Volgograd to this day keeps a 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 exhausted but victorious people 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 still alive.
Description
Gergardt's Mill is a silent witness who survived the desperate battle of the Soviet people with 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 mill in Volgograd has an interesting pre-war story that began back in 1899, when businessman Alexander Gerhardt from the German colony Straub in the Novouzensk district of the Samara province received a patent for the construction of a flour mill. Already in the summer of 1900, the Gerhardt mill appeared on the outskirts of Tsaritsin. Then began the production and sale of flour.
Gergardt Mill in Volgograd. History
In the fire of 1907, the mill burned to the ground almost. But in May 1908 it was rebuilt again, 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 the Gergardt mill seems to be completely made of red brick only from the outside. The internal equipment was also distinguished by high technologies for that time. Own generator allowed the enterprise to avoid interruptions due to lack of electricity, and mechanical conveyors increased productivity. There was also a granary, a boiler room and a finished goods warehouse. The Gergardt industrial complex, except for the flour mill, included oil mill, bakery and fish-oil production.
1911-1942 years
By the beginning of 1911, the enterprise already brought a decent income, and 78 workers worked in production, the shift of which lasted ten and a half hours. After the 1917 revolution, Gergardt's 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 Gergardt factory, and after the revolution took part in its nationalization, the mill was named after the deceased communist. The founder himself died on April 21, 1933, after the arrest of the NKVD.
The mill continued its work until 1942, the production of high-explosive bombs that fell on the roof of the enterprise stopped production. As a result of their entry into the mill building, many workers died. Partially working people were evacuated, the rest began to defend the city and strategically important access to the river.
1942–1943
The mill continued to faithfully serve its city after the building was taken under control by a unit of soldiers of Lieutenant Chervyakov. The command post of the Thirteenth Guards Rifle Division began to be located in it and the neighboring houses of Pavlov and Zabolotny. This place turned into the center of a bloody confrontation: the enemy’s positions were very close and fired on without ceasing. The building and the people in it stood to death. Not even air bombs and artillery fire broke their morale.
The soldiers of the Red Army, who occupied a circular defense in the besieged mill, fought off enemy attacks for 58 days. Fights were fought for every inch of land. The close proximity of the mill to the river was a real salvation for our fighters. There they made a crossing. Regular shelling was carried out along the river during the day, and even at night it was extremely dangerous to use the crossing, but there was no other way.
In 1943, a large-scale offensive of our troops began in the area of the Mamayev Kurgan, through the sweeping area of January 9th, it 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 on the square in a mass grave, and in peacetime they already erected a granite monument.
Post-war years
In the post-war years, an active restoration of the city began, the Gerhardt mill remained untouched. Stalingrad was rebuilt, but several buildings, including the mill, were left as they were in memory of a terrible and bloody battle.
The participant of the Great Patriotic War Malyutina Ekaterina Yakovlevna told that the city, cleared of Nazi invaders, was visible from afar. It was an ashes and ruins, the stone could not stand the deadly fire, and the soldiers survived.
The tallest building of the 4th Stalingrad was the ruins of the mill and Pavlov’s house, everything else was not above the knee. In order to begin restoration work, it was necessary to clear the city. So it only took a year and a half to clear the territory of the Gergardt mill and Pavlov’s house. Although the building was surrounded by wire, curious children were hard to stop. Therefore, the fascist shells continued to kill in peacetime.
For a long time, explosions were still heard all over Stalingrad; German shells stubbornly did not want to leave Russian soil. But the Soviet people did not despair and set about building. People lived then often where necessary. For example, in the area of 2nd Stalingrad, three German bombers remained, and it was from them that they arranged a male dormitory. The restoration of the city destroyed by the war was carried out quickly. Soon, people began to move into new homes.
The construction of the panorama museum of the Battle of Stalingrad began in 1967, now this museum and the mill building are, without a doubt, a visiting card 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 scale of the destruction in the skeletons of mangled buildings is difficult to recognize the current Volgograd. At events dedicated to Victory Day, the surviving veterans with tears in their eyes talk about those terrible military events, and the building of the old mill stands as a symbol of the resilience of our fighters. The concrete was crumbling, the stone was melting, but the people survived!
Mill at the present time
Thirty years ago, the Gergardt mill (Volgograd) was still open for viewing the building from the inside. Today, fearing collapses and accidents, they are allowed to inspect it only from the outside, and rare excursion groups of journalists are allowed closer. Staircases are closed from the curious bars. But even through it you can see what terrible battles took place inside each floor of the building. Guiding tours and talking about those terrible days, museum staff members show potholes 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 preserve the building and treat it with a hydrophobic coating to protect it from further damage.
year 2013
In 2013, a small copy of the sculptural composition of the fountain was installed near 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 a couple of times with a hammer.
Guests of the city must visit this sad museum. Gergardt's Mill in Volgograd (the photo cannot convey all the sensations from what he saw) will be remembered by him for a long time.