Organization of summer health campaigns for children in North Ossetian ASSR during the Great Patriotic War (194‒1945)

The relevance . There are a lot of unlit aspects in the study of the Great Patriotic War, especially on social and everyday history and the history of everyday life. One of these issues is the issue of children in extreme wartime conditions. Taking care of children during the war years occupied an important place in the life of the Soviet state, and without a comprehensive study of this problem it is impossible to recreate a multifaceted objective picture of the Great Patriotic War. For the first time, the materials of the Central State Archive of the Republic of North Ossetia Alania on the presented topic are being introduced into scientific circulation. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the work is based on regional material on the history of children's daily life during the Great Patriotic War. The purpose of the study: to study and analyze summer wellness campaigns in North Ossetia during different years of the war, difficulties in organization, and their impact on children's health. The objectives : to reveal the specifics of one of the aspects of children's military daily life – summer health campaigns for children; to characterize the main problems associated with the organization of children's recreation during the Great Patriotic War in the region. Methodology . The principles of objectivity and historicism were applied during the research. The author's use of historical-genetic, historical-systemic, historical-comparative, typological, and retrospective methods contributed to the solution of research problems. Results . The study and generalization of archival sources made it possible to objectively assess the specifics and problems of organizing summer health campaigns for children in the North Ossetian ASSR in the extreme conditions of the Great Patriotic War. Conclusions . Despite the fact that the work on improving the health of children, organizing their recreation and leisure in wartime conditions faced organizational difficulties and had certain disadvantages, it brought positive results. Staying in summer health camps, at organized sites with additional meals, affected the health of weakened children. Unfortunately, the conditions of wartime did not allow this work to be carried out on a larger scale with the service of all children who needed food, rest, and care.