Facing the Fire (Litsom k Ognyu): The Elite Steelworkers' Team of Hero of Socialist Labor Dmytro Halushka

1970 · history · Amateur Film Studio of the Dniprospetsstal Plant · History Museum of PJSC Dniprospetsstal

An exceptional archival amateur documentary film titled "Facing the Fire" (Litsom k Ognyu), produced in 1970 by the Amateur Film Studio of the Dniprospetsstal special metallurgy plant. The film focuses on the intense daily operations, high-tech steel production, and social dynamics of the elite electric steelmaking brigade led by Dmytro Fedorovych Halushka, a legendary plant figure, Hero of Socialist Labor, and Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF DMYTRO FEDOROVYCH HALUSHKA (1929–1998): - Early Life & Training: Born on October 1, 1929, in the village of Mala Tokmachka (Orikhiv district, Zaporizhzhia region). He began working in 1944 at a local collective farm and entered the Factory Training School (FZO №9) of the Dniprospetsstal plant in 1946 to specialize as an assistant steelworker. - Lineage of Mastery: Upon graduating in 1947, Halushka entered the shop floor under the direct mentorship of Mikhail Semyonovich Semikopenko—the country's famous first pre-war Stakhanovite steelworker at the plant. Halushka was a direct participant in the historical milestone: the first post-WWII melt of Zaporizhzhian electric steel on October 26, 1948. - Technical Innovator: Within less than a year, Halushka became an independent steelworker. He was a pioneer in adopting new metallurgy tech, being among the first at the plant to master stainless steel manufacturing using oxygen lance blowing and implementing the oxygen tuyere. - The "Thousand-Tonners" Movement: Renowned for his labor organizing skills, Halushka famously transferred to trailing, underperforming factory brigades four separate times, successfully transforming each into an elite, front-ranking team. He initiated the prominent "Thousand-Tonners" (Tysyachnyky) labor movement, pledging to produce at least 1,000 tons of high-quality steel over the state plan annually per brigade. - Transnational Exchanges: Halushka represented Ukrainian metallurgy in numerous high-profile "Melts of Friendship" (Plavka Druzhby), including joint operations with the Elektrostat plant near Moscow, the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant (1972, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the USSR), and the Dnipropetrovsk Petrovsky Plant (1975, celebrating the 50-millionth ton of steel melted in the Ukrainian SSR). - Legacy: Awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor in 1966, alongside the Order of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. He spent 35 years at Dniprospetsstal, training dozens of apprentice steelworkers before retiring in 1982. He passed away on October 9, 1998. CONSERVATION & PRODUCTION METADATA: - Digitization: Digitized from original master reels by the specialists of the Center for Urban History in Lviv (LivArch). - Archive: The physical film master and extensive personal files are permanently preserved in the collections of the History Museum of PJSC "Dniprospetsstal" in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. This documentary is an invaluable primary source for global researchers focusing on labor history, the sociology of the Soviet working-class elite (Labor Aristocracy), technological history of stainless steel induction melting, and post-war industrial visual culture in Ukraine. Original YouTube link: https://youtu.be/-wIhX_rEWXo Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JuryRylsky Curator Contact: rylskiju62@gmail.com / rylskii.iurii@dss.com.ua