Muscovites were preparing for the arrival of Hitler in autumn 1941

History 08/01/20 As Muscovites were preparing for the arrival of Hitler in autumn 1941

the Autumn of 1941 was the most difficult period for Moscow during the great Patriotic war. The looming disaster was experienced not only civil consciousness of inhabitants of the capital, the test passed and their human qualities.

by the end of the summer of 1941, Moscow became a front city. The Wehrmacht one by one occupies Bryansk, Kaluga, Kirov, Tver, Zelenograd. To the capital at hand. German tanks are near Khimki, and motorcyclists can even see not far from the metro station Sokol. The oppressive atmosphere in the capital exacerbate the rumors about the catastrophic situation at the front.

Since the beginning of October, the procession of Muscovites who do not believe in the ability of the red Army to defend the ancient capital, reached by rail and highway, leading to the East. Every day a stream of cars, trucks and horse-drawn carts became more and more.

According to the recollections of many witnesses to the October 16 panic in Moscow reached its peak. Stopped working almost all companies, factories and city service stopped surface transport and the metro. Paused press and radio. The townspeople were prepared for the worst.

Began a hasty evacuation of all who were unable to defend the city and stop work were paid cash compensation. It was rumored that relationship with the front is lost and the government is ready at any moment to take the capital, pre-blowing up about 12 thousand strategically important objects.

Among them was a station of the Moscow metro, where in the troubled autumn days was vivid life. It operated a library, and a dairy-distributing point, there were lectures and presentations. In the subway, on duty doctors and midwives, who during the bombing took more than a dozen genera.

In the conditions of information vacuum town for a few days plunged into the abyss of chaos. Nailenee conscious citizens robbed left unattended shops, law-abiding tried to stop the lawlessness. So, workers plant them. Shcherbakov beat the Director, who wanted to leave public property by car.

on 16 October saw the raging crowd broke through the fence at the factory “Udarnitsa”, intending to make pastries. On 17 October a group of factory workers No69 of the people’s Commissariat force repulsed preparing to be sent to Sverdlovsk barrel of alcohol and had a drinking party.

In Moscow, began to experience shortages of essential goods, that gave rise to unprecedented speculation. Unscrupulous traders went to any lengths to cash in on the total deficit. One of the deceived Muscovites complained about a neighbor: “Bought from a speculator for 45 rubles 100 grams of tobacco in a carefully Packed package. The house found inside hay”.

Fearing the arrival of the Germans, the people got rid of everything that could reveal their sympathy for the Soviet regime. Hope Rastyannikov, at that time a first grader, watched as preobrazhenke all the surrounding garbage were littered with portraits of Lenin. But Stalin’s image to touch was afraid.

Perhaps the most surprising phenomenon of Moscow’s military were long queues at Barber shops. Witnesses explained that some ladies decided to freshen up before the arrival of the new government. Indeed, many sincerely believed that under the occupation regime life will go the same course.

a member of the Union of writers Nikolay Verzhbitsky bitterly wrote in his diary: “October 16 will include the infamous date, date of cowardice, confusion and betrayal in the history of Moscow… Disgraced shosse Entuziastov, which was rushed that day to the East cars of yesterday “enthusiasts” (in words) is loaded with Nickel-plated beds, carpets, suitcases, wardrobes and fatty meat of the owners of this junk”.

Finally the evening of 17 October to the Muscovites asked the representative of city Council Vasily Pronin to immediately get to work and not to believe the disinformation. Soon earned the land transport and the metro resumed work shops, pharmacies, hospitals and municipal utilities. The events that took place in Moscow on 16 October, was called “a gross violation of state discipline”.

the Order in the capital, was quickly restored. Violators and provocateurs understood people’s courts, which have emerged these days in military tribunals, and the police shot looters and robbers on the spot of the crime.

But the food situation was getting worse every day. If in the summer he worked in commercial shops where a premium was possible to buy any products in the fall, the implementation of the basic foodstuffs was carried out only by cards. This led to queues. The large (up to ten thousand people) lined up for bread and potatoes, were people with port wine and sparkling water.

during the most intense bombardment of the capital acted unwritten rule: if during an air-RAID anyone was hiding back in turn it was not allowed. In October–November of 1941, when Moscow was subjected to the most massive bomb attacks by German aircraft, people who did not want to lose the place, killing dozens.

on 7 November in red square parade dedicated to the 24th anniversary of the October revolution, which was attended by several hundred tanks. This event reassured Muscovites. The townspeople gradually began to get used to living in conditions of constant air raids. When November 19, during a performance at the Bolshoi theater announced the air alarm the audience refused to leave the shelter and demanded the production to resume.

Taras Repin

Source:
© Russian Seven

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