Description
Medal for Distinguished Labor #15043 Type 1
Awarded to Mechanic-Instructor of NVRP, Petr Aronovich Grinberg (Петр Аронович Гринберг)
For his work at the Lower Volga river shipping company during the Battle of Stalingrad!
He was one of the 74 Volga water workers receiving government awards
Made of solid silver and enamels. The medal itself measures 32.02 mm in diameter, 36.25 mm in height including its eyelet and weighs 16.8 grams without and 25.4 grams with its suspension. The solid silver suspension measures 33.19 mm in width at its top and 27.52 in height. Its eyelet is 4.88 mm wide. The reverse shows the stamped letters ‘No’ followed by the engraved serial number ‘15043’. The minimum known serial number for this variation is 3 and the maximum 15052. Note that this is one of the last known examples of this variation!
In an excellent, well above average condition with its details crisp. Even the raised parts like the lettering show light wear only. The red enamels are extremely well preserved without flaking or repairs. The silver suspension is original to the medal as is the ‘MONDVOR’ screwplate. The medal shows a medium patina on both sides and its connection ring has not been cut. The silver plated brass screw has not been shortened and there have been no repairs to the medal.
The handout protocol:
I, the head of the executive committee of Stalingrad region Soviet workers deputies, ZIMENKOV I.F., on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet union, handed out the orders and medals to the bestowed.
Bestowed for execution of missions assigned by the government and the military command for transportation of military and civil cargoes (decree of 06 September 1943) …
medal “FOR VALIANT LABOUR”
58. award № document № GRINBERG Petr Aronovich 15043 024336 Mechanic-teacher of NVRP (Lower Volga river shipping company)
The full translation of the handout protocol can be read here
An article in the newspaper ‘Izvestia’ writes the following:
The rivermen of the Lower Volga can rightfully be called siblings of the glorious defenders of Stalingrad. During the days of the gigantic battle at the Volga stronghold, when the enemy cut the path to Stalingrad, the Volga remained the only artery that fed the heroic city. And the Volgars showed in the formidable months of the defense of Stalingrad that they know how to stand up for Mother Volga.
Under hurricane artillery and mortar fire, under enemy bombs, the rivermen flawlessly supplied the valiant defenders of Stalingrad with everything they needed. On light Volga vessels – river buses, tugboats, barges, steamboats, thousands of tons of shells, guns, tanks, cars were transported across the mined river to the center and factory part of the city, soldiers and nurses, food and medicine were transported, and the wounded were taken out of the city on return flights, valuable property.
Seasoned combat commanders of the Stalingrad Front spoke with love and admiration about the heroic work of the riverine men. Their services were highly appreciated by the government: 74 water workers received government awards.
Now the Stalingrad rivermen are again preparing for a combat exam before their homeland. The Volga regions are waiting for navigation on the Volga, and the whole country is waiting.
…The Volga was still covered in ice, but numerous signs already announced the approaching spring ice drift. In some places the snow was cleared and the ice turned blue, gullies appeared, and the ice cover began to crack slightly even under the feet of pedestrians.
Above the longboat, frozen in the ice, rises a complex structure made of thick logs. Chains with powerful iron hooks hang from the piles like garlands, and mountains of broken ice are piled all around. On the hull of the longboat there is an inscription: “Energetic.”
German shells and bombs pierced the hull of the tugboat, demolished the cabins, smashed the deck, and disabled the vehicles. Choking, the ship sank. And now the wounded veteran of the Stalingrad defense is pulled out from the depths of the Volga and stands in the backwater for major repairs. Countless holes have already been repaired, the stern is being repaired, small parts are being restored on site, and larger parts are being repaired in the workshops of the ship repair yard.
– Good longboat! “I once sailed on it,” says mechanic Gladkov with love and pats the longboat on the pipe in a friendly manner, like an old comrade. – We’ll fix you and serve your homeland and people!
Detachments under the leadership of comrade. Kovalenko did a lot of work on the winter recovery of ships, ferries and cargo that sank on the Volga in the Stalingrad area.
The vessels raised from the bottom of the river by the selfless work of divers, riggers, and sailors will be returned to service by the Lower Volga River Flotilla during the current navigation. Rivermen and ship repairers spare nothing in order to bring back to life every rescued boat and barge, and to repair the surviving vessels in an exemplary manner.
The fleet spent the winter where it was caught in the ice. The ship’s crews, preparing for navigation, carried out extensive icebreaking work and brought every single vessel to safe places where they could not be damaged by the spring ice drift.
Despite the difficulties and unprecedentedly tight deadlines, the Astrakhan shipyards, named after Artem and named after Uritsky, Vladimir, Kamyshin, and Nikolsk ship repairers successfully completed the repair plan. The Krasnoarmeysky ship repair plant of the city of Stalingrad was restored and began repairs.
The team of the heroic Stalingrad shipyard is fulfilling the repair plan with honor. During the days of the defense of Stalingrad, the plant went underground and, in conditions of fierce hostilities, did not stop helping the front for a minute. Workers converted peaceful river boats into combat minesweepers, restored damaged armored boats of the Volga military flotilla, and repaired damaged tugs and barges. Repair work was carried out not only in underground workshops, but also at the site of accidents on the Volga, under enemy fire.
Stalingrad ship repairers are working just as heroically now. In the January frosts, workers used skids to transport parts from ships to their workshops 30-40 kilometers away. In the most difficult conditions, the Stakhanovite Vlasov gives 3-4 norms per shift for the repair of hulls and boilers, the turner Ovchinnikov gives more than 3 norms. Straining every effort to successfully complete the repairs, the factory team did a lot of work to restore the plant destroyed by the Germans.
Preparations for navigation in other areas of the Stalingrad basin are also being completed. The port and track facilities are being prepared. Reconstruction teams are building berths, putting access roads and warehouses in order, repairing and installing cranes, conveyors and other mechanisms for loading and unloading operations, and completing training courses for machine operators, receivers, taxi operators, and cashiers.
The glorious Stalingrad rivermen are helped to overcome the difficulties of preparing for navigation by watermen from all over the country. All Volgarians are covered in the patriotic movement to help the port of Stalingrad. Rybinsk port machine operators are preparing corner turns for piece cargo, the Kuibyshev pier team is repairing conveyors, feeders, electric motors, transformers and has pledged to build a new conveyor belt. Gorky residents report their readiness to ship the required amount of plywood, Saratov residents report on the shipment of a plate conveyor with the first steamship, and workers and employees of the Kozmodemyansk pier report on Sunday workers working to help the port of Stalingrad.
The Volga has opened up… Joyfully welcoming the native Volga, which has shed its ice cover, and impatiently awaiting the arrival of the first caravans from the lower reaches, the rivermen swear not to disgrace their honor, and give their word to conduct the second military navigation in Stalingrad style.
https://inomoderator.livejournal.com/662436.html (scan of the original article in the picture gallery)
More information on Grinberg can be found here
Also included in the picture galelry is an infosheet on the book ‘Volgars in the Battles for Stalingrad’ mentioning Grinberg
Hard to find and with a very interesting link between a civilian awards and the Battle of Stalingrad
Please contact us with questions
