INDUSTRIAL INSTALLATIONS IN THE PREROV AREA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000400250001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 2, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 29, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
This material contains LnfortnatioA affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States within the mean-
ing of the Espionage Laws. Title 18. U.S.C. Sees. 793
and 794, the transtnission or revelptjon of which in
any manner to an unauthorised person 1La prohibited
by law.
C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L 25X1
SUBJECT
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRE'
Industrial Installations in the
Prerov Area
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
29 March 1955
C-0-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
STATE ARMY. NAVY AIR
(NOTE. Washington distribution indicated by "X" j Field distribution by " #".)
FBI AEC.
25 YEAR RE-REVIEW
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REPORT
COUNTRY. Czechoslovakia DATE DISTR. 23 Dao 1954
SUBJECT Industrial Installations in the Prerov Area NO. OF PAGES 11
DATE OF INFORMATION
REFERENCES:
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PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
Identification Data:
1. Reference is made to pag
Scale 1', 100,000,.Hranice
1. Prerov.,(N k9-27, E 17-27), with a population of about 22,000
inhabitants,
2. New part of road (point3);was straightened in 1952 and. 1953
to give additional space for expanding the plant area for
Zavod-01 (point b). A road which led from Prerov to Henclov (approx. N 49-17,
E 17-27). It was eight meters wide, had a gravel-packed
surface, with ditches and fruit trees on the sides,
4. Henclov,with about 1,000 inhabitan.td.
A road, non-existent since 1952, which led from the machinery,
plant south to the airfield.
6. Heavy Machinery Plant, Zavod-0l (Prerovske strojirny, Zavod-01).
See paragraph 2,.site layout.
A road which led.fram Prerov to Horni Mostenice (N 49.25,
E 17-28). It was 10 m. wide with an asphalt surface,
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8. Heavy Machinery Plant called Belka, Zavod-03 or 04.
not certain of the numerical designation.
9. Bochor (N 49-26, E 17-25) with about 1,000 inhabitants.
10. Heavy Machinery Plant Vlkos, formerly the private agricultural 25X1
machinery plant., Danek. It was nationalized when the Communists
took over Czechoslovakia. There was one building, brick, C-shaped,
160 in. long along the outer perimeter, 50 M. wide, 10 in. high,
and single-storied.
11. Vikos (N 49-24, E 17-25) with 800 inhabitants.
12. Road between Bochor and Vikos, 10 in. wide, asphalt with ditches
on both sides.
13. Double railroad line from Prerov south to Breolav (N 48-46,,
E 16-53).
2. Reference is made to pager
standard city map of Prerov
for a
sketch based o
1. Road. (Same as point 12, page 9 ).
2. Road. (Same as point 3, page 9).
3. Prerov railroad station, an old brick building, four stories,
200 40 x 20 m.
nationalized it was a foundry which belonaed to a British concern.
Heavy Machinery Plant, Zavod-03, called Hajnik. Before it was
The plant-consisted of one brick building,
x 30x_7 m., single-storied. It remained a foundry after
it was nationalized. one Skoda-76 truck parked
in the yard. in front or the building was a small shed with
a time clock for employees 200 cards. 0
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The factory employed about people, 25X1
moe y women. parachute rope 25X1
was also made there. The factory consisted of one brick build-
ing, 200 x 200 x 10 m. the factory 25X1
received shipments of dry, compressed hemp from China. The
employees used to say, "China has arrived", whenever new ship-
ments of hemp arrived. the hemp packed in 2 0 kg,. 25X1
squares, wrapped in burlap, and tied with metal bands. 25X1
5. Konopa Rope Factor L ko National Enterprise, Zavod-02,
Skodova ulioe. E:
the address on one was written in English? however, 25X1
6.
the origin, of the shipments was unknown. No further information.
Atomic shelter. Construction began in January 1953.
The excavation area
covered approximately 200 x 100 in. South of this area were
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newl uilt homes for civilians.
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this was going to be an atomic shelter
The eonstruet?o
.
n
firm belonged to Dru~stvo zeleznicaru railroad men corporation. 2
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5X
ced
ill
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uy any m
Uar'y branch ? 25X1
the Czechoslovak railways would undertake the financing because
the administrative office for this construction was located
across from the Prerov railroad station where several railroad
offices were 25X1
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T e entrance to the office was guarded 25X1
uy one u r in a ac uniform, black belt, who was armed with
a pistol. The atomic-shelter construction site, itself, was
not guarded. The atomic-.shelter construction site was bordered
on the north by a wall, two and one ialf meters high, on the
east side by a wooden fence two meters high, on the west by a
l
arge nursery, and on the south by a row of civilian homes.
About 10 or more carloads of cement were transferred to the
site by trucks from the Prerov railroad station. 25X1
it was Portland cement but its origin was unknown. The cement
arrived in 50-kg. paper sacks and was stored in large piles
in the open around the construction site. Between January and
May 1953, no excavation was in progress; only tool sheds and
billets for workers were Oryi
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one excavation, 20 in. w e and eight meters deeps 25X1
of an undetermined length, was in progress. About 5 August; 1954
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7. A radio jamming station was located in the former castle,
Zerotin. A museum had been'set up in a building which was
open to the public. In the back of the museum was a tower,
or a bastion, where the jamming station was located. It had.
a round tower on which there was high
c e in January 1954 and was so powerful that it
blocked out all receptiop pf foreign broadcasts.
8. A new bridge which spanned the Becva River. This bridge was
called. Most miru, the Bridge of Peace, and was built in fall
1953. It served as a model for future bridges. The bridge
was 60 m. long and 18 m. wide, including a 2k-meter-wide
pedestrian walk on each side; it had 1.10-meter-high iron
railings of a silver color. The bridge had a capacity of 20 tn.
and was a steel-through-plate girder bridge. Two rounded
concrete ptera, 1.5 meters wide supported the center section
over the river. The end sections of the bridge were supported
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sketch of the Heavy Machinery
identified:
by concrete abutments. Projecting approximately 30 cm. from
each pier were two steel tubes 40 cm. in diameter. These tubes
held dynamite to blow up the bridge in case of war o other
emergency. 25X1
Site Layout:
3. Reference is made to pagell, a
Plant, Zavod-O1 in Prerov, n which
1. A building with an overhead traveling crane. The building was
brick with a shed-type roof; it.was 210 m. long, 20 m. wide.
Inside the building was an overhead traveling crane supported
by tracks, six to seven meters above the floor, 20 m. apart.
The crane, operated by a woman, spanned the entire width of
the room from wall to wall. The tracks. supporting the crane
extended the entire length of the building. The crane's lifting
capacity was five tons, the crane had been 25X1
poorly constructed and that in 1952 an Austrian specialist came
to fix it.
2. Tin shop (plecharna) constructed of reinforced concrete with
flat roof. The building, built in 1953, was 200 x 100 x 14 m.
Opaque-glass bricks below the roof afforded daylight. The
interior of the shop was not completed 25X1
in July 1953. At that time it served as a storage for all
machinery for other buildings. 25X1
four sets of rails for overhead traveling-cranes ""'
p.Lacea iv m. above the floor; three
which weighed 22 to
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about three sheet-metal-cutting 25X1
es capable o cutting sheet metal 60 mm,in thickness and
which rested on a steel plate; five electric welding machines;
and other unidentified machinery. About 250 people worked in
this shop. Twenty women worked as janitors and welders.
3. Administration building, built in 1953,.was brick, three-storied,
160 x 60 x 12 m., and had a flat roof. The main administrative
offices of the plant and the construction or planning department
were located there. Approximately 100 people, including 40
women, worked in this building.
4. A road,..six meters wide with a concrete-slab surface, branched
west from the road (point 12, page 9)and led to the plant area
(point 6, page 9) .
5. A wooden building, 8 x 5 x 10 m. with a flat roof. Concrete
was electrically mixed here and used for the plant's construction.
6. A wooden slope, seven meters long, three meters wide, from which
gravel was unloaded from trucks in front of the building (point 5)
mentioned above.
7. Administration building built of brick, three=storied, with a
flat roof. Its dimensions were 160 x 60 x 12 m. A canteen was
located on the first floor. The third floor housed the StB
with 11 men whose job was to watch for and investigate sabotage,
and, on occasion, to check the employees' personal belongings
at the main entrances (points 14 and 15). 25X1
0 350 - 400 persons were employed in this building. One 25X1
shift was worked.
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Machine shop constructed of concretes 200 x 100 x 14 m., which
had a flat roof with black covering. The floor space was
divided into sections by a mesh wire fence 1.20 m. high. The
sections were:
a. The machinery repair department and three offices for the
'foremen. (inistry), who supervised various departments in the
building. Only minor repairs were performed there. 25X1
to do major repairs on some machinery
^ Thin ^departmentr~vv
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employed 40 men and five women.
b. The lathe department had 20 to 25 lathes of various sizes,
i
ncluding several combination turret lathes. In fall 1953
lathes with five to six meter-long sunnorts_ These long and
gun barrels.
c. A department with 40 vertical milling machines for cogwheels
(ozubene kola). These machines were of different sizes and
of unknown origin. Fifty men worked in this section which
also contained the supply section.
d. This area contained three large boring machines equipped with
an automatic table (automaticky stul). Three large lathes
also had automatic tables and two or three large turner's
lathes called "Schis", six to seven meters high and 9 to 10
m. long. Twelve men worked in this area.
9. Building with overhead traveling crane built of brick which had
a shed.-type roof; it was 210 m. long and 20 in. wide. The crane
tracks were seven meters above the ground, 20 m. apart. The
crane was operated by a woman. This crane loaded and unloaded
material from railroad cars at railroad spur (point 14). It had
a capacity of five tons and spanned the entire length of the
building from wall to wall.
10. Overhead traveling crane on seven-meter-high steel tracks which
extended along the entire length of the building area (400 m.).
11. An area where material was unloaded from railroad cars.
12. A loading and unloading area for trucks.
13. A concrete road four to five meters wide.
14. Railroad spur, single-track, which led from the Prerov railroad
station to the machine shop (point 8).
15. Guard post, located near the main entrance to the factory.
Five guards armed with pistols were on 24-hour duty. They
wore black uniforms with a red band on the left arm. On the
band was a black Z8 initial (Zavodni straz; plant guard).
16. The main entrance for vehicles.
17. The main entrance for pedestrians. Employees were checked by
guards and occasionally by the StB.
18. Mesh wire fence, two meters high.
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Additional Information:
4. Zavod-01 was the newest heavy machinery plant in the Prerov area.
All of its buildings were new. Construction began in 1951 with the
main administration building (point 7, pagell) built first. In July
1953 points 1, 2, and 3 (page 11) were not yet finished. Zavod-Ol,
as well as the other heavy machinery plants in Prerov, had its own
administration buildings and offices.
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5. Zavod-Ol employed about 1,300 people who worked three shifts
(06oo-1400, 1400-2200, 2200-0600). The administrative building
worked only one shift, 0600-1500 in summer and 0800-1700 in winter.
A 30-minute lunch period, from 1130 to 1200 hours,was given six days
a week.
6. in 1952 the first products of the plant were 25X1
seven stone-crushers. In spring 1953 the plant received an order
from an unknown tank factory in Prague to produce certain parts for
tanks. Zavod-Ol also made portable stone-screening machines for a
cement factor in Hranice (N 49-53, E 17-44). In July 1953 2.5X1
the department (point 8d.) was making cast-iron c rculaQ25X1
wheels with an opening of four meters in diameter in the middle. The
outer edge was 40 cm. wide and 50 to 60 cm. thick. The surface of
these circular objects was. smoothed out by the three large lathes
(Schis) and the holes of,four centimeter diameter were bored through.
Zavod-Ol also produced bolts and nuts of various sizes.
7. Raw materials were transported on trucks and railroad cars from the
Prerov railroad station and stored in area (point 10, pagell).
tall kinds o
f iron bars, ingots, and iron in "H" 25X1
ive to 10 tons. 25X1
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no information on flow chart or the output of end products 25X1
He never observed or heard of any shortages of raw material.
10. Office workers, mainly women, were grouped into catewories of A-4
up to A-8. "A" stood for "Administrativni pracovnik' or adminis-
trative worker; they earned from 400 to 900 crowns a month. "T",
of "technicky personal" (technicians) were paid from 600 to 1,600
crowns per month and that category ranged from T-8 to T-14.
11. Only Communist Party members and prospective candidates were required
to attend political meetings once a week for a half-hour. All workers
had to attend regular monthly meetings when political lectures were
given.
12. Zavod-Ol owned one new Skoda-706 truck painted green, one French-made
Peugeot truck of about four-.ton capacity, one British Ford truck of
31-ton capacity. These trucks were borrowed by all the subsidiary
plants. Zavod-Ol also had a Skoda Tudor and a black Tatraplan
passenger sedan.
13. 'The plant had its own firemen and fire equipment but the location
of the fire department in the plant area was unknown
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14. The morale of most of the office workers was average; however, the
morale of employees who worked in other capacities was very low
because of their low wages. They were faced with a reduction in
pay due to the faulty products which originated in the planning
department. about 90% of all personnel were 25X1
against the regime. Personnel consisted of former businessmen,
teachers, office clerks, and students, who were dismissed from
their previous jobs due to anti-Communist feelings or activities.
They were accepted by this plant because the plant needed help very
badly.
15. Working conditions were quite pleasant.. All the departments were
well heated in winter and good lighting had been installed in most
buildings. Locker rooms and showers were plentiful and the ventilating
system was very good. Women who were forced to work as crane operators
were very dissatisfied with their work and suffered from acrophobia.
16. Health among the workers was very good; no special illness predominated.
Welders received extra rations of milk every day.
17. Most of the employees resided in Prerov but some lived in surrounding
towns'and'villages. Commuting was done by bicycle and city busses.
18. Because of the large percentage of anti-r4ime workers in this plant,
sabotage occurred often and, at times, on a large scale. F __1 25X1
in fall 1953 some black and very fine powder had been 25X1
poured into the oil compartment of the three large"Schis"(located
in point 8, pagell) which made the machines d o+erable
for more than a month. Workers purposel aid little attention to
precision in production. millions of crownsP 25X1
worth of damage occurred because precision was not observed. An
StB department was set u (at point pazell) to prevent and detect
sabotage. 25X1
19. Each worker was'required to carry an identification card which was
light brown, 6 x 4 centimeters, on thick paper with a 4 x 5 centi-
meter photograph. These cards were changed once a year. When
workers left the plant during working hours, they had to get an
additional pass (propustka) issued. by their immediate supervisor
stating the reason for leaving; guards at the main entrance stamped
the time of departure and return on the,pass. Visitors'had to
report to the guards at the main entrance and give a reason for
wanting to enter theplant. The guards then telephoned the depart-
ment which the visitor wanted to enter and someone came to escort
him from the gate.
20. All personnel at Zavod-Ol was civilian. never) l any 25X1
fusstad,. military or civilian, enter the p 25X1
groups who
the managing personnel was divided into two o oared''
always fought for higher positions. 25X1
following personalities 2bAl
in 1953:
Fritz (fnu), lived in Prerov on DvoYakova street.
education.
b. Zdenek Zboril lived in Prerov, Amerika restaurant.
and wages departmen
a CP member
g
He was chief of PAM grace a mzdy), work
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e o the technical control section.and Jhad an avera
e
He was employed
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Ladislav Vvoracek resided in Prerov on Pa]ankv 4trPAt
He was employed as chief of technical control fo
d. Marta Nisslova lived in Prerov on Nabrezi nr_ RAnAaP i
Krapl (fnu) lived in Prerov on mvranvse at,raa4-
oreman in a lathe department and was well liked.
f. Todl (fnu) lived in Prerov on Tyrsova street,
construction engineer by profession
. Ladislav Kozacek lived in Preroy-Rilrnvina
a Lail ling- ne operator
h.
Stos (fnu) lived in Bochor.
p an .
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was a 25X1
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He was em to ed as
He was engaged in glider flying.
Communist and an StB member at the
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He was employed as a
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Scale l:lOOxOOOo Hranice
1T? 30
49 3O'
170 201
4+9? 201
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Sketch based on
non-standard city map.
of Prerov
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Sketch of Heavy Machinery
Plant, Zavod-01, in Prerov.
it
Rail: oe pu'
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