Reconstruction

Question 1

Damage to society:

1) what percentage of people killed in the war were men?
2) What fraction of all young males killed?
3) By 1946 women outnumbered men by __ million at a ratio of ?:?
4) What happened to number of children in post 15 education?

Answer 1

1) 70% of people killed in the war were men
2) 1/3 of all young males
3) by 1946 women outnumbered men by nearly 22 million at a ratio of 4:3
4) the number of children in post 15 education was reduced. This had implications for a trained workforce

Question 2

Society By 1950:

5) Children in pre 15 education- reduced or increased?
6) Women in the workforce- success and a failure?
7) Alongside the looting and rape that took place following the defeat and occupation of Germany…

Answer 2

5) children in pre- 15 education was restored
6) more women in the workforce but less well paid and in less senior positions
7) Alongside the looting and rape that took place following the defeat and occupation of Germany… the NKVD organised the wholesale export of industrial and scientific equipment including German technicians and their families to the soviet union

Question 3

Industry: 4th 5 year plan:

8) when?
9) what was emphasis on?
10) a) what did the plan slightly succeed in?
11) investment in capital goods increased by?
12) by 1950…
13) conversion of what?

Answer 3

8) 1946-1950
9) emphasis on heavy industry and capital goods
10) plan slightly succeeded in exceeding pre war levels.
11) investment of capital goods increased by 21%
12) by 1950, oil, coal electricity and steel production exceeded targets]
13) conversion of armaments factories into durable goods production (radios, clocks, bedsteads) up 250%

Question 4

By 1950: issues:

14) conditions:
15) Who argued that ‘the physical demands of the War snapped the energy out of the Soviet people’ and what remained disappointing?
16) what remained below pre war levels?

Answer 4

14) conditions worsened and restrictions tightened.
15) Graeme Gill- and growth rates remained disappointing.
16) consumer goods remained below pre war levels.

Question 5

Issues with Agriculture:

17) The agricultural workforce:
18) How bad was the grain harvest 1950?
19) what was reimposed or newly imposed?
20) when was there a famine and where?
21) What remained very low while what increased?

Answer 5

17) Many young men had left the villages to look for work in towns, leaving an ageing, largely female workforce
18) poor grain harvest 1950
19) collective farms were reimposed and newly imposed in new Baltic states
20) serious famine in Ukraine 1946
21) State payments for grain remained very low while price of basic commodities increased tenfold

Question 6

What played a minimal role in recovery of the economy?

Who estimates what?

Answer 6

Reparations played a minimal role

Davies estimates this contributed to about 1.5% of the GNP

Question 7

1928-55:
fall in agriculture as part of economy
rise in industry as part of economy:

Answer 7

47-20%

20-37%