Geography of the USSR. Smolensk under the german occupation

[TabsTabs1964]

Its design was in the typical Stalinist style







For some time, there was also a German surgical clinic on its ground floor.



The place was left intact again after the German evacuation. Today it is the Yunona shopping center on current Gagarin Avenue.

[wpheaton]

Is there a Gagarin Ave. in every former Soviet City?

[TabsTabs1964]

Hello William. Good question

Yuri Gagarin was born near Viazma, in the Smolensk Oblast. Perhaps that is the reason why this important street in the city has that name: Prospekt Gagarina.


Gagarain visits Smolensk in 1966

Of course he was a very popular character during the 60s in the USSR and he was for several generations.

So in many cities of the former USSR a street bears his name (I just saw that in Kiev an avenue is called that)

Another thing is what he would think if he could see the current appearance ... for example of the building of the department store in Smolensk

[wpheaton]

I have been going to Brovary, Ukraine for the past 25 years. Their main streets are Gagarin & Independence St. They also have a Kyivskaya, road to Kyiv which is also the road to Moscow going the opposite direction. I am sure there are so many Gagarin st. because of his great popularity for beating the Americans into space. Many of the former streets of Kyiv & Brovary have had their names changed from Russian heroes to Ukrainian.

[TabsTabs1964]

Market in Sennaya Square (the place of the traditional hay market)









The sign reads: Members of the Wehrmacht are strictly prohibited from entering the market

[TabsTabs1964]

Look at the abacus....

[toot]

you have gotton this guy sold on the site. I cannot wait for them to come in. you should make them into a book! I would be the first in in line for one!!

[TabsTabs1964]

Thank you very much for your comment: this weekend I hope to upload some more things to the thread.

Santi

[TabsTabs1964]

Today we will talk about a series of large buildings that, as they remained almost undamaged during the bombardment for the conquest of the city, were occupied by the Germans, especially as barracks and accommodation for the occupation forces.



German soldiers in formation in the courtyard of their new headquarters in Smolensk. Summer 1941



Another German barracks in Smolensk



The courtyard of the house number 47 on Krasninskoe avenue

From the first moment of the ocupation, the best buildings were selected and occupied. In general they were on the roads out of the city, far from the center that was severely bombed



This building that did not survive the war on Bolshaya Chernushenskaya Street



It was blown up in the German retreat in 1943

[TabsTabs1964]

These images of a multitude of wood stove chimneys emerging from the windows of the German barracks, are frequent







We have already discussed the explanation. The Russian winters of 1941 and 1942 were very harsh, with extremely low temperatures. And although the buildings were in good condition, this was not always the case with their central heating systems; That is why numerous wood stoves were installed in the many rooms of these barracks.

Of course there was always a constant job: chopping and chopping wood for the winter.

Here a group of photographs of German soldiers sawing and chopping wood in front of a large building in Smolensk, we assume that was where they were staying.