Государственный архив Молотовской области и спасение эвакуированных документальных материалов в годы Великой Отечественной войны

Abstract

Evacuation of plants and population to the territory of Molotov region during the Great Patriotic War is one of the well-researched episodes. Removing from the frontline people, especially children, as well as the equipment of factories which played an important role in the USSR defense industry was the primary task for the authorities. The evacuation of cultural values from the country's leading museums also played an important role. At the same time, in 1941-1942 Molotov also became one of the centers receiving the document from different archives. Based on the analysis of the archival materials it is revealed some aspects of the war period archivist’s activity connected with the preservation of evacuated documents of the Central Archive of October Revolution and some archives of Leningrad region. The evacuated materials began to arrive in Molotov in August 1941, and already in 1942 this fact negatively influenced the work of the Molotov Region State archive. The archivists of Molotov could provide the best conditions of the evacuated materials storage only to the detriment of the local materials conservation and their own work. For the long period the archive was practically forced to stop the reference and scientific work, as well as the systematization of the archival funds. But the core targets of the archive at that period were not reduced by the authority, which led to archivists’ overstrain and discontent of management. At the same time, the key mission – safekeeping of the evacuated documents – was accomplished by the archivists. Re-evacuation of the materials of the Central Archive of October Revolution made in March 1944 allowed Molotov archivists to return to the pre-war working conditions.