Precious square footage: housing and living conditions of the employees of the Ural Automotive Plant during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)

Abstract

The subject of this research is the housing and living conditions of the employees of the Ural Automotive Plant named after J. V. Stalin, established during the Great Patriotic War as a result of evacuation of one of the largest enterprises of Soviet automobile industry – Moscow Vehicle Plant named after J. V. Stalin. The article analyzes the process of accommodation of evacuated employees in the Ural rear, as well as describes ways of resolving their housing by the plant. Methodological framework consists of the generally accepted methods of historical science. The descriptive method allowed characterize the living situation of the employees of automotive plant. The historical-genetic method allowed tracing the changes in housing and living conditions of the employees of Ural Automotive Plant during the Great Patriotic War, as well as reconstructing the course of residential construction. The relevance of this work is substantiated by the detailed reconstruction of the mechanisms of functionality of defense economy on the example of a large industrial enterprise. Based on the report documentation and protocols of political party association of the plant, the article demonstrates the process of building factory housing, as well as the course and results of individual residential construction. The article reviews the conditions of living in dormitories. The conducted research explicates that the existing system of government and party administration managed to resolve the problems of evacuation and accommodation of the employees of the vehicle plant; and the active participation of political party association of the factory allowed addressing most urgent issues of the factory employees, and consolidating their efforts for solution of the socially important tasks.