Soviet Labor and World War II

FAIN: FA-54371-09

Donald Arthur Filtzer
University of East London (London E16 2RD United Kingdom)

From Stalin to Gorbachev, tensions on the shop floor, although rarely assuming a political expression, played a major role in undermining the stability of the Soviet economy. World War II proved an exception to this pattern. Factory discipline was harsh; living and working conditions were perilous. Urban sanitation systems collapsed under the strain of incoming evacuees. Diet was below subsistence levels, and mortality increased dramatically. Yet despite these privations, Soviet industry managed to produce sufficient weapons to equip its army and defeat Nazi Germany. The project seeks to explain this outcome through a detailed comparison of home front industrial regions.

Associated Products

“Starvation Mortality in Soviet Home-Front Industrial Regions During World War II” (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: “Starvation Mortality in Soviet Home-Front Industrial Regions During World War II”
Author: Donald Filtzer
Abstract: Scholars have long assumed that the extent of starvation of mortality on the Soviet home front was not knowable because of the lack of data. In fact, data from which we can estimate key aspects of starvation mortality are in the archives. The paper shows that the leading cause of urban civilian mortality on the Soviet home front were starvation and starvation-induced tuberculosis, with the primary victims being males between the ages of 30 and 60.
Date: 12/7/2012
Conference Name: “World War II, Nazi Crimes, and the Holocaust in the Soviet Union,” Higher Economic School, Moscow.

“Reluctant Fighters on the Labour Front: Labour Mobilization and Labour Turnover in Soviet Industry During World War II” (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: “Reluctant Fighters on the Labour Front: Labour Mobilization and Labour Turnover in Soviet Industry During World War II”
Author: Donald Filtzer
Abstract: During World War II the Soviet state introduced draconian penalties for unauthorized job-changing: between 3 and 8 years in the Gulag. Although the majority of workers accepted the severe hardships of wartime working and living conditions, a large minority fled their jobs, despite the risks. In fact, an examination of procuracy data shows that only a small minority of those who fled their jobs were ever caught and punished. The position became especially critical during 1944, when high rates of flight virtually nullified the impact of successive labour mobilizations.
Date: 11/22/13
Conference Name: Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Boston, Mass.

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