Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant during Great Patriotic War: Problem of Personnel and Its Solution

Abstract

The process of the labor collective formation of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant during the Great Patriotic War is studied. The relevance of the study is due to the need for a detailed study of the mechanisms of the automotive industry functioning in the extreme conditions of the Great Patriotic War. Documents on the history of the enterprise evacuation, materials of the primary party organization of the automobile plant, office work documentation of the party and state authorities, factory and departmental reports, and eye-witness accounts of the events were used as sources. The process of creating the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, constructed on the basis of the evacuated equipment and labor resources of the Moscow Automobile Plant named after I.V. Stalin (ZIS), is considered. Changes in the number and composition of the enterprise's employees during 1941—1945 are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the interdependence of the change in the number of employees of the plant on the volume of industrial output. It is concluded that thanks to the evacuation of experienced engineers, production managers and highly skilled workers, it was possible to maintain and recreate hightech production in the rear areas of the country. It was noted that the enterprises created during the evacuation laid the foundation for the development of automotive production in the Volga region and the Urals.