Selected text
I graduated from the school in 1948 with a gold medal. When they were
issuing my certificate they called me by my Jewish name, Leonid Meyerovich,
although I had listed my last name as Markovich on the Komsomol card. Then
I crossed out my Russian name, Markovich, put in Meyerovich instead.
In 1948 I entered Infantry School in Leningrad. During my second year
there, I participated in a fight between cadets. As a result, the sergeant
had his nose broken. We had been drinking a bottle of wine and gotten into
a small argument. There was a Komsomol unit meeting. The secretary looked
at my Komsomol membership card, saw the correction I had made, and accused
me of trying to conceal my nationality. Because of this fight I was sent to
serve in Kamchatka, although I was supposed to be going to Germany.
My performance was good, although they reminded me of that fight in
Leningrad. I remember that on 5 or 6 March 1953 we were lined up at Drill
Square. We were told that there was going to be an important announcement.
Then we were released without being told anything. At 6 o'clock in the
morning we were lined up again, and this time they announced that Stalin
had died. In the evening we were in our room at the hostel and, pouring
alcohol into our glasses, I said, "Well, guys, shall we commemorate the
deceased one?" My friend York Repin didn't like me talking disparagingly
about Stalin, the leader of the people. But Stalin's death was no tragedy
for me.
In the summer of 1953 during my service in Kamchatka I submitted
documents to Leningrad Academy of the Rear and Transport Services. I was to
take exams in Khabarovsk. When I was taking my entrance exams I felt to the
full what it was like to be a Jew in the Soviet Union. My friend Yulik
Mondrus, a Jew, and I had gold medals and could be officially released from
taking entrance exams. But we were forced to take all the exams. Yulik
"failed" at the exam in physics. I passed all my exams, but the examiners
reminded me of all my faults: the correction I'd made on my Komsomol
membership card, the fight in Leningrad, and also that my grandmother was
under occupation. They didn't care that this blind elderly woman had been
shot by the Germans. They were only interested in whether she had done any
harm to Soviet power, or cooperated with the Germans. It so happened that
during this period there was an announcement on the radio about the
rehabilitation of the Jewish doctors from the Kremlin who had been falsely
accused of the conspiracy aimed at the murder of Stalin and other Soviet
leaders. After this announcement, the attitude towards me changed and I was
admitted to the Academy.
issuing my certificate they called me by my Jewish name, Leonid Meyerovich,
although I had listed my last name as Markovich on the Komsomol card. Then
I crossed out my Russian name, Markovich, put in Meyerovich instead.
In 1948 I entered Infantry School in Leningrad. During my second year
there, I participated in a fight between cadets. As a result, the sergeant
had his nose broken. We had been drinking a bottle of wine and gotten into
a small argument. There was a Komsomol unit meeting. The secretary looked
at my Komsomol membership card, saw the correction I had made, and accused
me of trying to conceal my nationality. Because of this fight I was sent to
serve in Kamchatka, although I was supposed to be going to Germany.
My performance was good, although they reminded me of that fight in
Leningrad. I remember that on 5 or 6 March 1953 we were lined up at Drill
Square. We were told that there was going to be an important announcement.
Then we were released without being told anything. At 6 o'clock in the
morning we were lined up again, and this time they announced that Stalin
had died. In the evening we were in our room at the hostel and, pouring
alcohol into our glasses, I said, "Well, guys, shall we commemorate the
deceased one?" My friend York Repin didn't like me talking disparagingly
about Stalin, the leader of the people. But Stalin's death was no tragedy
for me.
In the summer of 1953 during my service in Kamchatka I submitted
documents to Leningrad Academy of the Rear and Transport Services. I was to
take exams in Khabarovsk. When I was taking my entrance exams I felt to the
full what it was like to be a Jew in the Soviet Union. My friend Yulik
Mondrus, a Jew, and I had gold medals and could be officially released from
taking entrance exams. But we were forced to take all the exams. Yulik
"failed" at the exam in physics. I passed all my exams, but the examiners
reminded me of all my faults: the correction I'd made on my Komsomol
membership card, the fight in Leningrad, and also that my grandmother was
under occupation. They didn't care that this blind elderly woman had been
shot by the Germans. They were only interested in whether she had done any
harm to Soviet power, or cooperated with the Germans. It so happened that
during this period there was an announcement on the radio about the
rehabilitation of the Jewish doctors from the Kremlin who had been falsely
accused of the conspiracy aimed at the murder of Stalin and other Soviet
leaders. After this announcement, the attitude towards me changed and I was
admitted to the Academy.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Leonid Karlinsky