WAKE OF THE NAZIS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 30 April 1942, Page 3

WAKE OF THE NAZIS

| TRAIL OF DESOLATION ■ MOSCOW SOVIET I-IEAHS REPORT ' 1 ,- «>r .1 I* i uf a cenlui v llw Soviet «.f Workers' Deputies has administered I the alTair: uf the city of Moscow In those 25 years the Soviet, lias lived .! Hum- 1.i,1 few'month-. .Jointly wit.li I the- inililar.v authorities it organised j tin? defence of the city, focussing and directing all the tremendous energy i displayed by the people of the capital In the premises of the Moscow Soviet. . an old palace formerly occupied by the i Czars' governors, work went on day and I night. German planes continuously ■1 raided the building. Members of the , Soviet were in charge of everything connected with the defence of the be . leaguered capital: the building of for . (ideations, care of the factories. city t : supplies, evacuation, transport. Now. when the immediate danger i threatening Moscow is over, the activi - I , ties of the Moscow Soviet do not cease : for a moment. One of its main tasks |to day is the provision of relief for _. I the districts of the Moscow region de- ( | vastated by the Germans. DELEGATES RETORT , j The Moscow Soviet convened a spec I ial conference to deal with this quesj lion. Representatives from all the . stricken districts were invited to atI | tend. Each reported on the situation , | in his region. 1 ! The pictures they painted were al- , | most identical. The invader had destroyed practically the whole basis 1 ; of economic life in their areas. | Agriculture suffered a tremendous '; blow. The Germans burnt thousands iof farmsteads, collective farm stores, I cattle stalls and granaries. The dele- ‘ j gate from the Istra district told how GO of the 155 collective farms in the area ' I had been burnt to the ground; 2.000 ‘ farmsteads,had been destroyed. In the district of Solnechnogorsk, north of the capital. 3.000 out of 4.500 farmsteads were totally burnt and de--1 ; stroved. In the Vyssokovsky district j 541 farmsteads were burnt and a numj’ber of villages completely wiped out. I The figures of damage are enormous. EVERY FACTORY BLOWN' L’F The same thing happened to industry. The Germans blew up the buildings of ail factories evacuated before their entry. They destroyed a number of textile mills, including several very large* ones, such as the mills at Yakhroma. ' Narofominsk and Vyssokovsk. The Volga-. Moscow Canal, one of the most important achievements of the ; Soviet Five-Year Plan, was damaged. A number of smaller constructions were also destroyed, including many local enterprises for the production of foodstuffs and handicrafts. The delegates reported on live innumerable schools burnt or blown up by the Germans. Ninety-six schools were demolished in the districts of , Solnechnogorsk. Zvenigorod. Krasnopolvansk. Klin. Vyssokuvo and Scrpoukhov. These are only a few of the Moscow districts which were under German occu^ Wherever ike G,:. an -ulriier- stayed they destroyed library's and vast num—--1 bers of books —which to their great ns~ : tonishment : hey fount 1 in every Soviet 'village. They used them as fuel. The children's nurseries organised by the | farmers in nearly every large collective ; farm were burnt down. A number of hospitals were demolished, j The reports continue. The delegates speak calmly and deliberately. But their voices sound somehow like those of public prosecutors demanding a sen- 1 •! fence of death on a criminal. j jSENTENCE WILL BE PRONOUNCED | The Deputies for the City of IVIos- j ! cow are silent. They sit there in im- j I movable attitudes, looking with close ; attention at the speakers. But on their i faces there is an unbreakable resolution: to present this account, together ; with the terrible sentence, to him who i is the author of this devastation, i The conference agenda is not exhausted by the reports of the destruction caused by the Germans. The main discussion deals with the quickest possible methods of bringing back life to the desolated places. Every district reports what has already been done n this respect. Work is forging ahead everywhere, j The most grievous wounds arc to be 1 healed first. Starved and robbed people must be given food. AI read. 139 j good-sized shops have been opened .'n j j the liberated districts, in audition u> j 27 mechanised bakeries and 12 large} j dining halls. Bread, foodstuffs, textile and other goods are daily brought • ! ! these areas from the capital. MOSCOW DOCTORS GO TO COUNTRYSIDE The medical institutions oic rapidly being leslored to working order, oo per cent of the hospitals and ambulances! are again functioning; 150 doctors have been sent from Moscow to render first aid. Children's homes have been opened, and are already housing over 2,000 boy.- and girls who lost, their parents as a result. <>f the Gcrman atrocit.ics. Hard work is proceeding for the restoration of industry. The deputies reported tluit. 57 local industrial enterprises have already been put into operation. 210 more local enterprises, which I will employ 10.000 workers, will be re- ■ established .shortly. [ Assistance is being rushed to collective farmers who have lost everything. | They must be enabled to restart proj duct ion without delay. From all parts of the Soviet. Union seeds are flowing j to the liberated districts for the spring | sowing. Automobiles drives up daily. | loaded with parcels of clothing—gifts j from the Moscow workers. Teams of | carpenters are constantly arriving \o I build new houses. Tractors and liar- | v esting machines are being prepared for spring work in the fields. The delegates' reports are finished. \ ; piece of history—which the Russian | people will never forget lias been rej counted. The session of the Moscow ; Soviet resumes its accustomed aspect. : The deputies discuss detail .