Exhibitions on women drivers of the Great Patriotic War opened at major railway stations of Belarus
At the major railway stations of our country, thematic exhibitions have opened, which are dedicated to the heroic work of women drivers and their assistants in the world.
At major railway stations of our country, thematic exhibitions have opened, which are dedicated to the heroic work of women drivers and their assistants during the Great Patriotic War and in the postwar period. This was reported in the press center of the Belarusian railway, writes sb.by.
The project, dedicated to the Year of the Belarusian Woman, is designed to pay tribute to those who, on an equal basis with men, ensured the work of the steel line, as well as to preserve the historical memory of their selfless work. The stands feature 16 portraits of railway women who changed light dresses to rough work clothes and proved that courage is not divided by gender.
“During the war years, these fragile girls stood at the levers of heavy locomotives, working on flights for 40-50 hours without sleep, under bombing, but invariably bringing the convoys with ammunition and food to their target. They worked as stokers, freezing in the icy wind, and as machinist assistants, ensuring the proper operation of all mechanisms, the press center noted.
Among the heroines of the exhibition is Maria Goldstein, an employee of the Minsk branch of the railway, who received the rights to operate a locomotive in 1931. During the war, she became commander of a platoon of a special reserve locomotive column. During the Battle of Stalingrad and Kursk, she carried about 1,000 trains to the front without a single victim in the brigade.
Anna Vashchilko at the age of 16 became an assistant engineer. She worked in the frontline zone, was seriously wounded in the bombing, but returned to service. Until the end of the war, she worked in a field workshop, restoring damaged equipment. Her entire working life was spent in the Gomel locomotive depot (now the locomotive depot of Gomel), where she became the head of locomotive brigades.
Elena Chukhnyuk chose the profession of a machinist before the war, drove heavy trains to Orsha, Mogilev, Chernigov. She actively participated in the Stakhanov-Krivonosov movement. In 1941, she was awarded the title of “Honorary Railwayman”. With the beginning of the war, she remained in the front line and drove trains with military cargo in the locomotive column No. 4 of the special reserve.
These are just a few examples of the many stories presented in the exhibition. “Each of these women is a symbol of fortitude and dedication for the entire Belarusian Railway,” the press center said.
The expositions will run until December 30.
