive in the Borisov and Lublin directions."

[1418 days of the Great Patriotic War..., p. –]

The collection of funds for equipment for the Red Army continued – partisans and partisans collected funds for the aircraft named after the legendary partisan Konstantin Zaslonov [Savetskaya Belarus No. 43, p. 1].

Two and a half pages of the Savetskaya Belarus newspaper [No. 42, pp. 2-4] were devoted to the report of the Extraordinary Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of Crimes of the Nazi Invaders.

The spring field work was approaching. There were more and more publications on this topic in the newspapers. Military vocabulary was vigorously manifested in the titles of headings and articles, calling for labour exploits.

A series of materials has been published in the newspaper ["Vicebsky Rabochy", No. 26, p. 2] under the heading "In the campaign for a high military harvest – the harvest of victory!". Komsomol youth units, created on the initiative of the Liozno Komsomol members, have launched active preparations for spring sowing, manure has been removed to the fields, ash has been collected, seeds are sorted.

The foreman of one of the collective farm brigades in the Vetkovsky district of the Gomel region, who has 70 collective farmers under his command, shared his successes, difficulties and plans with readers on the pages of the newspaper Stalinskaya Prayda, called the names of both the leaders and the "sluggards" [No. 11, p. 2]:

A completely critical material entitled "Results of poor management" about the complete unavailability of one of the collective farms for spring work ended with the author's question: "How long will the collective farm shamefully disrupt preparations for the spring sowing campaign?" [Stalinskaya Prayda, No. 11, p. 2].

As a rule, collective farms and state farms had forges where horses were shod, small equipment was repaired, door bolts were forged, locks and keys were made.

An interesting story about a blacksmith in the Mekhovsky (now Gorodoksky) district. Before the Germans arrived, he hid all the blacksmithing tools, burying them in the ground. After the liberation of the area, the blacksmith took out tools, renovated the forge and began preparations for spring work ["Vicebsky workers", No. 26, p. 2].

It is interesting that when restoring the production of products from the perfume shop of the Krasny Khimik plant, it was planned to produce not only tooth powder and paste, but also cologne and perfumes – people needed both the most necessary and pleasant things [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 41, p. 2].

A large article on the front page of the newspaper "Savetskaya Belarus" [No. 43, p. 1] – "Vydatny Pachyn" – is dedicated to Gomel, its losses and the beginning of the renaissance. Here, following the example of the Stalingraders, they initiated the creation of Cherkassy (volunteer) brigades for clearing, repairing and building buildings in order to please their husbands, fathers, brothers who fought at the front by the fact that peaceful life was really returning to the rebuilt cities [Cherkassov movement...].

The Cherkassy movement was a patriotic movement in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War and after its end, within the framework of which volunteer ("Cherkassy") brigades were created, mainly from women and children who worked on restoration work in their spare time. It was one of the largest in the USSR, in modern language we would call it volunteer.

On the 3rd page of this issue ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 43, p. 3] –  stories about the activities of Cherkassy brigades in Gomel and an open letter from a front-⁠line soldier with his welcoming words!

On the same page of the newspaper "Savetskaya Belarus" [No. 43, p. 3], a poster by the artist E. Zaitsev was published, calling for participation in the revival of his native city:

Evgeny Alekseevich Zaitsev (1907–1992) – People's Artist of the BSSR (1964), corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1973). In 1943–1944 he worked in Moscow, at the headquarters of the partisan movement, participated in the design of the satirical newspaper poster "Crush the fascist reptile."
His works are kept in the National Art Museum of Belarus; for the Pioneer cinema, together with I. T. Tikhonov, the artist executed a monumental Mosaic composition "Happy Childhood".

There is a poster and a postcard with the works of the artist's pen on the theme of the Great Patriotic War in the fund of the National Library of Belarus ["Zen of good Mats Belarus"; Zaitsev E. A. "Stood to the death"].

Zaitsev E. A. "They stood to the death." A postcard from the NBB Foundation.

But the restoration of the city was not chaotic – in the very first days after liberation, architects arrived in Gomel, and the Belarusian State Design Institute began to draft its layout and renovation [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 44, p. 2]:

The restoration of the housing stock was relevant for both cities and rural areas.

Residents often returned to such ashes ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 40, p. 2]:

In the same issue of the newspaper there is news about the restoration of houses for villagers: ten construction crews worked in Vasilevichi district, one of which significantly exceeded the production rate; 13 new houses have already been built, and other premises have been repaired [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 40, p. 2].

Several articles in this week's newspapers are dedicated to railway workers.

177 employees of the Belarusian Railway were awarded high government awards ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 44, p. 1]. A delegation of railway workers, visiting the hospital, gave gifts to the wounded ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 40, p. 3].

Taking care of the health of the population was part of the complex of social measures of the Soviet state.

The medical business was restored, measures were taken to provide the population with a variety of food products, food industry enterprises were restored, and the sports and physical education movement was revived.

Active training of medical personnel, primarily junior and middle managers, began, schools were opened ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 40, p. 3; 41, p. 4].

The Belarusian Medical Institute, as reported in an article in the Savetskaya Belarus newspaper [No. 43, p. 4], began work on evacuation in Yaroslavl on October 1, 1943. 800 students studied here. 80 students and researchers from the Institute were sent to the liberated areas to assist local health authorities.

In the article "Each enterprise has a subsidiary farm" [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 40, p. 1] it was said that the process of allocating land plots had begun, and enterprises had begun preparing inventory for subsidiary farms. We are talking about factory and individual plots.

Another news in the spring period is the preparation for active physical education classes: committees and infrastructure were restored.

A significant event has also taken place in the cultural life of Belarus. According to the author of the article, the Bolshoi Theater resumed its work after a break and presented the opera "The Barber of Seville" to the public ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 40, p. 4]. The production of The Barber of Seville took place in Kovrov, Vladimir region, where the theater staff was evacuated.

Another event of musical life is the creation of "New works by Belarusian composers" ["Savetskaya Belarus", No. 43, p. 4].

In the liberated territories, work has begun to inform the population about all the events that took place in the USSR and the world during the period of German occupation. Rallies and meetings were held, the work of the radio station was organized, libraries and reading huts were restored.

There were still 24 weeks left before the Liberation…

The material was prepared by L. G. Tupchienko-Kadyrova,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, chief bibliographer
of the information and analytical department.

Sources

Newspapers*

The full news papers issues are available on links.

1. Віцебскі рабочы : орган Віцебскага Абласнога і Гарадскога Камітэтаў КП(б)Б, Абласнога і Гарадскога Саветаў Дэпутатаў Працоўных, 1944, № 26.
2. За Радзіму : орган Магілёўскага абласнога і гарадскога КП Беларусі і абласнога і гарадскога Савета дэпутатаў працоўных, 1944, № 36.
3. Калгаснік Капыльшчыны : орган Капыльскага райкома КП Беларусі і раённага Савета дэпутатаў працоўных, 1944, № 32.
4. Савецкая Беларусь : орган ЦК КП(б) Беларусі, Саўнаркома і Прэзідыума Вярхоўнага Савета БССР, 1944, № 40.
5. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 41.
6. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 42.
7. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 43.
8. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 44.
9. Сталінская праўда : орган Веткаўскага РК КП Беларусі і Райсавета дэпутатў працоўных, 1944, № 11.

*The titles of the newspapers are given accordance to modern spelling.

Booksart materials, notes, resources

1. Богатырёв, А.В. Беларускім партызанам [Ноты] = Белорусским партизанам : “Партызаны, партызаны…” : кантата : ор. 8 : для хора, саліста і аркестра : клавир / А.В. Богатырёв ; сл. Я. Купалы ; пер. с бел. Н. Навіцкай. – Москва : Музгиз, 1947. – 28 с.
2. Зайцаў, Я.А. Дзень добры, маці Беларусь! [Выяўленчы матэрыял] : [плакат] / мастак Я.А. Зайцаў ; рэд. А.С. Нікіцін. – [Масква] : Савецкая Беларусь, [1943] (Друкарня “Чырвоны пралетарый”). – 1 л. : каляр. літаграфія. – Год і месца выдання вызначаны па даведніку: Республика Беларусь : энциклопедия. Минск, 2006. Т. 2. С. 238. – На плакаце: “выдавецтва ЦК КП(б)Б «Совецкая Беларусь»”. Пад гэтай назвай выдавецтва дзейнічала ў Маскве з 1942 па снежань 1943 года. – 30 000 экз.
3. Зайцев, Е.А. Стояли насмерть [Изоматериал] : Всесоюзная выставка работ молодых художников, посвященная 30-летию ВЛКСМ : [открытка] / художник Е.А. Зайцев. – [Москва : б. и., 1950] (Тип. изд-ва “Советский художник”). – 1 л. – 25 000 экз.
4. Национальный академический Большой театр оперы и балета Республики Беларусь. История театра // Национальный академический Большой театр оперы и балета Республики Беларусь : сайт. – Рэжым доступу: https://bolshoibelarus.by/rus/o-teatre/istoriya-teatra/240-tvorcheskaya-istoriya.html. – Дата доступу 05.03.2024.
5. Песні Вялікай Айчыннай вайны [Ноты] : [для хароў рознага складу з фартэпіяна / рэд. Н.Ф. Сакалоўскі]. – Мінск : Дзяржаўнае выдавецтва БССР, Рэдакцыя музычнай літаратуры, 1946. – 48, [2] с. Змест: Ефімаў В. Вялікі дзень / словы А. Астрэйкі ; У грозных баях / словы М. Клімковіча. Палонскі С. Шуміць наша слава / словы П. Броўкі. Пукст Р. З рускім народам / словы П. Глебкі ; У яркім сузор’і / словы М. Танка. Аладаў М. Мы, беларусы / словы М. Клімковіча. Лукас Д. З рускiм народам / словы П. Глебкі. Сакалоўскі Н. Мы, беларусы / словы М. Клімковіча. Цікоцкі Я. Рэспубліка наша / словы П. Броўкi ; Зямля Беларусi / словы П. Броўкі. Падкавыраў П. Мы, беларусы / словы М. Клімковіча. Багатыроў А. Шуміць наша слава / словы П. Броўкі. Чуркін М. Жывi, Беларусь / словы П. Броўкі. – 5 000 экз.
6. Тикоцкий, Е.К. Урыўкі з оперы “Алеся” = Отрывки из оперы “Алеся” [Ноты] : спевы з фп. / Я. Цікоцкі ; тэкст П. Броўкі. – Москва : Музгиз, 1947. – 58 с.
7. 1418 дней Великой Отечественной войны : хронология событий : хронология событий : [солдату Великой Отечественной посвящается / сост. Е. В. Малашевич ; науч. ред.: Е. И. Барановский, Г. И. Баркун ; фото: В. В. Харченко]. – Минск : Мастац. літ., 2014. – 421, [1] с.
8. Черкасовское движение: как люди отстояли и отстроили Сталинград // РИА Новости. Социальный навигатор. – Рэжым доступу: https://sn.ria.ru/20181119/1533085313.html. – Дата доступу 05.03.2024.