WAR-SCARRED AREAS ARE QUICKLY REBUILT

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23582, 9 March 1942, Page 4

WAR-SCARRED AREAS ARE QUICKLY REBUILT

SOVIET REHABILITATION

(From the Moscow Correspondent (By C MOSCOW, February 26. During a tour of 500 to 600 kilometres last week I saw stnking evidence of the Russians’ extraordinary recuperative power and their indomitable spirit. Areas which were under German domination for months and suffered desolation and tragedy are already beginning to revive, , wlth population striving with incredible energy to rebuild from the rums, M. Tarasov, the chairman of the Moscow Regional Soviet, , dur j,"S * special interview, quoted figures which seemed to indicate almost an unbelievably rapid rate of reconstruction. I found during the tour abundant evidence of the authenticity of his calculations. Highways still bear scars of the battles which were fought over them and of deliberate wrecking by the retreating army, but I have not encountered one main highway which has not been restored at least to a fair condition. Many are m excellent order Bridges which were blown up have been replaced with structures described as temporary, -but so solidly made as to be good for years of traffic. Some towns have restored wrecked power plants and water supplies. New schools, hospitals, kindergartens, and supply shops are springing up everywhere. _ . There are towns, such as Istra, which are beyond restoration, but the population from these places are being absorbed in other communities, and helping their new neighbours in tasks of reconstruction. Four Features Impressive features of this activity ■ (i) The rapidity with which organisation has been established to supply the needs of communities practically stripped of all their possessions. While it is admitted that these supplies are not always bountiful, they at least are sufficient to prevent want; (2) The co-ordination of all affected authorities —local, regional, and State —for a combined effort in reconstruction; (3) The enthusiasm and skill witn which all sections of the population respond to the appeal for most intense activity to rehabilitate the reoccupied areas; (4) The implied confidence of the people that they will be able to hold their restored territories in the face of another German attack. The areas from which I have just returned are in the Maloyaroslavets region, in which Napoleon battled against attacking Russians as he retreated from Moscow. ,1 travelled along many roads, examining innumerable crosses marking German graves, and inspecting remnants of tanks and other equipment not considered worth while salvaging. Widespread Destruction While this part, which normally has a population of about 27,000, did not escape a mauling, both materially and in loss of life, it did not suffer nearly so severely as such districts as Lamoshino, where the - ruins of former towns and villages are a common sight. Of 4000 houses in Maloyaroslavets itsejf, only 136 were destroyed. Another 1320 were burned in villages. Community services, such as power and water plants, were wrecked, as they invariably are, however rapidly the Germans retreat, and there was heavy loss of personally-owned cattle and individual possessions. The regional authorities attribute the preservation of so much of the town and so many of the villages to the rapidity of the Russian advance, for which the Germans were not prepared. Nevertheless, it is calculated that the damage in the town amounts to 11,300,000 roubles, and in the villages to about 30,000,000 roubles, with the loss of private possessions amounting to about 70,000,000 roubles. The fact

it of the ‘‘Sydney Morning Herald") Cable.) that so many buildings are still in. tact, however, solves the problem of housing the homeless, which has so strained resources in other areas. With this initial difficulty overcome it is possible to set about immediately on the job of feeding and >-4 ; the population, so that there ( sary labour to get on with the worit ft ' restoration. The advantage which this gives this community over others more seriously stricken is apparent in Maloyaroslavets itself. Life About Normal , Here, little evidence remains either of the German occupation or of the fighting which went on there. Towns, people are moving about their business as though the war has never been. There is little evidence of the damage to buildings. Community services, although restricted, are operating simi. larly to normal. With an appetite , sharpened by a five-hour drive begun early in the morning, I was given an excellent scratch meal of bread still warm from the local bakery, crisp buns, herrings, pickled mushrooms, butter, and tea. My companion also insisted on exchanging toasts with me to Russia and her Allies, in deep draughts of vodka —far too deep fcr my rather inexperienced powers of absorption. He admitted that this treat was permitted only because the occasion warranted it. To reach our destination, we drove through the historic town of Podolsk, which is surrounded by strong de. fensive lines as a barrier on the road to Moscow, into forests in which shattered and torn trees proclaimed that .here grim artillery duels were fought, over new bridges running parallel with the old, past cemeteries of German dead, in which the size of the primitive crosses indicated the ranks of the men who lay below, through hives of industry in which hundreds of men. including members of the Red Army Labour Corps, laboured on reconstruction work. I watched one of these gangs building a new bridge to replace a light, temporary structure, which was sujfl. cient to servo immediate traffic needs. They not only worked with expedition, but with extraordinary efficiency and skill. The main tool of most of them seemed to be the axe, with, which they fashioned roughly-hewn trunks into planks of all manner of desired shapes, moving me to recall the comment of an Englishman with a great • deal of experience here—‘‘Give the Russian an axe and he will do more with it than most people with a kit of tools.” Ersatz Tanks For the first time I saw the remain* of ersatz tanks, which are considered to be one of the worth-while deceptions of modern war, the idea being to mix them in with real tanks to convinee the enemy that you are about six times as strong as you really are, One was able to judge from what remained of them that, with little cost in time, labour, and materials, it is possible 4o concoct a fair representation of what might be mistaken for a tank from a reasonable distance, Whether these particular vehicles achieved the purpose for which they were designed, it is impossible to say.a They looked pitiable enough, flimsy heaps. The materials were sidered not to be worth while salvag- “ ing. Returning at night, we learned how valuable is the work being done to the highways. In clearest moonlight, in which it was possible to distinguish - the shape of bombers droning overhead and which seemed undimmed by the occasional flare which was dropped, we passed a . surprising amount of heavy traffic —convoys making for areas ‘‘somewhere at the front.” We frequently found them halted—heavy lorries and huge trucks—as the guards signalled us to stop and'carefully examined our passes before, flagging us on. Nobody takes any chances on the Moscow road.