Then I was sent to Leningrad Artillery College #3 where I was to study for another three years. We studied heavy artillery equipment: 152, 130 and 205 mm cannons. I did very well in college. The only problem was Russian since I spoke Yiddish and Ukrainian and used many Ukrainian words in my Russian. In this college my Russian improved. I lived in Leningrad for a year. We lived in barracks and followed the military discipline. We were allowed a leave on Sunday. I always spent my weekend in the house of my father's sister Fania.
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semyon nezhynski
In 1941 the Great Patriotic War began. Before graduation I had served in an artillery battery of the artillery school cadets at the Leningrad front for a month. On 21st July 1941 we graduated from this college in the rank of lieutenants before the end of the term. We were sent to various fronts. Upon graduation I was sent to the Moscow regiment where they began to form the first 9 Mine Firing regiments of the Guards on 4th August 1941. Later they were called 'Katyusha' units; the wonderful 'Katyusha' about which songs were composed during the war.
A month after it was formed our regiment was sent to the Southern front. In early September 1941 we were involved in combat action on the left bank of the Dnieper near the village of Velikiy Tokmak in the vicinity of Zaporozhie. Germans suffered great casualties and damages due to our attacks.
We were moving to Donetsk. In December 1941 I was appointed chief of the intelligence service of our division. I was also promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and appointed commanding officer of a battery. In the intelligence service I was responsible for survey of the points at the front line where we had to shoot during attacks. I sat at an observation point near the frontline trenches and surveyed the German disposition area with my stereoscope and binoculars. When I observed accumulation of their forces and equipment I transferred my messages to our command post and from there they issued directions as for where 'Katyusha' units were to shoot.
We were moving to Donetsk. In December 1941 I was appointed chief of the intelligence service of our division. I was also promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and appointed commanding officer of a battery. In the intelligence service I was responsible for survey of the points at the front line where we had to shoot during attacks. I sat at an observation point near the frontline trenches and surveyed the German disposition area with my stereoscope and binoculars. When I observed accumulation of their forces and equipment I transferred my messages to our command post and from there they issued directions as for where 'Katyusha' units were to shoot.
Following this order three-person courts were formed in military units. Members of these groups were party members. They were in full competence of issuing a verdict and carry out an execution with no further authorization. The members of such a 'troika' -a group of three - were: a political officer, a SMERSH representative - military intelligence [special units within the NKVD 15 structure called SMERSH; lit. 'death to spies!'], and an officer or soldier, a member of the Party.
Here is what happened in our regiment 49 in 1942 when I was chief of headquarters of our division: A commanding officer had to blast a 'Katyusha' unit if there was the risk that our enemy could get a hold of it. In July 1942 the Germans split us into two groups. One of the 'Katyusha' units was behind our column moving in the direction of a river crossing. German tanks were following it. 'Katyusha' was moving along a path between a cornfield on one side and a field of sunflowers on the other. The commanding officer got frightened, jumped off his unit and ran away into the cornfield. The driver of the 'Katyusha' turned left, into the field of sunflowers and managed to escape from the German tanks. The commanding officer crossed the river with other military units and returned to our division. He wanted to continue his service. To save his life he said he had blasted his 'Katyusha'. Our commandment believed him and he even received another unit when two weeks later his 'Katyusha' returned. The crew of cannon layer, soldier and driver, an old worker and a communist - all of them from Moscow - joined a tank brigade that was retreating and came to the river crossing with it. They fired their final volley and the tank brigade they were with helped them to cross the river to get to its left bank ahead of all. They found their military unit and then it became clear that their commanding officer had disgracefully left his unit in the face of the enemy. He was judged by a 'troika', sentenced to death and shot.
SMERSH units were also responsible for military counter intelligence in the army. There was a SMERSH representative in every military unit. This representative had to make sure that there were no spies or traitors in the unit. They had their informers that reported everything that people talked about to them, and a SMERSH representative could decide whether he should open a case or leave what he heard at that. We had two such officers in our regiment: an officer and his assistant. They didn't interfere with our business and we didn't bother ourselves with theirs. However, if something happened in the regiment that needed to be conveyed to the commanding officer of the regiment or chief of headquarters they informed them. Of course, there were no German spies and those representatives were interested in people that expressed doubts about our victory or said something negative about the Soviet power or Stalin.
Here is what happened in our regiment 49 in 1942 when I was chief of headquarters of our division: A commanding officer had to blast a 'Katyusha' unit if there was the risk that our enemy could get a hold of it. In July 1942 the Germans split us into two groups. One of the 'Katyusha' units was behind our column moving in the direction of a river crossing. German tanks were following it. 'Katyusha' was moving along a path between a cornfield on one side and a field of sunflowers on the other. The commanding officer got frightened, jumped off his unit and ran away into the cornfield. The driver of the 'Katyusha' turned left, into the field of sunflowers and managed to escape from the German tanks. The commanding officer crossed the river with other military units and returned to our division. He wanted to continue his service. To save his life he said he had blasted his 'Katyusha'. Our commandment believed him and he even received another unit when two weeks later his 'Katyusha' returned. The crew of cannon layer, soldier and driver, an old worker and a communist - all of them from Moscow - joined a tank brigade that was retreating and came to the river crossing with it. They fired their final volley and the tank brigade they were with helped them to cross the river to get to its left bank ahead of all. They found their military unit and then it became clear that their commanding officer had disgracefully left his unit in the face of the enemy. He was judged by a 'troika', sentenced to death and shot.
SMERSH units were also responsible for military counter intelligence in the army. There was a SMERSH representative in every military unit. This representative had to make sure that there were no spies or traitors in the unit. They had their informers that reported everything that people talked about to them, and a SMERSH representative could decide whether he should open a case or leave what he heard at that. We had two such officers in our regiment: an officer and his assistant. They didn't interfere with our business and we didn't bother ourselves with theirs. However, if something happened in the regiment that needed to be conveyed to the commanding officer of the regiment or chief of headquarters they informed them. Of course, there were no German spies and those representatives were interested in people that expressed doubts about our victory or said something negative about the Soviet power or Stalin.
In 1942, at the age of 19, in Ordjonikidze I became a candidate to the Communist Party. I thought it was my duty to join the ranks of advanced units struggling for the victory of the communist ideals. There was a simplified procedure of admission into the Party at the front. The candidateship was shorter in time. The rest of it was the standard procedure: an applicant had to submit a request and attach letters of recommendation signed by two party members. At a party meeting its resolution was issued, which had to be approved by a party commission. Then, in a short while, a party membership card was issued to a new member. I was admitted as a candidate to the Party by the political department of Army 9. In January 1943 I became a member of the Party.
The regiment where I was chief of headquarters participated in the elimination of German troops in Taman' [Northern Caucasus]. We participated in battles for Novorossiysk. Then our regiment sent landing troops to the Crimea: they landed in the spit of Chushka near Kerch. The regiment was exhausted after the battles near Kerch. We suffered great casualties and equipment losses. Due to this our regiment became a part of reserve troops of the Supreme Commandment staff. There were equipment losses and casualties in our unit. We were sent to the Schemilovo camp near Moscow to be reformed. We had to repair and replace lots of equipment damaged during air raids and firing. We also had to reman the unit. In January-February 1944 our regiment was remanned and reequipped, preparing for further action.
I sent Irina a telegram signed by the commanding officer of the unit, saying 'Nezhynski is wounded. Please arrive, if possible'. I put down my address. There was no direct train from Rostov then. Irina got to Schemilovo via Stalinabad. She didn't know whether I was alive, but she was hoping for the best intending to look after me until I recovered. I had already recovered and met her at the railway station. She stayed with me for a few days and then I said, 'Let's take a risk. If I survive we shall live together. We shall see what life has in store for us. Let's get married!' We got married on 19th January 1944 in the town of Noginsk near Moscow. We had the choice between Moscow and Noginsk. Both were about 30 kilometers from our location. We then decided that since our last name starts with the same letter as Noginsk we should go there.
Irina stayed with me until March. Then she left for home. She had to finish her studies. She passed her graduation exams successfully. She finished the college in the summer of 1944. She obtained her diploma in the name of Nezhynskaya. Upon graduation Irina volunteered to the front. My regiment was at the Finnish Front at the time. Irina got an assignment to my regiment. When she arrived she was assigned to the position of artillery armaments lab assistant. She was responsible for inventories of the artillery weapons delivered from a plant. According to the rules to hit the target successfully cannon shells had to be of one series. If cannon shells were of a different series we had to do additional zeroing in. A lab assistant was to watch that cannon shells of one series were delivered to each battery.
Back in 1941 my parents left Kiev on a horse-drawn wagon. My father evacuated my mother, my older sister and her son, my sister-in-law - my brother's wife - and their three children. My older brother was at the front. Sophia, the daughter of Israel and Hana, and her three-year-old daughter Inna also went with them. They moved to Lokhvitsa at first and when German troops approached the town they got on the move again. Sophia refused to go with them. Her husband was in the unit near Lokhvitsa and he was going to come and pick up Sophia and their daughter. Alas, this wasn't to happen. My parents left. Sophia and Inna stayed in Lokhvitsa. They were hiding until 1942. Local residents that knew our family well gave shelter to them. In 1942 someone reported on Sophia. She and her daughter were shot during one of the mass shootings of Jews in Lokhvitsa. Sophia was the most beautiful and bright of all the members of our family. What a tragic end this was.
The rest of my family reached Voronezh where they worked in a collective farm throughout the summer. In 1942 German troops were approaching Voronezh and they were all evacuated to Kemerovo in Siberia. I lost contact with my parents and didn't even know whether they were alive.
The rest of my family reached Voronezh where they worked in a collective farm throughout the summer. In 1942 German troops were approaching Voronezh and they were all evacuated to Kemerovo in Siberia. I lost contact with my parents and didn't even know whether they were alive.
We traveled to Poland by train. In December 1944 we arrived at Lublin station near the Majdanek 18 death camp. I went to this camp once. It made a horrific impression. It's different from what they show in a movie or write in books. I saw with my own eyes gas chambers where people were smothered with gas and I saw a barrack full of shoes - there were children's shoes there as well. I saw heaps of women's hair in a barrack. I saw incinerator units where they burnt people. Of course, it aroused our feeling of hatred towards the fascists. We showed this to our soldiers: 'Look, here is what fascism is like. Look how it all happened'. Majdanek is located on the bank of the Vistula River nearer to the USSR. Battles were happening on the Vistula River already.
On 2nd May 1945 the remaining German troops tried to escape in the western direction to the location where our regiment was deployed. Those were elite SS troops. They were scared of Soviet armies realizing there would be no mercy to them and wanted to break through to cross the Elba River where American troops were located. They had nothing to lose and were fighting with courage based on despair. We were fighting with them. Before night fell the German troops were almost done with: the majority of them were captured. I knew German a little and could interrogate Germans by myself.
There was a German major, a tank man, among captives. He was about the same age as I. I interrogated him. I was the first to hear from him and informed my commandment immediately that on 30th April some SS military picked several canisters of gasoline in their tank battalion located near the Reichs counselor office. As the major told me Hitler had committed suicide and they needed gasoline to burn Hitler and Eva Braun 21. Then the remains of Hitler's staff and the tank corps where this major served tried to get out of Berlin. We had a peaceful discussion with that major. He understood that the war was over and that he was talking to a representative of the victorious army. He told me that his family was not far from Berlin and said that he would appreciate it so very much if I let him go home. I replied, 'You should have thought about it before. But now you will have to cope with some cold weather - I meant Siberia - before you can return to your wife'.
There was a German major, a tank man, among captives. He was about the same age as I. I interrogated him. I was the first to hear from him and informed my commandment immediately that on 30th April some SS military picked several canisters of gasoline in their tank battalion located near the Reichs counselor office. As the major told me Hitler had committed suicide and they needed gasoline to burn Hitler and Eva Braun 21. Then the remains of Hitler's staff and the tank corps where this major served tried to get out of Berlin. We had a peaceful discussion with that major. He understood that the war was over and that he was talking to a representative of the victorious army. He told me that his family was not far from Berlin and said that he would appreciate it so very much if I let him go home. I replied, 'You should have thought about it before. But now you will have to cope with some cold weather - I meant Siberia - before you can return to your wife'.
On 9th May we heard on the radio that Germany had capitulated and the war was over. We couldn't believe this was true. We hugged each other, congratulating each other for this victory. On 11th May I went to Berlin to take a look at the Reichstag that we had been firing during our attack on Berlin. Like other soldiers I signed my name on the wall of the Reichstag.
There was no anti- Semitism in the army. People were judged by their doings. There were about half a million Jews in the army at the beginning of the war. This is true data. Over half of them perished. Therefore, we can look into people's eyes and say, 'Yes, we were at the front and we fought honestly'.
My older brother Arkadi was at the front during World War II. My mother received death notifications for him three times. My mother told me that she cried her eyes out when she received those notifications, but his Claudia kept saying, 'I don't believe it. He is alive, he will come back'. My brother survived. After World War II he lived in Kiev with his family. He worked at a construction site. My brother wasn't religious.
When my leave was over Irina returned to her parents and I returned to my regiment. In April 1946 I was sent to study at the Higher Artillery School in Kolomna. In October 1946 I finished it with excellent marks in all subjects. However, when I was at school my regiment was dismissed: the army was reduced after the war. I was appointed commanding officer of a division in another regiment. This regiment was based in Leipzig in Eastern Germany. Our military unit was based in a field camp and we got lodgings in apartment houses that Germans left for us. My family was with me there. In January 1948 my son Vladimir was born in Leipzig. I was commanding officer of a division until late February 1948. There was a process of replacement of officers in the German based Soviet troops. There I faced the fact that Jewish officers were the first to be removed from Germany.
I was sent to the Transcaucasia military regiment where I became commanding officer of a division. While I was en route this division was also dismissed. I was appointed chief of headquarters of a 'Katyusha' division in the town of Kirovabad in Azerbaijan. Therefore, within two years I descended two steps lower; from chief of headquarters of a regiment to chief of headquarters of a division, but I kept my rank of a major. I understood it wasn't a favorable flow of things. I had no career perspectives in this branch of the army: there was not a single regiment in Transcaucasia, there were only divisions. In 1949 I decided to enter the Military Academy, named after the Soviet commander of the period of the Civil War, Michael Frunze 23, in Moscow. This was the primary academy in the Soviet army. This was when I faced anti-Semitism to the full.
I was sent to the Transcaucasia military regiment where I became commanding officer of a division. While I was en route this division was also dismissed. I was appointed chief of headquarters of a 'Katyusha' division in the town of Kirovabad in Azerbaijan. Therefore, within two years I descended two steps lower; from chief of headquarters of a regiment to chief of headquarters of a division, but I kept my rank of a major. I understood it wasn't a favorable flow of things. I had no career perspectives in this branch of the army: there was not a single regiment in Transcaucasia, there were only divisions. In 1949 I decided to enter the Military Academy, named after the Soviet commander of the period of the Civil War, Michael Frunze 23, in Moscow. This was the primary academy in the Soviet army. This was when I faced anti-Semitism to the full.
There were 200 applicants to be admitted to the Academy. Over 50 Jews submitted their applications, but only five of them, including me, were admitted. I passed 13 entrance exams with excellent marks. I don't know what factor played its role, but they admitted me to the academy. I've never concealed my nationality. There was a mandatory line item 5 24 - nationality, in all application forms. I always wrote that I was a Jew. I had a friend named Leonid Romanenko. His father was Ukrainian. During the Civil War he was chief of ChK 25 of Poltava province. Leonid's mother was a Jew. Leonid put down in all forms that he was a Jew. He was not admitted to the academy and the deputy political chief of our training course yelled at him, 'What prevented you from writing that you were Ukrainian?' Leonid replied that his mother was a Jew and he loved his mother and wrote what he wanted to write.
In 1948 the so-called 'campaign against cosmopolitans' 26 began. It was at its height in 1949, when I studied at the academy. It didn't have any impact on me, but many lecturers and students were dismissed for various reasons.
When I returned to the division after finishing the academy in January 1953 the Doctors' Plot 27 began. I was very concerned about its possible effect on me and other Jews from our division. There were many Jews in our medical unit; all best doctors in the army were Jews. However, nobody in the army believed newspaper publications about 'poisoning doctors'. Michael Tischenko, political officer, a Ukrainian man, spoke at a meeting where he declared that he didn't believe that the doctors were guilty. This meeting took place in February 1953. If Stalin hadn't died in March 1953 Michael could have been released from the army or even taken to the military tribunal court. At that period such disagreement with an official point of view might have been evaluated as state treason for a military. There was the death penalty for such a delinquency. However, Tischenko did this, though he was aware of the consequences.
Stalin's death in March 1953 was a terrible blow for me like for the majority of the Soviet people. I thought that life should have stopped. I couldn't imagine our country without him. However, the speech of Nikita Khrushchev 28 at the Twentieth Party Congress 29 helped me to get to the essence of things. I believed Khrushchev at once. I did remember very well the role that item 5 had played in the life of an individual during Stalin's time. However, anti-Semitism was the same during the period of Khrushchev and Brezhnev, his successor. The only difference was that people weren't taken to camps.
From 1953 to 1956 Irina was director of a library in a military unit of the division where I was chief of anti-aircraft defense. From 1964 to 1968 Irina worked as scientific employee in a historical museum of Ajaria in Batumi. She met with interesting people, guided tours and did research work.
My parents observed Jewish traditions after they returned. Of course, it was difficult to follow the kashrut at that time. It was a problem to buy food products. They ate what they could get. My parents celebrated Jewish holidays. There was a small synagogue in Podol 30. On holidays my father went to the synagogue in the morning. My mother prayed at home. She didn't go to the synagogue. She couldn't walk there, and public transportation was too irregular. My mother made matzah at Pesach and cooked delicious food for all holidays. There was no shochet in Kiev at the time. My father slaughtered chickens himself. There were two aging sisters living in a neighboring house. They believed my father to be very religious. They brought their chickens to be slaughtered by my father and believed that if my father had done it they became kosher chickens.
We received a big apartment in the center of Kiev. Once I met the retired lieutenant colonel Waisband, my former fellow comrade. He offered me the job of the director of 'Kievkniga' book supply company. I began to refuse. I was a military and could be in command of a division, but had no competence in what he was offering me. However, he said that he knew me well and believed that I would manage all right. At that time Jews had problems with finding employment. To become director of a book company I had to be approved by a Party district committee. Waisband went to the district committee and insisted that they approved me for this position. In 1969 I became director of the 'Kievkniga' supply company.
I've always had a professional attitude when it comes to a job I have to do. I entered the extramural Faculty of Directors of Book Supplies of the College of Culture in Leningrad. I finished it with honors and got a diploma. Director of book supplies was a high position at that time. I worked there until 1993. Between 1970-1978 my wife was a bibliographer in the assortment office of my supply company. Irina loved books. Besides, she finished the Faculty of History and this helped her to do her job perfectly. Irina retired in 1978. She still loves books. She is fond of reading memoirs of people of the arts and theater. She spends her pension at book markets. I retired at the age of 70. By that time I had worked for 52 years, including my military career. I decided it was time for me to rest from work. The new director tried to convince me to take any position I liked, but it was hard for me to continue working and I refused.
I've always had a professional attitude when it comes to a job I have to do. I entered the extramural Faculty of Directors of Book Supplies of the College of Culture in Leningrad. I finished it with honors and got a diploma. Director of book supplies was a high position at that time. I worked there until 1993. Between 1970-1978 my wife was a bibliographer in the assortment office of my supply company. Irina loved books. Besides, she finished the Faculty of History and this helped her to do her job perfectly. Irina retired in 1978. She still loves books. She is fond of reading memoirs of people of the arts and theater. She spends her pension at book markets. I retired at the age of 70. By that time I had worked for 52 years, including my military career. I decided it was time for me to rest from work. The new director tried to convince me to take any position I liked, but it was hard for me to continue working and I refused.
My daughter Olga finished a secondary school in Yerevan. After finishing school she worked as a librarian in military units where I served. When we moved to Kiev Olga entered the department of book sales in a college in Kiev. She finished it successfully. Olga is a librarian.
After finishing the academy in 1972 Vladimir worked as a doctor in a cosmodrome. Then he was transferred to the Rocket army in Vinnitsa, Ukraine. Later he became chief of medical service in a regiment in Belaya Tserkov, 100 kilometers from Kiev. From there he got a transfer to a group of Soviet troops in Hungary. There he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and became chief of medical service in the army in Hungary. After returning to Kiev my son lectured at the military department of Kiev Medical College and later at the Kiev College of Doctors' Advanced Training. In 1991 the last Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal Shaposhnikov, promoted my son to the rank of colonel of medical service. Vladimir works with medications now.
We didn't observe Jewish traditions in our family. I was a professional military and a member of the Party. It was impossible for me to observe any traditions. Besides, I grew up during the Soviet rule, studied at a military school and a military college and was far from the Jewish religion or Jewish traditions. Like many children of our time our children didn't identify themselves as Jews. We celebrated Soviet holidays and birthdays in our family. Irina made festive food and we invited guests. We had particularly festive celebrations on Victory Day 31, 9th May. This holiday is a mixture of joy and sorrow.
My parents and I were very happy about the establishment of Israel. In the late 1960s I became proud of Israel. In the middle of the 1960s the USSR sent military counselors to the armies of Egypt and Syria. They mostly sent specialists from Transcaucasia since the climate there was very much like in these countries. People didn't have to spent time adjusting to different climatic conditions. Since I was chief of headquarters of a division I took part in the selection of officers for the Egyptian army. In particular, in 1967 twenty officers from our division were sent as counselors for commanders of battalions, regiment headquarters and regiments of the Egyptian army. After the Six-Day-War 32 they returned home. Some of them were wounded. They treated me with respect. They used to say 'Here, comrade colonel is how one must struggle - like Jews did!' They said the Egyptian army was good for nothing. When listening to their stories I felt proud for Israel, for this small country that has to stand up against the whole Arabic world. It provokes arising admiration of the military that have seen so much in their life. Basically, whenever it comes to any discussion of anti-Semitism I always say, 'Yes, anti-Semitism exists, but it's not as scaring as it used to be in the past, before we got a state of our own'. Now the Jewish country stands for all Jews and anti-Semitism is not scaring at all. We have to struggle against it and beat it, but not be afraid of it.
In the 1970s Jews began to move to Israel. I never considered emigration for several reasons. Firstly, my wife isn't a Jew and I was afraid that she would face a prejudiced attitude in Israel. Besides, I wasn't young anymore. I understood that it was unlikely that I would find a job and I didn't want to be a dependent and receive what I hadn't earned. My children weren't willing to move abroad either and we didn't want to part with them. At that time traveling wasn't allowed and we couldn't invite foreigners to visit us. At that time it was dangerous for residents of the USSR to keep in touch with friends or relatives abroad 33. I didn't approve of emigration.
Jews that were leaving inspired negative attitudes towards the ones that stayed. If a person submitted an application for departure his boss was having problems at work. Managers were summoned to district Party committees where they were accused of loss of watchfulness and support of the world of Zionism. The USSR and Israel had a tense relationship. Managers were hesitant of employing Jews. Every Jew was suspected to be a potential emigrant and this might have caused problems in the future. Everyday anti-Semitism grew stronger. One could hear 'Go away to your Israel' in public transportation or in the street. That's why I didn't approve of those that were leaving.
After I retired I bumped into my old friend Arkadi Zaretski. He was deputy chairman of the Kiev Association of Jewish War Veterans at the Jewish council in Ukraine. He convinced me to join this veterans' organization. I couldn't refuse: they were my comrades, veterans of the war. I joined the Kiev organization of Jewish war veterans in 1993. A couple of years later I became a member of the council of veterans and in 1980 I became chairman of council. We do interesting work and meet twice a month. Those meetings are always interesting, but alas... There are almost 300 members in our organization, but half of them are confined to bed. About 100 veterans attend our meetings. Regretfully, one to two veterans leave us each month. The average age of the veterans is 80. However, we go on...
In the late 1980s perestroika began in the USSR. Of course, it wasn't only good things that it brought, but I believe that life improved. We lived our life in complete isolation from the rest of the world. We weren't allowed to keep in touch with friends living abroad and travel abroad. Perestroika opened opportunities. It brought us freedom and open information about the past and present of our country. It brought freedom of religion that used to be a mere item in the constitution. It mitigated anti-Semitism. Diplomatic relationships with Israel were established. Jewish organizations began to operate.