Our division took part in liberating Budapest. The attack commenced on the 5thof December 1944 in the area to the north-east from Budapest and the city itself was captured on the 5thof February 1945. There were long battles. We encircled the city and positioned on two banks of Danube. We succeeded in the first stage of our attack: we broke though German positions and moved forward. The infantry was ahead, followed by artillery. The commandment was reported on the breakthrough. Tank army also joined us to support the breakthrough. I was on the outskirt of a hamlet in the observation point and saw our tanks moving in two rows along the highway. The hamlet was practically taken, only couple German tanks hid away there. Those tanks opened fire on our column of tanks. Some of our tanks were punctured and started burning. They could not support infantry. I understood that the next stage would be firing at the hamlet from long-range artillery weapons. It was not known whether Germans would suffer from that, but we definitely would suffer. I sent a soldier for him to reach our buttoned up tanks and making a use of the radio connection I reported that the hamlet was practically taken by us. I also added that there was commandment of the rifle regiment and asked our gun soldiers not to fire at us. It was hard for the soldier to cross the territory under fire, but he managed to do that and sent the message like I asked. We remained alive the troops made a precipitant advance and approached Budapest. There was enough distance to fire at the city. Though we lacked the shells, there was enough for us to make 4 salvoes at the outskirts of Budapest. When the capital was captured, Hungarians finally joined our troops and subordinated to the general commandment. I remembered another case. During our stay in Hungary local people, Hungarians, came over to me asking to protect them from Romanians, who were killing and raping. I had to send my soldiers to protect the civilians.
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Vladimir Tseitlin
![](/themes/custom/centro/flags/ru.svg)
In 1944, when we were in Subcarpathia [33], I felt Jewish solidarity and assistance for the first time. I decided to take a picture with other officers and send the photo to my parents. We went to the photo saloon, but its host, an elderly Jew, said that he would not be able to take our pictures as he ran out of photo materials, We were about to leave and then the host asked whether I was a Jew. I did not look like a true Jew, so I was surprised by the question. I said that I was a Jew. Then he said that he would take only my picture by using his reserve and would not spend precious materials on the others. I was really taken aback, there were no things like that in USSR. It was the first time I thought that Jews must have survived because they had been supporting each other in the course of many generations.
,
1944
See text in interview
There were other funny stories. We fought on the territory of the Western Ukraine for the city of Ivano-Frankivsk [about 1500 km to the south-west from Moscow]. The city was defended by Hungarians. The war was winding and Hungarians were aware of it. So, they tried to be on our side and not to resist. That is why Germans sent their squads trying to stop our attack. Germans sent the tanks against us and we were running out of shells. Only three shells left and those were smoke shells. Smoke screen was not a toxic smoke, but a stinky one. We had no choice but to shoot with them. There were clouds of smoke and when the smoke was dispersed we saw Germans getting out of tanks and stampeding. They must have thought that they were burning and left the tanks. Our infantry rushed to the tanks to get the trophies.
There was also an interesting case at the forced crossing of Dnepr during attacking the town of Stanislav, Khersonsk oblast [about 1200 km to the south-west Moscow]. When our infantry was crossing Dnepr, German bombers were strenuously bombing the crossing. Our troops were plainly visible and we did not have aircraft guns to bring down German planes. Then the division commander suggested that I should make a fraudulent maneuver. We had shells with remote control explosives in our ammunition sets. These were the shells which could be exploded in any trajectory point of their flight. They were meant for the troops. The shell exploded at the distance of 10m before the trenches, where the infantry was hiding so that the fragments of the shells hit the infantry. So we had to calculate at what distance the shell was to explode at the right time. We made one trial shot. Zenith blasts were usually bright and light, but this one turned out to be a dark cloud. After making trial shots I adjusted the data and we made couple of shots on the planes, but they were a little bit more advance, above the infantry. The shell flew off and exploded in the adjusted point. We would not be able to bring down a plane with such a shell, but we just scared off the Germans. They thought that there was no zenith artillery at the crossing and then all of a sudden there were such powerful blasts among the planes. German bombers turned back and flew away.
There was also an interesting case at the forced crossing of Dnepr during attacking the town of Stanislav, Khersonsk oblast [about 1200 km to the south-west Moscow]. When our infantry was crossing Dnepr, German bombers were strenuously bombing the crossing. Our troops were plainly visible and we did not have aircraft guns to bring down German planes. Then the division commander suggested that I should make a fraudulent maneuver. We had shells with remote control explosives in our ammunition sets. These were the shells which could be exploded in any trajectory point of their flight. They were meant for the troops. The shell exploded at the distance of 10m before the trenches, where the infantry was hiding so that the fragments of the shells hit the infantry. So we had to calculate at what distance the shell was to explode at the right time. We made one trial shot. Zenith blasts were usually bright and light, but this one turned out to be a dark cloud. After making trial shots I adjusted the data and we made couple of shots on the planes, but they were a little bit more advance, above the infantry. The shell flew off and exploded in the adjusted point. We would not be able to bring down a plane with such a shell, but we just scared off the Germans. They thought that there was no zenith artillery at the crossing and then all of a sudden there were such powerful blasts among the planes. German bombers turned back and flew away.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
Shelter squads were also under NKVD. Those troops were established by NKVD. They consisted of armed NKVD employees, who were to follow military subdivision. They were supposed to make sure that no deserting would happen and not to let anybody in the rear. They had power to kill the running soldier on spot. Deserters were caught. Sometimes they had to go through martial court. At times they were shot depending on the circumstances. Such shelter squads were made of loyal communists and Komsomol members. They acted very ruthlessly, even too ruthlessly.
Closer to the end of war, two officers, senior lieutenants, who were previously in penalty squad, came to our regiment. They were wounded, therefore restored in rank and sent to us. They were good fighters and our soldiers treated them with respect. One of the officers said that their penalty battalion consisted of 4000 people. They were ordered to break through the river Danube in Budapest. After they succeeded in their task, only 200 survived out of 4000. They were rehabilitated and restored in rights.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
Like in the peaceful times we were under the ‘omniscience eye’ of NKVD. Its subdivisions SMERSH [32] were founded. There was no less than one NKVD representative in each regiment. Usually there were more than one. Those ‘warriors’ had to divulge the spies and diversionists. They did not take part in the battles. They worked with military personnel, picked the stooges who reported on anti-soviet dispositions and talks. They were not respected in the army. Besides, penalty battalions were also under NKVD command. Such battalions consisted of volunteers out of criminals and militaries condemned with the martial court for different misdemeanors. Officers were reduced in ranks and sent to the penalty battalions and soldiers and sergeants were sent to the penalty squads. The soldiers of the penalty battalions fought to death or until they were wounded in the battle. After being discharged from the hospital they were sent to ordinary military units. It was called ‘to wash off the guilt with blood’. I had to come across with those battalions. There were times when penalty squad was taking position on the left flank. Penalty squads were also sent for pre-battle reconnaissance. It meant that they were supposed to depict the attack under insufficient support from artillery in order to determine what kind of German forces were focused on that site. Of course, most of the penalty squad soldiers died. Upon their death, their families were reported that they were exonerated ‘guilt was redeemed by blood’. Fortunately, none from our regiment was in the penalty squad. Closer to the end of war, two officers, senior lieutenants, who were previously in penalty squad, came to our regiment. They were wounded, therefore restored in rank and sent to us. They were good fighters and our soldiers treated them with respect. One of the officers said that their penalty battalion consisted of 4000 people. They were ordered to break through the river Danube in Budapest. After they succeeded in their task, only 200 survived out of 4000. They were rehabilitated and restored in rights.
Shelter squads were also under NKVD. Those troops were established by NKVD. They consisted of armed NKVD employees, who were to follow military subdivision. They were supposed to make sure that no deserting would happen and not to let anybody in the rear. They had power to kill the running soldier on spot. Deserters were caught. Sometimes they had to go through martial court. At times they were shot depending on the circumstances. Such shelter squads were made of loyal communists and Komsomol members. They acted very ruthlessly, even too ruthlessly.
Shelter squads were also under NKVD. Those troops were established by NKVD. They consisted of armed NKVD employees, who were to follow military subdivision. They were supposed to make sure that no deserting would happen and not to let anybody in the rear. They had power to kill the running soldier on spot. Deserters were caught. Sometimes they had to go through martial court. At times they were shot depending on the circumstances. Such shelter squads were made of loyal communists and Komsomol members. They acted very ruthlessly, even too ruthlessly.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
During the war we did not have to liberate concentration camps and we did not come across any of them on our way. I found out from press about atrocities of Germans towards Jews. Those things were not often covered in papers, many details remained unrevealed. They treated me pretty good in the army. There was no anti-Semitism. The issue with nationality was not brought up in the front.Armenians, Georgians, Uzbeks etc. were fighting together. Only in years after the war we found out that there were orders to confer Jews as less awards as possible, not to promote them in rank or confer high ranks.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
We were awaiting attack from Germans in the vicinity of Kursk [Kursk battle] [30] [about 500 km to the south from Moscow] and were getting the staff renewed because the army had a lot of casualties after the Stalingrad Battle and each front got the order to send a certain number of battle-seasoned gunners in the vicinity of Kursk. I and other gunners were dispatched to Kursk from the northern front. We came to the headquarters in Kursk. All of us were distributed to different armies, wherefrom we were sent to divisions. I came to #41 artillery regiment of rifle division. Kursk battle was over, when I was catching up with the regiment. Germans were vastly retreating and our troops were to persecute them until reaching Dnepr. When I joined them, bridgeheads had been captured. I was on the major bridgehead to the north from Kiev: it was the attack point. In October 1943 there were fierce battles. We started artillery preparation. Kiev was attacked on the 3rdof November 1943 and on the 6thof November it was captured. It took us hard to take Kiev. Germans were counterattacking trying to undermine our assault. There were a lot of casualties, but nonetheless we captured Kiev on the 6thof November. Our division was conferred the title Kievskaya. I did not enter the city, we went past it on the North. At that time I did not know anything about the mass fusillade of Jews in Babi Yar [31].
Then Zhytomir [about 650 km to the south-west from Moscow] was liberated. But Germans were counterattacking and captured Zhytomir once again. They tried to push us in Dnepr. Our division was besieged. It was fearsome. I was afraid not to be held in captivity. I did not know how our soldiers captured by Germans were treated in our country, but I knew for sure that Germans exterminated Jews. We broke through the siege, resisted German’s attack and started assaulting. We liberated Zhytomir, right-bank Ukraine and moved forward. I had stayed in that regiment by the end of war. I was promoted in rank - now I was senior lieutenant. I joined the party during the war. It was mandatory for the officers, besides the procedure of entering the party was simplified .
Then Zhytomir [about 650 km to the south-west from Moscow] was liberated. But Germans were counterattacking and captured Zhytomir once again. They tried to push us in Dnepr. Our division was besieged. It was fearsome. I was afraid not to be held in captivity. I did not know how our soldiers captured by Germans were treated in our country, but I knew for sure that Germans exterminated Jews. We broke through the siege, resisted German’s attack and started assaulting. We liberated Zhytomir, right-bank Ukraine and moved forward. I had stayed in that regiment by the end of war. I was promoted in rank - now I was senior lieutenant. I joined the party during the war. It was mandatory for the officers, besides the procedure of entering the party was simplified .
,
During WW2
See text in interview
I was the senior officer of the battery. Our regiment was called SCR - supreme commandment reserve. The regiment was armed with 122-mm howitzer. It was heavy artillery. In 2 weeks our squad was sent to the north-western front. We appeared in the region Staraya Russa, in the vicinity of Demyansk [about 500 km to the north-west from Moscow]. In Demyansk our troops besieged Germans but did not manage to do away with them as Germans broke through the siege. Our task was to exterminate German groups. I happened in the period of January-February 1943. We had fought in that area by spring and forced the river Glavat and took a defense position.
War is a daily hard labor. The artillery did not attack, but it did not mean that we were safe. We were frequently bombed by aviation and fired by the artillery of the adversary. German reconnaissance planes must have noticed our firing points. There were times when our positions were fired by the entire division over open sights. Of course, during the firing we hid in the shelter, but there were wounded. When we were taking positions, our life was getting calmer and more gradual. We lived in the dugs-out or in the huts. If the land was dry, we made the dugs-out. If it was not possible, we made log huts. Then logs were laid with stones for them not to be hit with fragments and shallow shells. Sometimes we settled in the houses of the local citizens, sometimes we had to live in the trenches. There were all kinds of things.
War is a daily hard labor. The artillery did not attack, but it did not mean that we were safe. We were frequently bombed by aviation and fired by the artillery of the adversary. German reconnaissance planes must have noticed our firing points. There were times when our positions were fired by the entire division over open sights. Of course, during the firing we hid in the shelter, but there were wounded. When we were taking positions, our life was getting calmer and more gradual. We lived in the dugs-out or in the huts. If the land was dry, we made the dugs-out. If it was not possible, we made log huts. Then logs were laid with stones for them not to be hit with fragments and shallow shells. Sometimes we settled in the houses of the local citizens, sometimes we had to live in the trenches. There were all kinds of things.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
From the very beginning there were a lot of casualties in the lines. In 1942 the last reserve was drafted, people born in 1892, i.e. those who turned 50. They were not drafted before. Youth from Middle Asia were also drafted: Uzbeks, Tajiks. They were not drafted in the tsarist nor in the Red Army. There were people who fought in WW1 among the draftees of 1892. They knew how to handle the rifles. It was hard with the people from Middle Asia. It was required that well-prepared people were in the artillery and I taught Tajiks and Uzbeks every day. I told them what howitzer and cannon were, how to load the shells and other things. It was a hard task as many of them did not understand Russian.
I was the senior officer of the battery. Our regiment was called SCR - supreme commandment reserve. The regiment was armed with 122-mm howitzer. It was heavy artillery. In 2 weeks our squad was sent to the north-western front. We appeared in the region Staraya Russa, in the vicinity of Demyansk [about 500 km to the north-west from Moscow]. In Demyansk our troops besieged Germans but did not manage to do away with them as Germans broke through the siege. Our task was to exterminate German groups. I happened in the period of January-February 1943. We had fought in that area by spring and forced the river Glavat and took a defense position.
War is a daily hard labor. The artillery did not attack, but it did not mean that we were safe. We were frequently bombed by aviation and fired by the artillery of the adversary. German reconnaissance planes must have noticed our firing points. There were times when our positions were fired by the entire division over open sights. Of course, during the firing we hid in the shelter, but there were wounded. When we were taking positions, our life was getting calmer and more gradual. We lived in the dugs-out or in the huts. If the land was dry, we made the dugs-out. If it was not possible, we made log huts. Then logs were laid with stones for them not to be hit with fragments and shallow shells. Sometimes we settled in the houses of the local citizens, sometimes we had to live in the trenches. There were all kinds of things.
We were well fed in the front. We did not starve. There were times when the army was moving forward and the suppliers did not catch up with the army, so nutrition was worse. Sometimes we were given 100 grams of vodka before the fight. Vodka was given by number of soldiers. Every day there was a report about the number of the aligned soldiers. Food and vodka were given in accordance with that list. Soviet holidays were marked in the lines: 1stof May, 7thof November. When we were on the defense positions, we had a tastier dinner and got more drinks.
Our battery consisted of about 100 people and 4 howitzers. The howitzer squad consisted of 8 soldiers and one commander. Battery commander was on the observation point and we fired from the closed firing positions as per his order. The observation point was prepared beforehand. The trench was dug, stereotelescope communication lines were installed. When the target was noticed the data was provided to make artillery calculations. As a senior officer I took the orders of the battery commander and gave instructions on the spot regarding aiming at the target and the timing of the firing. The fire position with cannons and howitzers was 2-3 km away from the leading edge, behind the shelter. Our howitzers were transported by American haulersstood-backers, delivered from the USA in accordance with lend-lease [Editor’s note: lend-lease is the system of transfer (loan or lease) of weaponry, ammunition, strategic raw materials, provision etc.; supplies in terms of lend-lease were made by the USA to the ally-countries on anti-Hitler coalition in the period of the WW2. The law on lend-lease was adopted by the USA Congress in 1941]. We received stood-backers during the forming and howitzers were supplied from the plants. Howitzer was agoodweapon, producedatour plant. The production of this weapon was launched in1938. It is not obsolete even now in terms of operational parameters. It is a very powerful weapon being able to shoot at the distance of 12 km. After the war the howitzers were purchased from us in the entire world. They still use them somewhere in Africa, because they are so good. Army ammunition warehouses were 50-100 km away from the front. Ammunition was transported to the warehouses by railroad transport and suppliers delivered it to the regiment. When we were in defense position, remaining at one and the same place, ammunition was supplied on time. When we were attacking and moving quickly to the West of Ukraine, there was no timely supply. At times we ran out of shells.
We were awaiting attack from Germans in the vicinity of Kursk [Kursk battle] [30] [about 500 km to the south from Moscow] and were getting the staff renewed because the army had a lot of casualties after the Stalingrad Battle and each front got the order to send a certain number of battle-seasoned gunners in the vicinity of Kursk. I and other gunners were dispatched to Kursk from the northern front. We came to the headquarters in Kursk. All of us were distributed to different armies, wherefrom we were sent to divisions. I came to #41 artillery regiment of rifle division. Kursk battle was over, when I was catching up with the regiment. Germans were vastly retreating and our troops were to persecute them until reaching Dnepr. When I joined them, bridgeheads had been captured. I was on the major bridgehead to the north from Kiev: it was the attack point. In October 1943 there were fierce battles. We started artillery preparation. Kiev was attacked on the 3rdof November 1943 and on the 6thof November it was captured. It took us hard to take Kiev. Germans were counterattacking trying to undermine our assault. There were a lot of casualties, but nonetheless we captured Kiev on the 6thof November. Our division was conferred the title Kievskaya. I did not enter the city, we went past it on the North. At that time I did not know anything about the mass fusillade of Jews in Babi Yar [31].
Then Zhytomir [about 650 km to the south-west from Moscow] was liberated. But Germans were counterattacking and captured Zhytomir once again. They tried to push us in Dnepr. Our division was besieged. It was fearsome. I was afraid not to be held in captivity. I did not know how our soldiers captured by Germans were treated in our country, but I knew for sure that Germans exterminated Jews. We broke through the siege, resisted German’s attack and started assaulting. We liberated Zhytomir, right-bank Ukraine and moved forward. I had stayed in that regiment by the end of war. I was promoted in rank - now I was senior lieutenant. I joined the party during the war. It was mandatory for the officers, besides the procedure of entering the party was simplified .
During the war we did not have to liberate concentration camps and we did not come across any of them on our way. I found out from press about atrocities of Germans towards Jews. Those things were not often covered in papers, many details remained unrevealed. They treated me pretty good in the army. There was no anti-Semitism. The issue with nationality was not brought up in the front.Armenians, Georgians, Uzbeks etc. were fighting together. Only in years after the war we found out that there were orders to confer Jews as less awards as possible, not to promote them in rank or confer high ranks.
Like in the peaceful times we were under the ‘omniscience eye’ of NKVD. Its subdivisions SMERSH [32] were founded. There was no less than one NKVD representative in each regiment. Usually there were more than one. Those ‘warriors’ had to divulge the spies and diversionists. They did not take part in the battles. They worked with military personnel, picked the stooges who reported on anti-soviet dispositions and talks. They were not respected in the army. Besides, penalty battalions were also under NKVD command. Such battalions consisted of volunteers out of criminals and militaries condemned with the martial court for different misdemeanors. Officers were reduced in ranks and sent to the penalty battalions and soldiers and sergeants were sent to the penalty squads. The soldiers of the penalty battalions fought to death or until they were wounded in the battle. After being discharged from the hospital they were sent to ordinary military units. It was called ‘to wash off the guilt with blood’. I had to come across with those battalions. There were times when penalty squad was taking position on the left flank. Penalty squads were also sent for pre-battle reconnaissance. It meant that they were supposed to depict the attack under insufficient support from artillery in order to determine what kind of German forces were focused on that site. Of course, most of the penalty squad soldiers died. Upon their death, their families were reported that they were exonerated ‘guilt was redeemed by blood’. Fortunately, none from our regiment was in the penalty squad. Closer to the end of war, two officers, senior lieutenants, who were previously in penalty squad, came to our regiment. They were wounded, therefore restored in rank and sent to us. They were good fighters and our soldiers treated them with respect. One of the officers said that their penalty battalion consisted of 4000 people. They were ordered to break through the river Danube in Budapest. After they succeeded in their task, only 200 survived out of 4000. They were rehabilitated and restored in rights.
Shelter squads were also under NKVD. Those troops were established by NKVD. They consisted of armed NKVD employees, who were to follow military subdivision. They were supposed to make sure that no deserting would happen and not to let anybody in the rear. They had power to kill the running soldier on spot. Deserters were caught. Sometimes they had to go through martial court. At times they were shot depending on the circumstances. Such shelter squads were made of loyal communists and Komsomol members. They acted very ruthlessly, even too ruthlessly.
There was an amusing story with me when we were in Ukraine. A journalist from the army paper came over to us. He had been asking me many things and then a short article was released in paper. The articled was written about me, how I shattered the caterpillars and wedged the turret of the tank with one shell. The tank stopped and ceased fire, allowing our infantry to attack. Of course, it was preposterous as the person did not even think that caterpillar was on the bottom of the tank and the turret was on the top. Of course, it was a laughing stock. I was asked how I could adroitly do those things with one shell. Then I met the journalist and asked him how he could have written such tosh about me. I remembered his reply till the rest of my days. He told me ”it was of no importance - the task was to write what should have been, not what had actually happened”. I often recalled his words when I was reading our papers…
There were other funny stories. We fought on the territory of the Western Ukraine for the city of Ivano-Frankivsk [about 1500 km to the south-west from Moscow]. The city was defended by Hungarians. The war was winding and Hungarians were aware of it. So, they tried to be on our side and not to resist. That is why Germans sent their squads trying to stop our attack. Germans sent the tanks against us and we were running out of shells. Only three shells left and those were smoke shells. Smoke screen was not a toxic smoke, but a stinky one. We had no choice but to shoot with them. There were clouds of smoke and when the smoke was dispersed we saw Germans getting out of tanks and stampeding. They must have thought that they were burning and left the tanks. Our infantry rushed to the tanks to get the trophies.
There was also an interesting case at the forced crossing of Dnepr during attacking the town of Stanislav, Khersonsk oblast [about 1200 km to the south-west Moscow]. When our infantry was crossing Dnepr, German bombers were strenuously bombing the crossing. Our troops were plainly visible and we did not have aircraft guns to bring down German planes. Then the division commander suggested that I should make a fraudulent maneuver. We had shells with remote control explosives in our ammunition sets. These were the shells which could be exploded in any trajectory point of their flight. They were meant for the troops. The shell exploded at the distance of 10m before the trenches, where the infantry was hiding so that the fragments of the shells hit the infantry. So we had to calculate at what distance the shell was to explode at the right time. We made one trial shot. Zenith blasts were usually bright and light, but this one turned out to be a dark cloud. After making trial shots I adjusted the data and we made couple of shots on the planes, but they were a little bit more advance, above the infantry. The shell flew off and exploded in the adjusted point. We would not be able to bring down a plane with such a shell, but we just scared off the Germans. They thought that there was no zenith artillery at the crossing and then all of a sudden there were such powerful blasts among the planes. German bombers turned back and flew away.
In 1944, when we were in Subcarpathia [33], I felt Jewish solidarity and assistance for the first time. I decided to take a picture with other officers and send the photo to my parents. We went to the photo saloon, but its host, an elderly Jew, said that he would not be able to take our pictures as he ran out of photo materials, We were about to leave and then the host asked whether I was a Jew. I did not look like a true Jew, so I was surprised by the question. I said that I was a Jew. Then he said that he would take only my picture by using his reserve and would not spend precious materials on the others. I was really taken aback, there were no things like that in USSR. It was the first time I thought that Jews must have survived because they had been supporting each other in the course of many generations.
Our division took part in liberating Budapest. The attack commenced on the 5thof December 1944 in the area to the north-east from Budapest and the city itself was captured on the 5thof February 1945. There were long battles. We encircled the city and positioned on two banks of Danube. We succeeded in the first stage of our attack: we broke though German positions and moved forward. The infantry was ahead, followed by artillery. The commandment was reported on the breakthrough. Tank army also joined us to support the breakthrough. I was on the outskirt of a hamlet in the observation point and saw our tanks moving in two rows along the highway. The hamlet was practically taken, only couple German tanks hid away there. Those tanks opened fire on our column of tanks. Some of our tanks were punctured and started burning. They could not support infantry. I understood that the next stage would be firing at the hamlet from long-range artillery weapons. It was not known whether Germans would suffer from that, but we definitely would suffer. I sent a soldier for him to reach our buttoned up tanks and making a use of the radio connection I reported that the hamlet was practically taken by us. I also added that there was commandment of the rifle regiment and asked our gun soldiers not to fire at us. It was hard for the soldier to cross the territory under fire, but he managed to do that and sent the message like I asked. We remained alive the troops made a precipitant advance and approached Budapest. There was enough distance to fire at the city. Though we lacked the shells, there was enough for us to make 4 salvoes at the outskirts of Budapest. When the capital was captured, Hungarians finally joined our troops and subordinated to the general commandment. I remembered another case. During our stay in Hungary local people, Hungarians, came over to me asking to protect them from Romanians, who were killing and raping. I had to send my soldiers to protect the civilians.
By the end of the war, when the troops of the western front were on the territory of Germany, we were allowed to send the parcels home weighting up to 8 kg. We corresponded with the inmates of the orphanage. We decided to send children the parcel with the toys. We gathered a lot of nice and expensive toys, but it turned out that the weight was not 8, but 12 kg. I addressed to the political department asking for a permit to send the parcel of 12 kg. I described the content and the destination of the parcel and obtained a permit. We sent the toys to the orphanage and soon we received the answer. Children were very delightful and thanked us for the parcel.
When we crossed Carpathian ridge, battles commenced in Eastern Slovakia and in the cities Mukachevo, Uzhgorod. Slovakian tongue was approximated to Russian and we were able to understand each other very well. The population of that territory cordially welcomed us because Eastern Slovakia had been under yoke of the fascist Hungary since 1938. People were rejoicing in liberation.
There were fierce battles in Slovakia. Once German gunners hid behind the powerful walls of the gas plant on the outskirt of a village without letting our infantry keep their heads up because of the incessant artillery fire. 76-mm cannons could not pierce brick walls of their shelter. The division commander called me and told to shoot from howitzer over open sights. One howitzer was set over the open sights and after short trial shots all German gunners were exterminated by 3 shells. Being a gunner I can boast in our material part as well as in training of our soldiers, which was better than German’s. That is why artillery was called ‘the god of war’. It played the most important role both in defense from the German tanks and during assault, clearing the way for the infantry.
I was heavily wounded in the thorax with the fragment of blasted shell during the liberation of Bratislava. All my foot bones were crushed. I was in the hospital. I underwent operation and then I changed couple of hospitals. I met the victory day in the hospital.
I got awards for the battles – 10 orders and medals. The most important are Great Patriotic War Order of the 1stclass [34], Red Star Order [35], Medal for Military Merits [36] and others. In the post-war period I also received jubilee medals on the occasion of different memorable dates of victory and Soviet army.
I was the senior officer of the battery. Our regiment was called SCR - supreme commandment reserve. The regiment was armed with 122-mm howitzer. It was heavy artillery. In 2 weeks our squad was sent to the north-western front. We appeared in the region Staraya Russa, in the vicinity of Demyansk [about 500 km to the north-west from Moscow]. In Demyansk our troops besieged Germans but did not manage to do away with them as Germans broke through the siege. Our task was to exterminate German groups. I happened in the period of January-February 1943. We had fought in that area by spring and forced the river Glavat and took a defense position.
War is a daily hard labor. The artillery did not attack, but it did not mean that we were safe. We were frequently bombed by aviation and fired by the artillery of the adversary. German reconnaissance planes must have noticed our firing points. There were times when our positions were fired by the entire division over open sights. Of course, during the firing we hid in the shelter, but there were wounded. When we were taking positions, our life was getting calmer and more gradual. We lived in the dugs-out or in the huts. If the land was dry, we made the dugs-out. If it was not possible, we made log huts. Then logs were laid with stones for them not to be hit with fragments and shallow shells. Sometimes we settled in the houses of the local citizens, sometimes we had to live in the trenches. There were all kinds of things.
We were well fed in the front. We did not starve. There were times when the army was moving forward and the suppliers did not catch up with the army, so nutrition was worse. Sometimes we were given 100 grams of vodka before the fight. Vodka was given by number of soldiers. Every day there was a report about the number of the aligned soldiers. Food and vodka were given in accordance with that list. Soviet holidays were marked in the lines: 1stof May, 7thof November. When we were on the defense positions, we had a tastier dinner and got more drinks.
Our battery consisted of about 100 people and 4 howitzers. The howitzer squad consisted of 8 soldiers and one commander. Battery commander was on the observation point and we fired from the closed firing positions as per his order. The observation point was prepared beforehand. The trench was dug, stereotelescope communication lines were installed. When the target was noticed the data was provided to make artillery calculations. As a senior officer I took the orders of the battery commander and gave instructions on the spot regarding aiming at the target and the timing of the firing. The fire position with cannons and howitzers was 2-3 km away from the leading edge, behind the shelter. Our howitzers were transported by American haulersstood-backers, delivered from the USA in accordance with lend-lease [Editor’s note: lend-lease is the system of transfer (loan or lease) of weaponry, ammunition, strategic raw materials, provision etc.; supplies in terms of lend-lease were made by the USA to the ally-countries on anti-Hitler coalition in the period of the WW2. The law on lend-lease was adopted by the USA Congress in 1941]. We received stood-backers during the forming and howitzers were supplied from the plants. Howitzer was agoodweapon, producedatour plant. The production of this weapon was launched in1938. It is not obsolete even now in terms of operational parameters. It is a very powerful weapon being able to shoot at the distance of 12 km. After the war the howitzers were purchased from us in the entire world. They still use them somewhere in Africa, because they are so good. Army ammunition warehouses were 50-100 km away from the front. Ammunition was transported to the warehouses by railroad transport and suppliers delivered it to the regiment. When we were in defense position, remaining at one and the same place, ammunition was supplied on time. When we were attacking and moving quickly to the West of Ukraine, there was no timely supply. At times we ran out of shells.
We were awaiting attack from Germans in the vicinity of Kursk [Kursk battle] [30] [about 500 km to the south from Moscow] and were getting the staff renewed because the army had a lot of casualties after the Stalingrad Battle and each front got the order to send a certain number of battle-seasoned gunners in the vicinity of Kursk. I and other gunners were dispatched to Kursk from the northern front. We came to the headquarters in Kursk. All of us were distributed to different armies, wherefrom we were sent to divisions. I came to #41 artillery regiment of rifle division. Kursk battle was over, when I was catching up with the regiment. Germans were vastly retreating and our troops were to persecute them until reaching Dnepr. When I joined them, bridgeheads had been captured. I was on the major bridgehead to the north from Kiev: it was the attack point. In October 1943 there were fierce battles. We started artillery preparation. Kiev was attacked on the 3rdof November 1943 and on the 6thof November it was captured. It took us hard to take Kiev. Germans were counterattacking trying to undermine our assault. There were a lot of casualties, but nonetheless we captured Kiev on the 6thof November. Our division was conferred the title Kievskaya. I did not enter the city, we went past it on the North. At that time I did not know anything about the mass fusillade of Jews in Babi Yar [31].
Then Zhytomir [about 650 km to the south-west from Moscow] was liberated. But Germans were counterattacking and captured Zhytomir once again. They tried to push us in Dnepr. Our division was besieged. It was fearsome. I was afraid not to be held in captivity. I did not know how our soldiers captured by Germans were treated in our country, but I knew for sure that Germans exterminated Jews. We broke through the siege, resisted German’s attack and started assaulting. We liberated Zhytomir, right-bank Ukraine and moved forward. I had stayed in that regiment by the end of war. I was promoted in rank - now I was senior lieutenant. I joined the party during the war. It was mandatory for the officers, besides the procedure of entering the party was simplified .
During the war we did not have to liberate concentration camps and we did not come across any of them on our way. I found out from press about atrocities of Germans towards Jews. Those things were not often covered in papers, many details remained unrevealed. They treated me pretty good in the army. There was no anti-Semitism. The issue with nationality was not brought up in the front.Armenians, Georgians, Uzbeks etc. were fighting together. Only in years after the war we found out that there were orders to confer Jews as less awards as possible, not to promote them in rank or confer high ranks.
Like in the peaceful times we were under the ‘omniscience eye’ of NKVD. Its subdivisions SMERSH [32] were founded. There was no less than one NKVD representative in each regiment. Usually there were more than one. Those ‘warriors’ had to divulge the spies and diversionists. They did not take part in the battles. They worked with military personnel, picked the stooges who reported on anti-soviet dispositions and talks. They were not respected in the army. Besides, penalty battalions were also under NKVD command. Such battalions consisted of volunteers out of criminals and militaries condemned with the martial court for different misdemeanors. Officers were reduced in ranks and sent to the penalty battalions and soldiers and sergeants were sent to the penalty squads. The soldiers of the penalty battalions fought to death or until they were wounded in the battle. After being discharged from the hospital they were sent to ordinary military units. It was called ‘to wash off the guilt with blood’. I had to come across with those battalions. There were times when penalty squad was taking position on the left flank. Penalty squads were also sent for pre-battle reconnaissance. It meant that they were supposed to depict the attack under insufficient support from artillery in order to determine what kind of German forces were focused on that site. Of course, most of the penalty squad soldiers died. Upon their death, their families were reported that they were exonerated ‘guilt was redeemed by blood’. Fortunately, none from our regiment was in the penalty squad. Closer to the end of war, two officers, senior lieutenants, who were previously in penalty squad, came to our regiment. They were wounded, therefore restored in rank and sent to us. They were good fighters and our soldiers treated them with respect. One of the officers said that their penalty battalion consisted of 4000 people. They were ordered to break through the river Danube in Budapest. After they succeeded in their task, only 200 survived out of 4000. They were rehabilitated and restored in rights.
Shelter squads were also under NKVD. Those troops were established by NKVD. They consisted of armed NKVD employees, who were to follow military subdivision. They were supposed to make sure that no deserting would happen and not to let anybody in the rear. They had power to kill the running soldier on spot. Deserters were caught. Sometimes they had to go through martial court. At times they were shot depending on the circumstances. Such shelter squads were made of loyal communists and Komsomol members. They acted very ruthlessly, even too ruthlessly.
There was an amusing story with me when we were in Ukraine. A journalist from the army paper came over to us. He had been asking me many things and then a short article was released in paper. The articled was written about me, how I shattered the caterpillars and wedged the turret of the tank with one shell. The tank stopped and ceased fire, allowing our infantry to attack. Of course, it was preposterous as the person did not even think that caterpillar was on the bottom of the tank and the turret was on the top. Of course, it was a laughing stock. I was asked how I could adroitly do those things with one shell. Then I met the journalist and asked him how he could have written such tosh about me. I remembered his reply till the rest of my days. He told me ”it was of no importance - the task was to write what should have been, not what had actually happened”. I often recalled his words when I was reading our papers…
There were other funny stories. We fought on the territory of the Western Ukraine for the city of Ivano-Frankivsk [about 1500 km to the south-west from Moscow]. The city was defended by Hungarians. The war was winding and Hungarians were aware of it. So, they tried to be on our side and not to resist. That is why Germans sent their squads trying to stop our attack. Germans sent the tanks against us and we were running out of shells. Only three shells left and those were smoke shells. Smoke screen was not a toxic smoke, but a stinky one. We had no choice but to shoot with them. There were clouds of smoke and when the smoke was dispersed we saw Germans getting out of tanks and stampeding. They must have thought that they were burning and left the tanks. Our infantry rushed to the tanks to get the trophies.
There was also an interesting case at the forced crossing of Dnepr during attacking the town of Stanislav, Khersonsk oblast [about 1200 km to the south-west Moscow]. When our infantry was crossing Dnepr, German bombers were strenuously bombing the crossing. Our troops were plainly visible and we did not have aircraft guns to bring down German planes. Then the division commander suggested that I should make a fraudulent maneuver. We had shells with remote control explosives in our ammunition sets. These were the shells which could be exploded in any trajectory point of their flight. They were meant for the troops. The shell exploded at the distance of 10m before the trenches, where the infantry was hiding so that the fragments of the shells hit the infantry. So we had to calculate at what distance the shell was to explode at the right time. We made one trial shot. Zenith blasts were usually bright and light, but this one turned out to be a dark cloud. After making trial shots I adjusted the data and we made couple of shots on the planes, but they were a little bit more advance, above the infantry. The shell flew off and exploded in the adjusted point. We would not be able to bring down a plane with such a shell, but we just scared off the Germans. They thought that there was no zenith artillery at the crossing and then all of a sudden there were such powerful blasts among the planes. German bombers turned back and flew away.
In 1944, when we were in Subcarpathia [33], I felt Jewish solidarity and assistance for the first time. I decided to take a picture with other officers and send the photo to my parents. We went to the photo saloon, but its host, an elderly Jew, said that he would not be able to take our pictures as he ran out of photo materials, We were about to leave and then the host asked whether I was a Jew. I did not look like a true Jew, so I was surprised by the question. I said that I was a Jew. Then he said that he would take only my picture by using his reserve and would not spend precious materials on the others. I was really taken aback, there were no things like that in USSR. It was the first time I thought that Jews must have survived because they had been supporting each other in the course of many generations.
Our division took part in liberating Budapest. The attack commenced on the 5thof December 1944 in the area to the north-east from Budapest and the city itself was captured on the 5thof February 1945. There were long battles. We encircled the city and positioned on two banks of Danube. We succeeded in the first stage of our attack: we broke though German positions and moved forward. The infantry was ahead, followed by artillery. The commandment was reported on the breakthrough. Tank army also joined us to support the breakthrough. I was on the outskirt of a hamlet in the observation point and saw our tanks moving in two rows along the highway. The hamlet was practically taken, only couple German tanks hid away there. Those tanks opened fire on our column of tanks. Some of our tanks were punctured and started burning. They could not support infantry. I understood that the next stage would be firing at the hamlet from long-range artillery weapons. It was not known whether Germans would suffer from that, but we definitely would suffer. I sent a soldier for him to reach our buttoned up tanks and making a use of the radio connection I reported that the hamlet was practically taken by us. I also added that there was commandment of the rifle regiment and asked our gun soldiers not to fire at us. It was hard for the soldier to cross the territory under fire, but he managed to do that and sent the message like I asked. We remained alive the troops made a precipitant advance and approached Budapest. There was enough distance to fire at the city. Though we lacked the shells, there was enough for us to make 4 salvoes at the outskirts of Budapest. When the capital was captured, Hungarians finally joined our troops and subordinated to the general commandment. I remembered another case. During our stay in Hungary local people, Hungarians, came over to me asking to protect them from Romanians, who were killing and raping. I had to send my soldiers to protect the civilians.
By the end of the war, when the troops of the western front were on the territory of Germany, we were allowed to send the parcels home weighting up to 8 kg. We corresponded with the inmates of the orphanage. We decided to send children the parcel with the toys. We gathered a lot of nice and expensive toys, but it turned out that the weight was not 8, but 12 kg. I addressed to the political department asking for a permit to send the parcel of 12 kg. I described the content and the destination of the parcel and obtained a permit. We sent the toys to the orphanage and soon we received the answer. Children were very delightful and thanked us for the parcel.
When we crossed Carpathian ridge, battles commenced in Eastern Slovakia and in the cities Mukachevo, Uzhgorod. Slovakian tongue was approximated to Russian and we were able to understand each other very well. The population of that territory cordially welcomed us because Eastern Slovakia had been under yoke of the fascist Hungary since 1938. People were rejoicing in liberation.
There were fierce battles in Slovakia. Once German gunners hid behind the powerful walls of the gas plant on the outskirt of a village without letting our infantry keep their heads up because of the incessant artillery fire. 76-mm cannons could not pierce brick walls of their shelter. The division commander called me and told to shoot from howitzer over open sights. One howitzer was set over the open sights and after short trial shots all German gunners were exterminated by 3 shells. Being a gunner I can boast in our material part as well as in training of our soldiers, which was better than German’s. That is why artillery was called ‘the god of war’. It played the most important role both in defense from the German tanks and during assault, clearing the way for the infantry.
I was heavily wounded in the thorax with the fragment of blasted shell during the liberation of Bratislava. All my foot bones were crushed. I was in the hospital. I underwent operation and then I changed couple of hospitals. I met the victory day in the hospital.
I got awards for the battles – 10 orders and medals. The most important are Great Patriotic War Order of the 1stclass [34], Red Star Order [35], Medal for Military Merits [36] and others. In the post-war period I also received jubilee medals on the occasion of different memorable dates of victory and Soviet army.
,
During WW2
See text in interview
All of us newly-fledged lieutenants were sent to the front. We were dispersed in different cities. I was assigned to the town out of Moscow, Kolomna, to the reforming regiment. The reforming lasted for 2 weeks. I hardly had any spare time, but I managed to drop by my parents. Parents were starving. There was a provision crisis in Moscow. We were fed pretty well. There was a special ration for the cadets and I gave it to my parents.
Vocational school and children’s’ theatre were also evacuated from Kemerovo from Leningrad. We kept in touch with them. They gave free performances. We settled in the hostel of some college and had classes there as well. Apart from studies we also were involved in coal mining works. Almost all men were in the front, but the country needed the coal. In spring 1942 we finished school and took the oath. Now we were true militaries.
100 people out of the 5 evacuated graduation classes of artillery schools were united in one battery and sent to Tomsk artillery school. Our battery was not reformed because we had a good level of knowledge - above the average. Military school did not give us much apart from the soldier’s staff- bed regime and marching. School gave us all necessary knowledge. The school was large. Upon graduation the attendees were conferred the rank of a junior lieutenant and excellent students were conferred the rank of a lieutenant. In other schools only 1-2 people out of 100 got the rank of a lieutenant, but in our school all graduates got this rank. When we were graduating Stalingrad Battle [29] was about to finish. Germans were besieged by Stalingrad.
100 people out of the 5 evacuated graduation classes of artillery schools were united in one battery and sent to Tomsk artillery school. Our battery was not reformed because we had a good level of knowledge - above the average. Military school did not give us much apart from the soldier’s staff- bed regime and marching. School gave us all necessary knowledge. The school was large. Upon graduation the attendees were conferred the rank of a junior lieutenant and excellent students were conferred the rank of a lieutenant. In other schools only 1-2 people out of 100 got the rank of a lieutenant, but in our school all graduates got this rank. When we were graduating Stalingrad Battle [29] was about to finish. Germans were besieged by Stalingrad.
Parents stayed in Moscow for the entire period of war. Father worked at the weaving mill as an economist. The factory was not evacuated, so father stayed in Moscow as well.
,
1941
See text in interview
There were rumors that the senior students our school would be sent to the lines. I was awaiting that. Then the commander of the school brought us together and said that Stalin told to prepare professional soldiers for a multiyear war. We should not go in the lines being half-educated, but study well. In the evening all out of 5 Moscow artillery schools got on the train and left for Siberia. Schools were distributed in different cities. Our specialized school came to Kemerovo [about 3000 km to the east from Moscow]. We were on the road for several days. It was warm in the car. There were meal stations on our way. We went there to have warm food.
,
1941
See text in interview
School started on the 1stof September as usual. The director of school told us to align and said that we had to study well as now was the time when literate officers were in great demand in our country. The 10thgrade students were agog to go in the lines, but we were told to finish school first then he would have our chance to be in the action. Moscow was bombed. Special fighting battalion was established [fighting battalion][27]. We were on duty on the rooves of the houses during the attacks of German artillery, quenching fire bombs. Then the students of our school were taken out of town to fortifications, where we were supposed to dig moats. We went there early in the morning and late at night we came back.
On the 15thof October 1941 some reconnaissance battalion broke through the defense of Moscow. German soldiers headed to Moscow along Minsk highway. There was 1stof Moscow military artillery school. The cadets were woken up at night by the alarm and called for battle. They exterminated that battalion. The rumors were spread. The commandment was reported on the situation and all of them fled taking the money and cars. Then they were shot for that. The main communication in Moscow, the subway, was closed down. There were hardly any transportation in Moscow. The metro was closed down because the general headquarters was being evacuated. At the beginning of the war general headquarters were in the heart of the city, in the deepest metro station - Kirovskaya. Thus, the metro was closed down. There was the announcement that people could get products for 3 months by food cards. All rushed to the stores. Directors of stores also fled. People started plundering the stores. Gangsters rushed in the city. German planes released the leaflets: “Kill communists and Yids! Things will get better with our arrival”. Moscow was panic stricken.
On the 15thof October 1941 some reconnaissance battalion broke through the defense of Moscow. German soldiers headed to Moscow along Minsk highway. There was 1stof Moscow military artillery school. The cadets were woken up at night by the alarm and called for battle. They exterminated that battalion. The rumors were spread. The commandment was reported on the situation and all of them fled taking the money and cars. Then they were shot for that. The main communication in Moscow, the subway, was closed down. There were hardly any transportation in Moscow. The metro was closed down because the general headquarters was being evacuated. At the beginning of the war general headquarters were in the heart of the city, in the deepest metro station - Kirovskaya. Thus, the metro was closed down. There was the announcement that people could get products for 3 months by food cards. All rushed to the stores. Directors of stores also fled. People started plundering the stores. Gangsters rushed in the city. German planes released the leaflets: “Kill communists and Yids! Things will get better with our arrival”. Moscow was panic stricken.
I found out about the outbreak of the war from Molotov’s [26] speech on the radio. I transferred to the 10thgrade of the specialized school and was on vacation. That morning father’s brother Haim was in our house. Haim’s son Jacob was in the army at that time. Jacob was a student, but in 1940 there was an order regarding drafting the students in the army. Jacob served in artillery troops. I remember how uncle Haim turned pallid. He knew what the war was like from the experience of WW1. Besides he worked in NKVD and was informed of many things. Haim understood that the war would not be as fast and victorious as it was pictured in propaganda.
,
1941
See text in interview
I found out about the outbreak of the war from Molotov’s [26] speech on the radio. I transferred to the 10thgrade of the specialized school and was on vacation. That morning father’s brother Haim was in our house. Haim’s son Jacob was in the army at that time. Jacob was a student, but in 1940 there was an order regarding drafting the students in the army. Jacob served in artillery troops. I remember how uncle Haim turned pallid. He knew what the war was like from the experience of WW1. Besides he worked in NKVD and was informed of many things. Haim understood that the war would not be as fast and victorious as it was pictured in propaganda.
There was no premonition that the war was coming. Then there were rumors that Germans were positioning their troops on our border, there was a special announcement on the radio refuting those rumors. They said that Germans were just having a rest after war in Poland and there was no dislocation of troops. In spite of that father kept on saying firmly that the war would be unleashed soon. When non-aggression Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact [25] was signed, father and all his friends and pals castigated actions taken by the government as they thought that Hitler would violate the agreement and attack us. The person who captured half of the Europe could not be trusted .
,
1939
See text in interview
When we came back to Moscow I went to secondary school № 110 [20]. It was the school where children of leading party activists and famous military commanders studied. History teacher Novikov was the director of the school. He was awarded with two Lenin Orders [21] for his pedagogical work. Director selected excellent teachers. Bad students were transferred to other schools. All school-leavers entered Moscow University [Lomonosov Moscow State University] [22] without any entrance exams.There was a strong ideological work at school. We were imbued with Soviet propaganda. I was a good student. Mathematics was my favorite subject. I became a pioneer [All-Union pioneer organization][23] in that school.
When I was in the 9thgrade, some militaries came over to our school to encourage boys to transfer to artillery specialized school, which was the first of the kind in Moscow. In 1937 professional military schools were founded in Moscow. First there were 5 of them, then more were opened up. The best students were selected there - those who had straight excellent marks or 2-3 good marks and the rest excellent marks. Parents did not object to my studies at artillery school. In 1940 I was transferred there. We were taught major subjects in accordance with the syllabus as well as military artillery subjects. There were best teachers as well. I was fond of mathematics and other sciences. I became a Komsomol [24] member in that school. I did not take an interest in social work. We were clad in military uniform, but we were not confined to the barracks. We lived at home and went to school. Though, in summer time the entire school went to military camps.
When I was in the 9thgrade, some militaries came over to our school to encourage boys to transfer to artillery specialized school, which was the first of the kind in Moscow. In 1937 professional military schools were founded in Moscow. First there were 5 of them, then more were opened up. The best students were selected there - those who had straight excellent marks or 2-3 good marks and the rest excellent marks. Parents did not object to my studies at artillery school. In 1940 I was transferred there. We were taught major subjects in accordance with the syllabus as well as military artillery subjects. There were best teachers as well. I was fond of mathematics and other sciences. I became a Komsomol [24] member in that school. I did not take an interest in social work. We were clad in military uniform, but we were not confined to the barracks. We lived at home and went to school. Though, in summer time the entire school went to military camps.
,
1937
See text in interview
Father was lucky to stay alive. Like others he was recalled from England. Father was likely to understand that he might be arrested upon his arrival in USSR. At that time some employees of Soviet representative offices and organizations refused going back and asked for political asylum from the government of the country, they were working and stayed there. But my parents were not thinking that way and wanted to come back to the USSR. In 1937 when repressions were in the full swing, we lived in the USSR. Father was predestined like many other people, who came back from the overseas. Father was saved accidentally. During the Civil War father was a commissar of the squad and the commander was his friend, who consequently became the general of NKVD. The list of those who were to be arrested and shot in the first place, was brought to that general. Looking though the list the general saw my father’s name and crossed it out. Of course, he was taking a risk, but things turned out to be OK. Father only was reprimanded and that was it. Father’s brother Haim who worked as the head of financial department NKVD told me that story. By chance he found out about the imminent danger for my father. Upon our return from England father was assigned the head of industry funding department at the ministry of finance. Father had to resign after being reprimanded by the party. He worked in different inconsiderable companies. Father was inlawed after Stalin’s death. He was not willing to be a dignitary any more and decided to resign.
,
1937
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There was a Soviet school for children of the embassy employees. All subjects were taught in Russian, and English was taught as a foreign language. Each week we had a meeting with some famous person. Mayskiy often came for a meeting in school. He told us interesting stories. He was Lenin’s friend. When Lenin lived in England, he stayed with Mayskiy in one apartment. Lenin enjoyed playing chess. Mayskiy said when he won chess game, Lenin bore grudge when he lost. Ambassador Mayskiy did a lot for the children of the embassy employees. In summer we went to the pioneer camp to the sea-side.
We had lived in France for 2 years and in 1934 father was transferred to England. My father was appointed deputy USSR ambassador, Andrey Mayskiy was the USSR ambassador. Father was friends with him.
In 1930 father was sent to France to work. Mother and I went with him. We had lived in France for 2 years. The embassy rented a house for all employees of the embassy and the chamber of commerce. It was easier for children to catch foreign languages. In 3 months I went shopping with my mom and was interpreting for her. There was no Russian school at the embassy and I went to an ordinary French school. I was good at studies. I remember the French school I went to. The educational system in France was different from the Soviet one. The youngest class was the 14thand the graduation one was the 1st. It happened so that I got ill and meanwhile my Soviet friends with whom I studied together were transferred to another class. I came in the classroom and they were not there. I started crying and the teacher asked what the matter was with me. I explained her the reason. She took the book for the 1stgrade, opened the last page and told me to read it out loud. I read it unfalteringly. Then she gave me two tasks to solve and I did it very quickly. She took my hand and brought me to the 13thgrade and told the teacher to enroll me in her class.
There was a dreadful starvation in Ukraine in the period of 1920-1930 [Famine in Ukraine][16]. There was hunger in Moscow but it was not as bad as there. It was the time when the food cards were introduced [Card system][17]. Father had special cards for the responsible workers. There was a special store, where food was given by special cards and parents went there to get food. By the way, the variety was much better there than in any other stores. There was also a special policlinic, hair-dressers and grocery store. Our living was pretty good.
,
Before WW2
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Father was a in a high position at work and family was rather well-off. The fact that we had a separate 2-room apartment in the center of Moscow testified to our wellbeing. Parents did not have dacha [summer house]. On vacation they went to the spas in Kislovodsk, Pyatigorsk [about 1300 km to the south from Moscow].
,
Before WW2
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Father was a convinced communist and strongly believed in the party. Though, when the repressions commenced in 1937 [GreatTerror] [15] father questioned the correctness of the policy of the party. I remember my parents were speaking in sotto when certain subjects were broached and I could comprehend separate words. Father did not believe that some people he personally knew, were guilty.
,
1937
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Parents did not raise me in religious traditions. It was the time of anti-religion propaganda[Struggle against religion] [13]. I think parents did not want me to be any different from my coevals for me not conceal anything and not to prevaricate. I think their religiousness was coming from the recollections of childhood, parents and grandparents – it was a tenuous thread, connecting them with the Jewry. My mother’s family was more religious than father’s. Though, it is hard for me to judge as I was a child at that time. Other than that they were common Soviet people.
Parents were pious, but they observed Jewish rites and marked Jewish holidays paying a tribute to the traditions. Jewish holidays were occasion to get together and have fun. We loved Pesach most of all. There was always matzah for that holiday. Mother cooked traditional Paschal dishes. I enjoyed gefilte fish the most. On Pesach parents’ Jewish friends and our relatives came over. Parents went to the synagogue on holidays. On the anniversary of the death of our relatives father read Kaddish. Parents did not raise me in religious traditions. It was the time of anti-religion propaganda[Struggle against religion] [13]. I think parents did not want me to be any different from my coevals for me not conceal anything and not to prevaricate. I think their religiousness was coming from the recollections of childhood, parents and grandparents – it was a tenuous thread, connecting them with the Jewry. My mother’s family was more religious than father’s. Though, it is hard for me to judge as I was a child at that time. Other than that they were common Soviet people.
,
Before WW2
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We do not welcome nationalistic ideas in our Council. We rather support the internationalism spirit. Even though it is a Jewish council, nobody forces its members to follow Jewish traditions. We are not a religious organization. Only those go to the synagogue, who are willing and nobody pushes them. We keep friends with other communities, i. e. Ukrainian and Georgian. They invite us for their events and we invite them for ours. Of course, we keep in touch with other Jewish organizations – religious and social.
Now I am taking an active part in Jewish life in Russia. I am deputy chairman of Moscow Council of Jewish War Veterans [51]. In the post-war period there were rumors that Jews were not in the lines, just holing up in the rear. I think Stalin did a lot for such rumors to emerge. Ilya Erenburg [52] wrote in his recollections: “In summer I was asked to write an addressing speech to the American Jews about atrocities of Hitler and on necessity to do away with the Third Reich”. One of the aides of the commander of the Soviet army chief political department A. S. Scherbakov said that there was no use in writing about the feats of Jews-soldiers of the Red Army. By the end of the war the surnames of Jews, being distinguished in battles, would be crossed out from the papers. After the war that tittle-tattle about the Jews, who ‘fought in Tashkent’ [Editor’s note: Tashkent is a town in Middle Asia; it was the town where many people evacuated during the Great patriotic War, including many Jewish families. Many people had an idea that all Jewish population was in evacuation rather than at the front and anti-Semites spoke about it in mocking tones] grew stronger. Even now there are people who believe that. Council of Jewish War Veterans was founded in order to exterminate those rumors. I am involved in the work of the council after having retired. We are in the middle of writing a book where all Jews, who fought in WW2, are enumerated as well as those who are reported missing. The book is called ’Commemoration Book of the Jews, Killed in Action against Nazi. 1941-1946’. I think it is the duty of those who survived to commemorate those who perished. The idea to publish such a book belongs to our chairman, the Hero of the Soviet Union Marianovskiy. The 8thvolume has been released, the 9thone is about to be released and we hope that the 10thone will be published. Marianovskiy is our main ‘bread-winner’, who is going from one Jewish tycoon to another begging for money. There are a lot of donations for this commemoration book. People are willing to contribute. The book is circulated throughout the world. We are thanked by people who did not know anything about the death of their fathers, children, relatives. They find names in the book, commemorating their kin. They do not have a grave to attend and to bow, but at least there is a trace left – the names of those people are in our commemoration book. This is a commemoration book of the whole Jewish peoples. I think that it is a necessary and a great action.