Everything for the front! All for victory!
A delegation of collective farmers of the Leninsky district of the Moscow region transfers to the Red Army tank the Moscow collective farmer convoy, consisting of 21 KV-1C tanks. December 1942
Every sixth plane or tank in the USSR during the years of World War II was built on personal contributions. Soviet society and people not only gave their lives, forces and working hours to the struggle against the dark force of Nazism, but also reinforced the economic opportunities of the state with their last savings.
All for victory!
With the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet leadership and the Communist Party were able to mobilize, raise the whole people to a holy struggle against a terrible enemy, whose victory threatened the entire Union and people with complete destruction. The slogan "Everything for the front! All for victory! ” was mentioned in the directive of the Council of People's Commissars (the government was then called) of June 29, 1941. He was publicly proclaimed by Stalin on July 3, 1941 during a speech by the Soviet leader on the radio.
In the name of the highest and sacred goal - the defense of the Motherland, all the peoples of the Soviet Union rose. A single spiritual impulse increased the material strength of production and weapons. On the initiative of the people at the very beginning of the war, the idea of forming a Defense Fund was born. On July 29, 1941, the newspaper Pravda published a short note, "Workers Offer to Create a Defense Fund." The Defense Fund itself was established on August 1, 1941. In all branches of the USSR State Bank, special accounts were opened to which voluntary contributions were received. People donated their personal savings, royalties and government bonuses, government loan bonds, winnings on loans and lotteries, funds from the sale of crops, from spent Sundays (collective voluntary work on Sunday or other non-working hours), gold, silver and other jewelry, etc. e. Donors refused in favor of the Fund from their payment for donated blood.
The people immediately responded to this idea. So, on July 31, 1941, the staff of the Moscow factory “Red Proletarian” appealed to the people with an appeal until the end of the war to monthly pay one-day earnings to the Defense Fund. On August 3, 1941, the Pravda newspaper reported that a mass Sunday of railway workers had passed, more than 1 million people participated in the event. All earnings, 20 million rubles, were transferred to the Defense Fund.
Funds were raised by the whole world. Workers and office workers, engineers and technicians, teachers and doctors, science and art workers, communists, Komsomol members and believers, clergy, collective farmers and pioneers donated their earnings and savings. The great Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov became the initiator of the movement among the Soviet intelligentsia. In the very first days of the war, he handed over the Stalin Prize of the first degree in favor of the Foundation - 100 thousand rubles (bread then cost 3 rubles, Shpagin submachine gun, PPSh - 500 rubles). The poets Alexander Twardowski and Vasily Lebedev-Kumach passed Stalin's prizes of the second degree - 50 thousand rubles. The designers Alexander Yakovlev, Vladimir Klimov and Sergey Ilyushin donated their funds to the Fund. In 1942, at the personal expense of Samuil Marshak, Viktor Gusev, Mikhail Kupriyanov, Porfiry Krylov, Nikolai Sokolov (Kukryniksy - the creative team of Soviet graphic artists and painters), and Sergey Mikhalkov built and transferred the Red Army tank KV-1 "Ruthless".
Crew members of the KV-1 “Merciless” tank, built at the expense of the artists Kuryniksov (M.V. Kupriyanov, P.N. Krylov and N.A. Sokolov) and poets: V.M. S. Tikhonov, S. Ya. Marshak. The tank was built at the expense of artists and poets who received the Stalin Prize and donated it to the defense fund. On May 25, 1942, at a ceremonial rally in the presence of Marshak, Mikhalkov and Kukryniksov, the tank was transferred to the 6th Guards Tank Brigade (later the 23rd Separate Guards Tank Yelninskaya Red Banner Brigade). The combat vehicle was in service for a total of 9 months, the first time was hit in March 1943 during offensive battles in the Oryol region. At the same time, the tank crew suffered losses - the commander, senior lieutenant Pavel Maksimovich Khoroshilov, and the commander of the tank’s gun, guard foreman Alexei Ivanovich Fateev died. The damaged tank was sent for repair and re-commissioned, but on August 31, 1943 it was hit a second time near Yelnya and was no longer recovering.
Attack aircraft IL-2 return from the mission. On the fuselage of the nearest aircraft there is an inscription: “Avenger”. Aircraft IL-2 with hull number 25 "Avenger" was built at the expense of the chairman of the collective farm. Stalin, the village of Avdalar of the Kotayk district of the Armenian SSR, Grigor Tevosyan, whose two brothers died in the war. He contributed 100 thousand rubles for the purchase of a combat aircraft. This Il-2 flew Hero of the Soviet Union Nelson Stepanyan, also an Armenian. N. S. Stepanyan during the war made 239 successful sorties, destroyed personally and in a group of 53 enemy ships. He died in battle on December 14, 1944 near Liepaja of the Latvian SSR. Posthumously March 6, 1945 re-awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union
Flamethrower tank KV-8C from the tank column "Labor reserves to the front." In 1942, with the funds raised by the pupils of the vocational schools of the entire Union, a convoy of thirty tanks was created. With the inscription "Labor reserves - to the front!" in December 1942, combat vehicles entered battle near Stalingrad
Column "Dmitry Donskoy" on the day of the transfer of the army. March 1944. District of Tula.
The whole world
Tanks, combat aircraft, torpedo boats, submarines and armored trains were built with folk money. The Soviet peasant collective farmer Ferapont Golovaty, on the sale of honey (it was very expensive), collected 100 thousand rubles and contributed them to the construction of the aircraft. “Everything that I earned with my honest work on the collective farm,” Ferapont wrote in a telegram addressed to Stalin, “I give it to the Red Army ... Let my war machine smash the German invaders, let it bring death to those who mock our innocent brothers Soviet people. Hundreds of squadrons of military aircraft built on the personal savings of collective farmers will help our Red Army quickly clear our sacred land of German invaders. ” It is worth noting that in the family of Golovaty, two of his sons and three sons-in-law went to the front.
In January 1943, the Yak-1 fighter plane with a dedicatory inscription on board to the pilot of the Stalingrad Front Guard Major Eremin from the collective farmer of the collective farm "Stakhanovets" comrade Golovaty "was transferred to the Saratovian Major Boris Eremin (later Lieutenant General aviation, The hero of the USSR). Yeryomin went the battle path from Stalingrad to the Crimea, was never shot down, but after the liberation of Sevastopol the combat vehicle was decommissioned due to its technical condition. The plane was sent to the Saratov Museum of Local Lore. The Golovaty family decided to buy another plane. The amount was collected by the whole family, relatives and close people. In May 1944, the Yak-3 fighter was again handed over to Major Eremin. There was an inscription on the car: "From Ferapont Petrovich Golovaty, 2nd plane to the final rout of the enemy." The combat vehicle passed without damage the final stage of the war. Eremin celebrated Victory Day in Prague.
Pilot B.N. Eremin on the Yak-1 fighter with the inscription “To the pilot of the Stalingrad Front Guard Major Eremin from the collective farmer of the collective farm“ Stakhanovets ”comrade Holovaty. " Boris Nikolaevich Eremin (1913-2005) during the war years made 342 sorties, conducted over 100 attack flights of enemy positions, participated in 70 air battles, shot down 23 German aircraft (8 in person, 15 in the group). Twice he was shot down, twice wounded. He has been awarded many awards, including six orders of the Battle Red Banner. Twice (in 1944 and 1945) was introduced to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but this title was awarded only in 1990
F.P. Golovaty and B.N. Eremin at the Yak-3 fighter, May 1944
Maria Oktyabrskaya, a tanker soldier, thundered throughout the country. Her husband, the regimental commissar, died in the summer of 1941. Maria began to seek to be sent to the front. However, she was refused: health problems and age (36 years). Then she and her sister sold all the valuables and things and began to engage in embroidery (tablecloths, scarves, napkins, etc. went well in the bazaar). Collected 50 thousand contributed to the construction of the T-34. And she turned to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin with a request:
"" "In the battle for the homeland, my husband died - regimental commissar Ilya Fedotovich Oktyabrsky. For his death, for the death of all Soviet people tortured by fascist barbarians, I want to take revenge on fascist dogs, for which I have contributed to the State Bank for the construction of the tank all my personal savings - 50 thousand rubles. I ask you to call the tank “Battle Friend” and send me to the front as the driver of this tank. I have a specialty as a driver, I have a good command of a machine gun, I am a Voroshilov shooter. I send you warm greetings and wish you long, long years to fear the enemies and the glory of our Motherland. ”
Stalin gave the go-ahead. Maria studied at the Omsk Tank School, became the first woman in the country as a tank driver. Since October 1943, she fought on her tank. In January 1944, in a fierce battle, she was seriously wounded, and went to the heavenly regiment on March 15, 1944. Posthumously - Hero of the Soviet Union.
The transfer of the T-34 tank "Battle girlfriend" to the crew of the Sverdlovsk bread and pasta factory. 93rd tank brigade. Winter of 1943
There were many such examples. Individuals and whole collectives sacrificed everything they had to bring victory closer. The Russian clergy, led by Patriarchs Sergius and Alexy, raised over 300 million rubles. With these funds, the Dmitry Donskoy tank column and the Alexander Nevsky air squadron were built. Komsomol members of Altai raised funds for the tank column "Altai Komsomolets", Omsk - "Omsk Komsomolets", Novosibirsk Region - "Novosibirsk Komsomolets", in the Primorsky Territory, the armored train "Primorsky Komsomolets" was built. In 1943, Muscovites raised 400 million rubles for the Moscow aviation compound and the Moscow tank column. At the expense of Komsomol members and youth of Altai in 1943 for the Baltic fleet built five torpedo boats: Altai Komsomolets, Young Altai, Pioneer Altai, Komsomolets Oirotii, Barnaul Komsomolets.
At the expense of the Komsomol members of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region in 1942 the tank column "Irkutsk Komsomolets" was built. In 1943, a second column was built. In total, 12 million 360 thousand rubles were collected for the construction of tanks in the Irkutsk region. Due to the funds raised by the residents of Tataria, the tank column "Red Tataria" was created. In the summer and autumn of 1942, during the battle of Stalingrad, the staff of the Perm Plant named after F. Dzerzhinsky for personal savings acquired a squadron of Dzerzhinets aircraft, the staff of the Stalin Plant - squadron "Stalinets".
As a result, Soviet citizens in general donated 94,5 billion rubles to their homeland. This is 16% of the direct costs of the war. That is, approximately every sixth plane and tank was built on public contributions.
A column of Soviet KV-1 tanks is sent to the front, to defend Moscow. These KV-1 “Happy New Year” tanks were made at the expense of citizens and transferred to one of the tank units by the Komsomol members of the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant. December 1941
Transfer of T-34 tanks "Moscow Pioneer" to the soldiers of the 215th separate tank regiment. The tanks were built with funds raised by pioneers and schoolchildren in Moscow and the region. Pictured: pioneers Ida Kharakh (right) and Nina Tsarkova present gifts to lieutenant Stanislav Vasilievich Przhevusky (b. 1922), senior sergeant Ivan Naumovich Gorbunov (b. 1914) and lieutenant V. Sadikov. Autumn of 1942. These tanks fought near Rzhev, Orel and Sevsky.
The Soviet pilot stands on the wing of the Yak-9 registered fighter with an inscription in Ukrainian: “View of the working people of Kiev to the front” (“From workers of the city of Kiev to the front”). 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. 1944
Transfer to the troops of the Yak-9 fighter "Kursk collective farmer" on the airfield in Ryshkovo. 12 fighters were built at the personal expense of the collective farmers of the Kursk region. The Kursk collective farmer squadron fought as part of the 355th regiment of the 181st fighter-aviation division of the 2nd Air Army. 1944
Government war loans
These were not all financial flows. Citizens of the USSR filled up the People's Commissariat of Finance with letters demanding an extension of the subscription to government loans of the third five-year plan. In fact, this loan was the first military loan. 300 million rubles worth of bonds were placed on it in mid-July, in addition to 10,3 billion that were received before the start of the war.
In 1942, the First State Military Loan was issued. Its volume is 10 billion rubles, the repayment term is 20 years. Interestingly, the bonds were placed even in the occupied territory - through the underground and partisans. Hundreds of thousands of rubles came from the occupied territory to the Soviet treasury. The loan replenished the Soviet treasury by more than 13 billion rubles. Then each year one military loan was issued. In June 1943, a decree was issued on the issuance of the Second State War Loan. The amount of the issue amounted to 12 billion rubles. A total of 20,8 billion was collected by subscription. The third state military loan of 1944 was issued in the amount of 25 billion rubles and gave the Soviet treasury 28,9 billion rubles.
The last loan began to be placed in May 1945. The fourth military loan was also allocated for 25 billion rubles and raised 26,7 billion rubles. War bonds were winning. Their repayment and income payments were expected twice a year, the winnings ranged from 200 to 50 thousand rubles. If the bonds did not win, they were redeemed at par. But the main motivation, in contrast to the bonds of the First World War, when it was a profitable investment at 5,5% per annum, was the desire to help their Fatherland. The maturity of the bonds was 20 years, that is, from a financial point of view, their purchase was meaningless. In total, over the years of the war, the treasury using bonds received about 100 billion rubles with a total military expenditures of 586 billion.
Funds were also raised to the budget through monetary and clothing lotteries. In total, four lotteries were held. It was also a contribution to the overall victory. On November 27, 1941, the Soviet government decided to hold the first all-Union monetary and clothing lottery. Tickets worth 10 rubles were issued in the amount of 1 billion rubles. The highest winnings were 10 tickets for 50 thousand rubles, 40 for 25 thousand each. Valuable items were also played: astrakhan ladies coats, fox and fox foxes, carpets, gilt and silver watches, cigarette cases, cuts on men's and ladies' suits, men's and women's shoes, writing instruments, etc. In 1942-1944, three more lotteries were held. In total, during the war years, tickets worth over 13 billion rubles were purchased, of which 10,4 billion were transferred to the army.
In total, with the funds of military loans and lottery tickets (not counting the funds of the Defense Fund), the Soviet Union fought over 220 days out of 1418 days of World War II!
In the Soviet Union there was also a “military tax” introduced in December 1941. This was not an innovation of red Moscow. A similar tax existed in the Moscow kingdom and the Russian Empire - for the maintenance of the army, and then the fleet. During the Great Patriotic War, each adult Soviet citizen annually gave to the treasury from 150 to 600 rubles. In 1942, financial revenues amounted to about 45 billion rubles. In favor of the army was a tax on single and childless citizens. Revenues from commercial trade introduced in 1944 went entirely to the army. Cash flow was limited. People had the right to withdraw from their savings books no more than 200 rubles. State financiers actively raised funds for deposits, this was especially noticeable at the front.
The ceremonial transfer of a column of T-70 tanks and BA-64 armored vehicles took place on May 1 Square (now named after M. Gorky) in Gorky. Fundraising for the construction of military vehicles was carried out by members of the Dynamo Society of the Gorky Region. December 1942
Tank T-34 "Marshal Choibalsan" of the tank column "Revolutionary Mongolia" with a landing on the march. Tank from the 44th Guards Tank Brigade. GAZ AA passing truck is visible in the frame. The tank column "Revolutionary Mongolia" was built with funds raised by the inhabitants of the Mongolian People's Republic. Column tanks (32 T-34 and 21 T-70) January 12, 1943 became part of the 112th Red Banner Tank Brigade (October 30 renamed the 44th Guards Tank Brigade)
Pupils of school No. 19 of the Avtozavodsky district of the city of Gorky near armored vehicles (T-70 tank and armored car BA-64) from the Avtozavodsky schoolchild column. JV Stalin sent a telegram to the pupils of school No. 19: “I ask you to send my warm greetings and thanks to the Red Army to the workers and students of the incomplete secondary school of the Avtozavodsky district of Gorky, who collected 20000 rubles for the construction of the Avtozavodsky schoolboy” tank. ” 1943
The collective farmer of the Red Ray agricultural cartel, the village of Ivankovo-Lenino, Alatyr district, Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Andrei Mikhailovich Sarskov (in the center of the picture in a cap) transfers a Li-2 transport plane, built with the raised funds, to fellow countryman Hero of the Soviet Union Fedot Nikitich Orlov
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