In 1934 two German Jews came in our class. When Hitler came to power in Germany, their families managed to flee to the USSR. Both of those boys finished ten classes in our school. Their fathers were arrested in 1937 on suspicion of espionage for Germany though they were common workers at the plant. When Yezhov was arrested [14] and Beriya came to power [15], the father of one of those boys was released from prison and came back home. The person was arrested on a false charge, and he was set free after they cleared things up. Those boys went to school and nobody persecuted them neither teachers nor students. Nobody reproached them for their fathers being peoples’ enemies [16].
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Displaying 38311 - 38340 of 50826 results
Ferdinand Chernovich
With the outbreak of WW2 in 1939 people were perturbed. However, there were no assumptions that Germany might attack USSR as we were constantly convinced that our army was invincible and nobody would dare to attack us. Even if it happened, the war would not last long and our valorous army would fight the enemy on his territory. Of course, we believed in that. Besides, Polish territory was divided and its considerable part was annexed to the USSR [17] which was another proof of our power.
When Molov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact was signed [18] people calmed down as with this agreement friendship and mutual assistance between Germany and USSR would be established. In November 1939 Finnish campaign was commenced [19], and USSR gained the victory. Though, after war in Poland drafting age was reduced by one year. The drafting age was 19 and since 1939 it was changed to 18. Thus, lads after finishing 10-year school were not able to enter the institute without serving in the army.
When I was in the 10th grade I got a document from the military enlistment office stating that I would be drafted in the army in autumn 1941. I had to postpone entering the institute for two years. Even if I had entered the institute right after finishing school, I would have studied only for two months and drafted in the army anyway.
On Sunday, June 22, 1941 I was at home by myself. Mother went out somewhere. My neighbor knocked on the door. She told me to turn radio on. Molotov was finishing his speech [20] on outbreak of war. I was able to hear his last words: «Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. We will gain the victory».
Germans began bombing Moscow in July 1941. On the 10th of August I was supposed to come to the military enlistment office with my belongings and passport. Mother was really worried. She already knew the results of war. The pharmacy she worked for was turned into military hospital for the wounded. Mother did not want to be evacuated. She had worked there for the entire period of war.
Other draftees and I were sent to the camps in Chelyabinsk [about 1500 km to the North-East from Moscow]. We were not given the uniform, we stayed in our civilian clothes. They wanted to allocate us in different military schools according to our education. I did not want to go to the military school as I was not willing to become a professional military. I was lucky. At the beginning of November we were brought to some school, but there probably was a excessive number of students as the commander asked if there was anybody among us who did not want to study. Some people stepped forward. I was one of them. We were sent to the training squadron of the reserve regiment. We had stayed there for a month. We were taught how to become radio operators.
In squadron we had march drills and political classes. Germans were squeezed out from Moscow and there were hardly any air-raids. Beside ours, there were two more squadrons in our regiment. One of them had a lot of casualties and the other one ran out of ammunition. Those battalions were also sent for reforming. Then we were merged with another regiment and sent to Stalingrad. By that time we began to besiege Germans on the suburbs of Stalingrad. Our regiment took part in demolishing German forces close to Stalingrad.
We began our attack on November 19, 1942. There were a couple of mortar regiments like ours at the operational disposal of the army.
First we worked on dugs-out. Winter was coming and we had to get ready to it. The area in the vicinity of Stalingrad was a bare steppe. There was no place to hide. Army supplies of provision and ammunition were regular and timely. We had meals twice a day -- late at night and early in the morning. It was impossible to bring food in the daytime as Germans started fire. I was lucky because I did not smoke, and I did not crave for cigarettes. I saw that for smokers absence of cigarettes was more dreadful than malnutrition. There were no sanitary conditions. We did not take bath for couple of months. All of us were lice-ridden.
Infantry was involved in Stalingrad battle but not as much as in other battles. Artillery played the major role in this battle. First there was an artillery preparation. Germans rushed out from dugs-out. White snow was turned into a black when Germans were running. Mortar squadrons and our Katyushas started fire. I did not consider Germans to be human-beings and I did not feel sorry for the killed German soldiers falling on the ground.
First we worked on dugs-out. Winter was coming and we had to get ready to it. The area in the vicinity of Stalingrad was a bare steppe. There was no place to hide. Army supplies of provision and ammunition were regular and timely. We had meals twice a day -- late at night and early in the morning. It was impossible to bring food in the daytime as Germans started fire. I was lucky because I did not smoke, and I did not crave for cigarettes. I saw that for smokers absence of cigarettes was more dreadful than malnutrition. There were no sanitary conditions. We did not take bath for couple of months. All of us were lice-ridden.
Infantry was involved in Stalingrad battle but not as much as in other battles. Artillery played the major role in this battle. First there was an artillery preparation. Germans rushed out from dugs-out. White snow was turned into a black when Germans were running. Mortar squadrons and our Katyushas started fire. I did not consider Germans to be human-beings and I did not feel sorry for the killed German soldiers falling on the ground.
From newspapers I learned about German atrocities on the occupied territories. I saw burnt trees in the vicinity of Stalingrad and hanged peasants, whose cadavers were pecked by birds. I knew about the attitude of Germans towards Jews and how they ruthlessly murdered them. Germans did not only kill Jews. I could not comprehend how they could possibly do so much harm.
Finally, I was able to see my mother. She still stayed at work overnight. I learnt sad news from her. She was told by the neighbors of our relatives that her sister Sarah and three of her children, who lived in Lithuania, had been shot by Germans. It was the time of a mass fusillade of the Jews. When Germans came in Smolensk, my father’s siblings and their families were murdered in gas chamber.
We were sent to Kursk. It was withdrawn from division and went to battles as a separate regiment. Our army was getting ready for Kursk operation [26]. We arrived there at the end of March, 1943. Mass battles were commenced on July 5, 1943.
Our regiment was in Orlovsko-Kursk direction, there was also Belgorod-Kursk direction. It was even a more fierce than Stalingrad battle, but it did not last long. Germans were bombing hard. There were less casualties in our regiment as compared to the infantry.
Tank and infantry division had the most casualties. Artillery was in the second echelon and had less casualties accordingly. We had been retreating for about a week and came to the border with Ukraine. Then the initiative was taken by our troops and we started attacking. By that time there were many trucks in the army, including American stood backers and land rovers. They speeded up moving of our squadron and made it easier.
Americans helped us with provision. They sent us canned meat, chocolate, egg powder, but they were not in a hurry to open the promised second front. We were swiftly moving forward. Our regiment took Novgorod-Severskiy and moved towards the central Ukraine. Artillery played the major role in Kursk battle. Our artillery was excellent, maybe even better than the German one. Germans did not have such weapons as our Katyushas and they did not manage to design anything of the kind.
Tank and infantry division had the most casualties. Artillery was in the second echelon and had less casualties accordingly. We had been retreating for about a week and came to the border with Ukraine. Then the initiative was taken by our troops and we started attacking. By that time there were many trucks in the army, including American stood backers and land rovers. They speeded up moving of our squadron and made it easier.
Americans helped us with provision. They sent us canned meat, chocolate, egg powder, but they were not in a hurry to open the promised second front. We were swiftly moving forward. Our regiment took Novgorod-Severskiy and moved towards the central Ukraine. Artillery played the major role in Kursk battle. Our artillery was excellent, maybe even better than the German one. Germans did not have such weapons as our Katyushas and they did not manage to design anything of the kind.
I was awarded with the medal for Military Merits [27] after Kursk battle. I got it in autumn, 1943. It was written in my order citation that I demonstrated discipline and valor. Then I was told that there was a decree by the minister of defense not to give high class military awards to the representatives of certain nationalities such as Jews, Chechens, Tartars. I do not know whether that information was true. It was mostly likely that people were included in the list to be awarded with the Red Banner Order [28], but in fact they were given the award of a lower class.
We moved to the west -- to Byelorussia. We liberated the town of Novozybkov in Bryansk district and stopped by Gomel. We fought for positioning. There were no battles. Only in June, 1944 we liberated entire Byelorussia. We left western Byelorussia for Poland.
I did not feel Anti-Semitism from my commandment. Commanders were just to me. Privates might make a mistake. There were cases when I was reprimanded, but anti-Semitism was not implied. Most of the soldiers around me were sure that most Jews were not in the lines, they were just sitting in the rear. It was a mere assumption in post-war period. People often said that Jews were fighting in Tashkent rather than in the lines [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].
There was at least one SMERSH representative in each regiment [29]. Their official task was to capture the spies. But usually they spied on our soldiers ensuring that there was no «moral degradation», panic or discontent with the actions of the commandment or representatives of the Soviet authorities.
My front-line experience ended in Polish town Belostok. My colleagues, radio-operators and I were on our way to the observation post and I stepped on the mine. I was the only one who suffered from a pin-point blast. My comrades picked me up. Somebody had the car brought and I was taken to the medical battalion. I was on the operation table in 40 minutes. My leg was amputated. Heel bone and calf were crushed, so my leg could not be saved. My leg was amputated about to a knee length- 28 cm lower from the knee.
I was informed by them that I was included in the list of awardees for Great Patriotic War Order [30]. I asked to send my award to Tbilisi military enlistment office. Soon, I was conferred with a Red Star Order in the hospital [31], which was of a lower class than the Order of Great Patriotic War, it meant that the class of my award was reduced. In Moscow in May 1945 I was given the medal «For Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45» along with others who participated in the war [32]. Later on I was given the medals to commemorate jubilee dates of WWII and Soviet army. I have 15 awards, but only three of them are war decorations.
In the hospital I was given the status of disabled having the right to work. Pensions for disabled or retired were miserable at that time and it was next to impossible to make a living on them. That is why people worked until they physically could not die by hunger. In Moscow I settled in mother’s poky apartment in the basement and began looking for a job. Disabled people had the pension in the amount of 45 rubles per month.
It was possible to get by for 3 days on that amount of money. It was impossible to survive without work and I could not be a burden to my mother not only in the household, but also financially. There were not very many men, most of them were in the lines. Soon I managed to find a job as an accountant in small company. My salary was skimpy, but the work was not tiresome, besides I had time to get ready for the entrance exams in the institute.
It was possible to get by for 3 days on that amount of money. It was impossible to survive without work and I could not be a burden to my mother not only in the household, but also financially. There were not very many men, most of them were in the lines. Soon I managed to find a job as an accountant in small company. My salary was skimpy, but the work was not tiresome, besides I had time to get ready for the entrance exams in the institute.
I did not join party in the lines. At work I was offered and recommended to join the party on a number of occasions. I objected to it. In the hospital I heard the talks of the wounded officers, the way they cursed Jews. All of them were ordinary members of the party. I understood that I should not become the member of the party, besides I was not willing to do that because I was never interested in political issues.
I had straight excellent marks in my secondary education certificate, and I did not have to take entrance exams, just to go through the interview [33]. It was as easy as pie, and in September, 1945 I became a student of Moscow Institute of High Chemical Technologies named after Lomonosov, the faculty of chemical engineers. Mother insisted on full-time attendance in spite of the fact that my salary made most of our budget. During my studies I received pension for disabled soldiers, which was a little bit increased by that time and a stipend.
In May 1948 the state of Israel was founded and recognized by other counties. It meant a lot to me. Jews had been roaming all over the world for centuries without having their own land. Now they had their own land, and their own state. It was my state as well. I admired prime-minister Golda Meir [34]. I consider myself to be a Jew and I was never ashamed to be a Jew in spite of not knowing Jewish language, Jewish traditions, being raised atheist and brought up in Russian culture.
Anti-Semitism appeared right after the war. It started on social level. At that time I heard that Jews were not in the lines, trying to save their lives in evacuation. Anti-Semitism on state level came to place in 1948 when Campaign against ‘cosmopolitans’ began [35]. Jews involved in science and culture were persecuted. Many actors and writers had alias names, and when there was an article in the paper about some of them, it was always emphasized that he or she was a cosmopolitan Jew concealing himself by a «euphonic» surname, and his true name sounded typically Jewish.
Jews were exiled in GULAG [36], they were not employed. They were not only exterminated morally, but physically as well. The members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were arrested and murdered [37]. The above-mentioned committee was founded during war times and assisted our army very much. A wonderful actor Solomon Mikhoels was the chairman of the committee. [38]. He was overridden by a truck in Minsk. His death was considered to be an accident, but I along with many people understood that it was not unlikely to be accident.
My mother and I attended the performances of the Jewish theatre for couple of times where Mikhoels took part. I was rapt by Mikhoels’s actor’s talent in both performances I saw, no matter that they were in Yiddish and I did not know that language. Soon after his death the theatre was closed down.
In 1950 I graduated from the institute. Scientific research and post-graduate studies was my dream, but it was unrealizable for me. Jews were not admitted to post-graduate studies. In accordance with the Soviet law the board had no right to give me a Mandatory job assignment [39] in another city or another republic because I was an excellent student and disabled. At that time there was a tacit instruction not to hire Jews.
When I asked to find me a closer working place, I was told to take my mandatory job assignment or look for a job on my own. I understood that I would not be able to find a job by myself and I had to agree. The plant was 60 km away from Moscow and I had to take a commuter train to get to the plant. I could not go back and forth every day and I was given a room in the hostel by the plant. I had worked for three years at that plant. My job was very interesting. Besides, I got the opportunity to acquire quite a good qualification.
The working conditions were hard for me, because it was difficult for me to walk at that time as I was trying to get used to the artificial leg. The territory of the plant was huge. There was no transport, and the village, where I lived was far from the plant. At that time Saturday was a working day. But we did not work full time, so I managed to visit mother on Sunday. According to my mandatory job assignment I was supposed to work for three years, after that I had the right to quit my job.
The working conditions were hard for me, because it was difficult for me to walk at that time as I was trying to get used to the artificial leg. The territory of the plant was huge. There was no transport, and the village, where I lived was far from the plant. At that time Saturday was a working day. But we did not work full time, so I managed to visit mother on Sunday. According to my mandatory job assignment I was supposed to work for three years, after that I had the right to quit my job.
Of course, I felt Anti-Semitism. I was not promoted, on the contrary I was constantly nagged. I had to prove that I was right. My nationality was the only reason for that. They had no right to fire me during the term of mandatory job assignment, and when the term was over they began putting pressure on me. Fortunately, new director came to the plant, who stood up for front-line soldiers. He ordered to leave me in peace.
In January 1953 doctors’ plot commenced [40]. I was lucky not to be at the plant at that time. I was sent to attend courses in Moscow. If I was at the plant at that time, I would be in trouble for sure. Anti-Semitism was very severe at that time. I would have been difficult to visit mother on the weekend -- I could have been thrown from the train. I heard there were cases like that. Of course, I did not believe that doctors were guilty in poisoning Stalin. Most people believed that thinking that Jews were able to do anything.