Organization and Holding Sanitary and Epidemiological Measures in Stalingrad and Separate Districts of the Stalingrad Region (1942–1943)

Abstract

Introduction. The victory at Stalingrad was secured not just by actions on the fronts. An important role was played by social activities, including health care for the population and the army and the fight against epidemics. Despite this, not all areas of sanitary and anti-epidemic work carried out in Stalingrad have been studied comprehensively. Methods and materials. The source base for the study was archival materials stored in the central and Volgograd regional archives. Among them are the documents of the central and regional state authorities on the sanitary condition in Stalingrad and the epidemic measures being carried out in it. In the work on the article, comparative-historical and statistical methods, the method of source study, structural-diachronic and system analysis were used. Analysis. In the frontline and liberated from occupation areas of the Stalingrad region, an extremely unfavorable sanitary condition was noted. This inevitably led to the spread of infectious diseases – cholera, tularemia, typhoid and typhus, malaria – and caused the need for urgent anti-epidemic measures. Sanitary clearing of the city, cleaning and burial of corpses, restoration of water supply, expansion of the network of medical institutions, provision of baths and deodorant chambers, mass sanitation and immunization of the population, organization of soap production in the region were considered as priorities. The work of emergency anti-epidemic commissions was restored. Results. The anti-epidemic measures implemented in Stalingrad during the war made it possible to prevent the spread of acute infectious epidemic diseases.