With Red Star on the Uniform, with Star of David in the Heart by Gene Berkovich

Issue 3 - Tishrei 5778 With Red Star on the Uniform, with Star of David in the Heart By Gene Berkovich An evening in 1984 It was an ordinary spring evening in 1984. lieu of batteries, which we could not find in The Soviet Olympic Committee had just stores for the past several months). We announced that it would not be sending its were trying to catch one of the broadcasts athletes to compete at the upcoming from the West to hear about the reaction to Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. I was the expected Russian boycott of the LA sitting with my father in our small two- Olympics. After all, the memory of the 1980 room apartment next to our old short-wave Summer Olympics in Moscow, largely radio (with an improvised soft wire antenna boycotted by the West, was still fresh in our and a home-made extrinsic power source in mind. 1 The first Russian-language broadcast that Jews who served in World War II, mostly in we came across that evening came not from the Red Army, but also in the Allied Forces the West, but from the South. It was the that defeated Hitler. broadcast of the Radio Kol Israel – The Voice of Israel. In fact, it was the first time in my life that I heard their broadcast. We caught a tail end of the interview with a woman from Odessa who made Aliyah with her son 10 months prior – and how she was hoping many listeners would soon be able to do the same (and so did we…). As we The 20th century blood libel – Soviet Union were ready to move on to look for a style different station, a new program came on the radio, which quickly glued our entire It is important to know that one of the family (which also included my mother and many modern forms of the blood libel in my older sister) to the radio. the former Soviet Union was to accuse the Jews of evading military service and sitting The day was May 8, the eve of one of the out the war in Tashkent (the capital of greatest Soviet holidays (in fact, the only Uzbekistan in Central Asia), thousands of Soviet holiday that my family ever cared miles from the battlefields. Nothing could for) – Victory Day, celebrated every year on be further from the truth, as I will point out th May 9 , marking the anniversary of the shortly, but nevertheless the vicious lies victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic were rather widespread. It was especially War. Of note, this day in my old country is hurtful considering that nearly half a million very reminiscent of the transition from Yom Jews fought in the ranks of the Red Army Hazikaron to Yom Ha’Atzmaut, the alone – not to mention over half a million in combination of sadness and joy, the allied forces. On a personal level, it was remembering those who fell fighting even more painful – as a grandson of a Nazism and honoring those who are still maternal grandfather, a member of the with us. armored corps who lost most of his fingers That year, May 8 also corresponded to Yom on both hands in a war, and a paternal Ha’Atzmaut – Israel Independence Day – grandfather, who paid the ultimate sacrifice the Holiday that I was hearing about for the (both of whom volunteered for the combat first time from the radio broadcast. In forces despite having legitimate reasons honor of these two occasions, coinciding and being encouraged by the government that year, the program was dedicated to the officials not to do so due to their essential 2 skills for the defense industry and law soldiers were killed in WWII, with another enforcement, respectively). It was even 180,000 wounded (nearly 70,000 of whom said that some rather high ranked Soviet suffered severe injuries). A third of Soviet military official questioned Jewish service in Jewish soldiers, approximately 167,000, WWII, compelling none other than the served as officers, including 305 in the ranks great Marshal Zhukov, one of the architects of general or admiral (including 7 people of the victory in WWII, to reply: “The Jews who rose to the ranks of a three-star fought, and very heroically!” general). Nearly 161,000 people were awarded orders and medals for their The radio program covered Jewish heroism during the war. Of them, 157 were participation in World War II, both the awarded the highest military honor, the general statistics and the individual stories title of Hero of the Soviet Union and 12 of selected Jews. The facts and the stories people became full cavaliers of the Order of were very inspiring and uplifting – too bad Glory, the highest honor specifically the anti-Semites could not hear them designated for soldiers and non- (though I am not certain it would have commissioned officers. And this brief made a difference). information is just a tip of an iceberg – “…Thousands of fighting Jews – Russian there are many publications and websites commanders and soldiers…” where much more detailed and complete information can be found. It also must be (a quote from the poem “Your Victory” by Margarita Aliger, circa 1946) added that the Jews in the Soviet Armed Forces faced much greater dangers than The facts and the numbers speak for their non-Jewish comrades, from facing themselves, and the statistics are widely automatic execution if captured by the available all over the Internet, in multiple enemy to anti-Semitism of some of their publications, as well as the dedicated fellow servicemen (some of whom even museum exhibits at Yad VaShem and the tried to voluntarily surrender to the Nazis Armored Corps Museum in Latrun. Nearly and give up their fellow Jewish soldiers to one and a half million Jews fought against earn good treatment from the Germans). Nazism, including nearly 501,000 Jews in There were also multiple episodes of Jews the Soviet Armed Forces and 562,000 Jews not being properly recognized for their acts in the US Armed Forces, not to mention the of bravery, whether by being denied armies of many other nations. Jews in promotions to higher military ranks, being Soviet Armed Forces suffered heavy nominated for lower class military awards casualties. It has been estimated that or frequently not being nominated at all, around 200,000-250,000 Soviet Jewish and sometimes giving credit for their 3 achievements to soldiers with less “Jewish- Independence War years. At that time, sounding” names. many holders of pre-war Polish passports, among whom there were many Jews, After the war, over many years, Israel has including some veterans of the partisan become a home to many veterans of that movement and Soviet-backed Polish Armia war. Following the war, many Jews from Ludowa, were allowed to leave the Soviet the Allied armies as well as the veterans of Union. Many of these people chose not to the legendary Jewish Brigade fought return to Poland, but instead traveled to heroically for Israel’s independence. Many British Mandate Palestine and subsequently made Israel their home after the Israel. However, the majority of the Soviet establishment of the Medinah. Although I WWII veterans probably arrived to Israel do not know the exact statistics, many of with the beginning of the mass Aliyah, beginning with the 1960’s and probably continuing until our times, albeit in much smaller numbers, due to the aging of their population. Some veterans came to Israel driven by their Jewish identity and Zionist and/or religious zeal, while others frequently came following their children and grandchildren. Among them – 6 Heroes of the Soviet Union and 2 Full their stories have been told and Cavaliers of the Order of Glory. documented in various forms, and all of us have many reasons to be proud of their I will briefly digress and mention that one of service and their heroism. To write about the highest-ranked and most decorated them would be way beyond the scope of Jewish WWII veterans, Colonel General this article. This article instead will David Dragunsky, became one of the most concentrate on veterans of the Eastern outspoken critics of Zionism and Israel and front who settled in Israel – those who of those who emigrated there and later fought in the ranks of the Red Army as well headed the infamous Anti-Zionist as the partisan formations in the Eastern Committee of the Soviet Public, an Europe. organization that spreads vicious lies and propaganda against Israel (and therefore Although I am not certain, I think it is safe was likened by many to Judenrats in to assume that at least some veterans of ghettos). Dragunsky continued to spew his the Eastern front probably came to Israel as hatred for the Jewish State even after the early as the pre-State/early post- 4 Soviet Union reestablished its relationship since the early days of the Medinah. Led with Israel and after Israel and the Jews largely by the left-wing MK’s who felt emigrating there ceased to be considered particularly close to the Soviet Union, enemies, and the UN rescinded its infamous including Meir Vilner, thousands of people “Zionism is Racism” resolution. gathered in the Red Army Forest at Har HaRuach, near Ma’aleh Hahamisha on a It is estimated that there are approximately Saturday of the May 9th week, to praise the 20,000 World War II veterans from the Soviet Union for its role in the war, sing former Soviet Union in Israel – although I songs and lay wreaths on the Red Army am not sure whether it reflects all the monument.

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