Forgotten front

About half a million Jews served during the Second World War in the Soviet Army. About 7,000 of them today live in Israel. Once a year they march in parades in complete uniform, ringing medals. Then they return to their modest apartments, where some of them live alone and poverty. Soviet war veterans arrived in Israel as pensioners. Most of them will never learn Hebrew. Few Israelis recognize their stories.

1. Aaron Cavisher, Ashkelon. He was drafted into the Red Army in 1942, served as a mechanic in the Air Force, fought on the 4th Ukrainian Front. Emigrated to Israel in 1991

2. Shalom Skops, 88 years old, Tel Aviv. The commander of the battalion, fought in Latvia. During the battle, he received a fragmentation wound with a grenade and stayed in the hospital until May 25, 1945. SKOPS demobilized in 1947 and emigrated to Israel in 1959.

3. Mikhail Sandler, 93 years old, Jerusalem. Sandler was drafted into the Red Army in 1939. He served in the 3rd Guards Tank Army in the 91st separate tank brigade, fought in Stalingrad, and then took part in the capture of Berlin and in the liberation of Prague. Sandler emigrated to Israel in 1991.

4. Naum Orlov, 88 years old, Rishon Lezion. He was drafted into the Red Army in 1943, served in the 3rd Guards Tank Army on the Voronezh Front as an infantryman and took part in the liberation of Kyiv, and then participated in the capture of Berlin and the liberation of Prague. After the war, he continued military service in the Navy. He emigrated to Israel from Chisinau in 1990.

5. Boris Ginzburg, Ashdod. Ginzburg, born in Belarus, in 1941 hit the ghetto in the town of Lenin, from which he was liberated by partisans in September 1942. He joined the partisan detachment, fought there for two years, and in 1944 he entered the combat units of the Red Army commander of the battalion. Ginzburg was demobilized in 1947 and emigrated to Israel in 2001.

6. David Rivelsky, Jerusalem. In 1941, he took part in the heroic defense of Leningrad as part of the Leningrad Front, for which he was awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" in 1943. Rivelsky emigrated to Israel in 1999.

7. Yakov Vilkovich, 90 years old, Ashdod. He served since 1941 in the infantry battalion of the 31st Army and fought in Berlin in 1945. Emigrated in 1998

8. Grigory Shtinman, 87 years old, Ashdod. Shtinman was drafted into the Red Army in 1943 and fought on the 1st Belorussian Front, until he was wounded on January 23, 1945. Shtinman was demobilized in 1950 and emigrated to Israel in 1991 from Belarus.

9. Yitzhak Chudnovsky, Ashkelon. He was drafted into the Red Army in 1942, was the commander of the artillery brigade on the Stalingrad Front.

10. Semen Zwang, Ashkelon. He was drafted into the Red Army in 1941, fought on the 1st Ukrainian Front. He liberated Kyiv, Prague and Berlin. Zvang emigrated to Israel in 1991.

11. Naum Matovich, 87 years old, Ashkelon. Matovich was a bomber pilot at Il-4 in the 18th Air Army and fought in Japan and Korea. He emigrated to Israel from Chisinau in 1994.

12. Matvey Gershman, 90 years old, Ashkelon. Gershman fought since 1941 in the Air Force. Later he was transferred to the 5th shock army, fought in Ukraine, after which he got into the 8th Guards Army and took part in the battle for Berlin, took the Reichstag. Gershman emigrated to Israel from Gomel in 1990.

The site of the photographer