Volgograd to this day keeps the memory of the horrors of World War II. Almost the entire city was destroyed, and the surviving buildings looked like ghosts, crippled by shells and bullets. With incredible efforts, the people, exhausted, but victorious in the war, restored and built Stalingrad anew. Then new high-rise buildings, wide squares and avenues appeared, but the memory of those terrible events is alive.
Description
Gergardt's Mill is a silent witness who survived the desperate battle of the Soviet people against fascism. The mutilated building was deliberately not restored and left in this form, as a warning to future generations. Now the ruins of the flour mill are included in the museum complex "Battle of Stalingrad".
Appearance
Gergardt's mill in Volgograd has an interesting pre-war history that began back in 1899, when businessman Alexander Gerhardt from the German colony Straub, Novouzensky district, Samara province, received a patent for the construction of a flour mill. Already in the summer of 1900, Gerhardt's mill appeared on the outskirts of Tsaritsin. At the same time, the production and sale of flour began.
Gergardt Mill in Volgograd. History
In a fire in 1907, the mill burned down almost to the ground. But in May 1908 it was rebuilt, and wall reinforcement and reinforced concrete structures were used in the construction, at that time this method was advanced.
The building turned out to be extremely powerful, the thickness of its walls is about a meter, so that the Gerhardt mill only from the outside seems to be completely made of red brick. The interior equipment was also distinguished by high technology for that time. Own generator allowed the company to avoid interruptions due to lack of electricity, and mechanical conveyors increased productivity. There was also a granary, a boiler room and a warehouse for finished products. The production complex of Gerhardt, in addition to flour milling, included oil milling, baking and fish-smoking production.
1911–1942
By the beginning of 1911, the enterprise was already generating a decent income, and 78 workers worked in production, the work shift of which lasted ten and a half hours. After the revolution of 1917, the Gerhardt mill was nationalized and until 1929 it was modestly called Mill No. 4. After the death of K. Grudinin, who had previously worked as a turner at the Gerhardt enterprise, and after the revolution took part in its nationalization, the mill was named after the deceased communist. The founder of the enterprise himself died on April 21, 1933, after the arrest of the NKVD.
The mill's workcontinued until 1942, the production was stopped by high-explosive bombs that fell on the roof of the enterprise. As a result of their hit in the building of the mill, many workers died. Some of the workers were evacuated, the rest began to protect the city and the strategically important outlet to the river.
1942–1943
The mill continued to faithfully serve its city after the building was taken under the control of a unit of Lieutenant Chervyakov's fighters. In it and the neighboring houses of Pavlov and Zabolotny, the command post of the Thirteenth Guards Rifle Division began to be located. This place turned into the center of a bloody confrontation: the enemy's positions were very close and they were firing incessantly. The building and the people in it stood to death. Even aerial bombs and artillery fire did not break their morale.
Fighters of the Red Army, occupying all-round defense in the besieged mill, fought off enemy attacks for 58 days. Fights were fought for every inch of land. The proximity of the mill to the river was a real salvation for our soldiers. There they made a crossing. During the day, regular shelling was carried out along the river, and even at night it was extremely dangerous to use the crossing, but there was no other way out.
In 1943, a large-scale offensive of our troops began in the area of Mamaev Kurgan, the “January 9” square, which was being shot through, ceased to be the center of fire. Then the soldiers of the Red Army were able to collect the corpses of their colleagues, buried the fallen heroes in the square in a mass grave, and in peacetime they already installed a granitemonument.
Post-war years
In the post-war years, the active restoration of the city began, the Gerhardt mill remained intact. Stalingrad was rebuilt, but several buildings, including the mill, were left as is in memory of the terrible and bloody battle.
Member of the Great Patriotic War Ekaterina Yakovlevna Malyutina said that the city, cleared of Nazi invaders, could be seen from afar. It was ashes and ruins, the stone could not withstand the deadly fire, but the soldiers survived.
The tallest building of the 4th Stalingrad was the ruins of a mill and Pavlov's house, everything else was no higher than the knee. In order to start restoration work, it was necessary to clear the city. So it took a year and a half to clear the territory of the Gerhardt mill and Pavlov's house. Although the building was surrounded by wire, it was difficult to stop curious children. Therefore, fascist shells continued to kill already in peacetime.
For a long time, explosions were still heard throughout Stalingrad, German shells stubbornly did not want to leave Russian soil. But the Soviet people did not despair and took up construction. People lived then often where necessary. For example, in the region of the 2nd Stalingrad, three German bombers remained, and from them they arranged a men's hostel. The restoration of the city destroyed by the war was carried out quickly. Soon people began to move into new houses.
The construction of the Museum of the Panorama of the Battle of Stalingrad began in 1967, now this museum and the buildingmills, without a doubt, are the hallmark of the city. Today, the Gergardt Mill is included in the Museum Complex of the Defense of Stalingrad.
Volgograd is now a flourishing city that does not forget its heroes: local residents regularly visit the burial sites of soldiers who defended their homeland. And the panorama of the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad clearly demonstrates the horror of the battle, and the extent of the destruction, it is difficult to recognize the current Volgograd in the skeletons of mangled buildings. At events dedicated to Victory Day, the surviving veterans tell about those terrible military events with tears in their eyes, and the building of the old mill stands as a symbol of the resilience of our soldiers. Concrete collapsed, stone melted, but people survived!
The mill at the present time
Thirty years ago, the Gergardt mill (Volgograd) was still open for inspection of the building from the inside. Today, fearing collapses and accidents, it is allowed to inspect it only from the outside, and rare excursion groups of journalists are allowed closer. Staircases are closed from curious bars. But even through it you can see what terrible battles took place inside each floor of the building. Conducting tours and talking about those terrible days, museum staff show the holes from bullets and shells on the walls of the building.
It survived thanks to its powerful design, but now its main enemy is time. Therefore, the museum plans to conserve the building and treat it with a hydrophobic coating to protect it from further destruction.
2013
In 2013,a small copy of the sculptural composition of the children's round dance fountain was installed in the mill building. For greater reliability, they wanted to make several potholes on it, then they decided not to spoil the fountain too much and only hit it with a hammer a couple of times.
Guests of the city should definitely visit this sad museum. Gerhardt's mill in Volgograd (the photo cannot convey all the sensations from what he saw) will be remembered by them for a long time.
