The Presidential Library to mark the 80th anniversary since the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad: the house that became a fortress

80 years ago, on July 17, 1942 the Battle of Stalingrad began. It became a turning point in World War II and one of the biggest battles in history.

In the publication The Great Battle of Stalingrad (1943) it is noted that “when Nazi troops arrived at the walls of Stalingrad, they had a great advantage… <…> But Stalingrad stood, formidable and severe.”

The multi-day defence of a residential building in the centre of the city became one of the most vivid examples of the heroic battle of the defenders of Stalingrad. This house, which became a symbol of resilience, heroism and military feat, made history as the legendary Pavlov’s House.

For 58 days, the garrison held the defence, fighting off numerous attacks of fascists. The documentary of the Russian Historical Channel Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov, 1917-1981 from the Heroes of Victory cycle tells about this heroic deed in detail.

On the personal map of General Paulus, this ordinary Stalingrad four-storey building was marked as a “fortress”. The Nazis believed that it was guarded by a whole battalion. The casualties of the Germans, who tried to occupy the house, surpassed their casualties in the attack on Paris.

The house was located on the central square of Stalingrad and was supposed to serve as a stronghold. At the end of September 1942, Commander of the machine gun unit of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 13th Guards Division Yakov Pavlov got a combat mission – to scout out the building. Pavlov and three other soldiers managed to chase the Germans out of the building and to hold the control of the house for more than two days.

Then, the reinforcements arrived – a machine gun squad, a group of AT-riflemen and submachine gunners. The number of defenders increased to 24 people. All roads to the house were mined, and the trench was built, which was used to deliver food, machine guns, mortars, anti-tank weapons, ammunition, as well as to evacuate the citizens hiding in the basement of the building. A field telephone was installed in the house.

“For the defensive work, we recruited citizens who stayed in the house. The Germans repeated their attacks every day from 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. The enemy’s planes didn’t bomb much, because the Germans were too close to us. Still, we were attacked by the mortar and artillery fire every day”, – these recollections were published in the book by the participant of the Battle of Stalingrad Mikhail Vodolagin The Great Battle of Stalingrad (1944). Pavlov and his comrades counterattacked the Germans with heavy fire.

The garrison of the house controlled all of the streets leading to the square and did not allow the Germans to move forward. The heroic defence of the fortified strategic stronghold lasted 58 days – until the liquidation of the German troops in Stalingrad area. On one of these days, on October 17, Pavlov turned 25…

The Russian Army was the first one to learn about the heroic deed of the Red Army soldiers who held the defence of the building for almost two months. Then the whole country found out and, finally, the whole world. The Pavlov’s House became the first building to be reconstructed in dilapidated Stalingrad: its official reconstruction began on June 9, 1943, just three months after the liberation of the city. So began the revival of Stalingrad. In 1985, marking the 40th anniversary since the Victory of Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, a memorial wall-monument was installed on the house. The inscription on it says: The feat of military and labour merged together in this house.

Yakov Pavlov went through the battle path to Elbe. On June 27, 1945 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.