Development of personnel at the Kaliningrad Rail-Car Manufacturing Plant in 1946—1951: quantitative and qualitative dynamics
- DOI
- 10.5922/vestnikhum-2026-1-6
- Pages
- 77-91
Abstract
Using the example of the Kaliningrad Rail-car Manufacturing Plant, the article analyzes personnel policies and the composition of the workforce at industrial enterprises in the USSR during the early postwar period. The objective of the study is to identify key problems and the dynamics of workforce formation amid postwar devastation, a shortage of qualified personnel, and the challenges of reconstructing a new Soviet region. The methodology, based on a comprehensive analysis of the enterprise’s archival materials (including statistical reports and personnel orders) as well as publications in the local periodical press, allowed for a comparative analysis of the data and the identification of discrepancies between them. The main findings indicate that, despite the rapid growth in staff numbers and production volumes, the plant constantly faced a severe shortage of skilled workers, high staff turnover, and low effectiveness of the training system through factory schools. The labor of the German population and prisoners of war played an important role in the establishment of the plant. The conclusions demonstrate that personnel instability and lack of qualifications became key factors limiting the sustainable development of the enterprise in the postwar decade.