Sverdlovsk railway in 1941-1945: contribution to evacuation

The paper analyses the work of the Sverdlovsk railway divided during the Great Patriotic War into two main lines - the Perm and the Sverdlovsk lines (before 1943 - named after L.M. Kaganovich) to ensure the evacuation of industrial enterprises and population from western territories of the USSR to the eastern regions. The paper also shows the process of conversion of the railway economy to correspond to war requirements and needs and describes measures aimed at overcoming difficulties, such as staff reduction, a poor repair base, lack of locomotives and fuel for them, inconsistency of dispatching services. Particular emphasis is placed on the occurrence of “traffic jams” associated with an increase in the intensity of rail traffic and loading-to-unloading problems that directly affected the effectiveness of the rolling stock. The paper reveals weaknesses in organization and implementation of transporting civilians to the rear areas. The author found that systematic train schedule delays, inconsistency in the actions of evacuation and railway services generated a lot of everyday problems, e.g. low comfort, poor nutrition, spread of infectious and cold-related diseases and, as a consequence, a high percentage of mortality among evacuated passengers. Throughout the whole war period, the Soviet authorities intentionally corrected negative moments in the functioning of railway lines. As a result of the adoption of a number of government resolutions followed by the corresponding efficient actions, the “great migration to the East” of industry and a significant part of population from areas subjected to the Nazi invasion was successful. The Sverdlovsk railway fulfilled its tasks with honour making a significant contribution to the evacuation and creation of a powerful military-industrial complex in the Urals.