"We don't know who we are until we see what we can do." Martha Grimes

"It is worthwhile to live
And fight courageously
For sacred ideals.

He who was pressed from all sides
but remained victorious in spirit
is welcomed into the choir of heroes.

He who overcame the fetters
giving wings to his mind
is entering into the golden age of
the victorious. " - Norbert Capek (he is not Jewish, composed in Dresden Prison in 1941, shortly before he was transferred to Dachau concentration camp, where he died in October 1942)

Rabbi Joachim Prinz wrote in his memoir about his role as rabbi in the Berlin Jewish community under Nazism until 1937: “Outside the synagogue, in newspapers, on the radio, in the streets, on propaganda placards, in the cartoons, the Jews were depicted as non-persons-ugly, immoral, uncreative, cowardly, useless, inferior. I had to tell my people from the pulpit in every single sermon that to be a Jew is to be beautiful. To be a Jew is to be great and noble. It is difficult to imagine now how important it was to the Jews sitting in the synagogue to listen to someone expressing himself freely and speaking out openly against the Nazi regime, in spite of the fact that two Gestapo men were sitting in the first row.” It was not a beautiful life, when a rabbi had to give a speech in a presence of two Gestapo men. He continues: "It was most important to demonstrate that I was not afraid of anything." We only live once. Is it enough? If we live it right, once are enough.
Was being Jewish good or bad, hopeful or dreadful? For Jews their faith is much more than a set of religious beliefs and practices. It is the sum of the cultural and historical experience of Jewish people. Some scientists-anthropologists even consider that the better determination of Jews is a family. We have lived through four thousand years of persecution, enslavement, slaughter, exile, torture, inquisition, and pogrom and death camps. WE are still here today. One Lutheran pastor was asked to provide a proof of God's existence. His answer was The Jews. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan said in his book "The Infinite Light": "In order to speak about Judaism, we must speak about man and about life in general. If you truly understand Judaism, you know the ultimate secret of life's purpose."
Often than usually we asked themselves: Why did it happen? What meaning does my life have? What do I have to offer life? When we are young, many of us try to find a philosophy of life to follow. When we grow old, we look at a lifetime and ask: "What did I live for?" To find the answer on this question, I talked to people, who sacrificed their lives for FREEDOM, PEACE AND LOVE. For sure, "La Vita e Bella."

We dream about the victory . . . The most cherished words of soldiers in war . . . These are not only words, this is a feeling of the celebration of peace and freedom, life and hope. One of the German generals wrote: "A feature of the Russian soldier is his utter contempt for life or death, so incomprehensible to the Westerner. He is a good soldier everywhere and under any conditions." There were 500,000 Jews in the Red Army alone, of whom 200,000 died in battle; 160,000 of them received medals and awards for bravery and more than 150 of them received the highest decorations - the Golden Star and the honorary title “Hero of the Soviet Union”. (Courtesy of Simon Wiesenthal Center) In the first years of war the Jews obtained so many the Titles of "Hero of the Soviet Union" that in the consequence, when they began to undergo discrimination, nothing no longer it could change calculation, and they were in the first place in the percent ratio (fifth place among the recipients who have received the honor) according to the number of those rewarded with the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Many of the veterans feel a greater need to tell their stories: the wartime "caught" people at various stages their lives, and changed once and forever life of several generations. It's truly difficult to find a way between the past and present, between WAR and PEACE after the WAR.

Peter Gezunterman (dob - 1913) served as a surgeon in the Soviet army during WWII, currently lives in Minneapolis, MN USA: "Day and night we worked trying to survive lives, it was not considered as a heroism at all, it was our moral obligation. I had no information about my family near half a year after the beginning of war. My father found me and informed, that my wife Sofia and one-year old son Joseph are located in the army medical train, where the wife works as surgeon. She and I graduated together from the medical school. Two and half years my wife was in this medical train, risking her life and performing difficult medical duty. "Being a military doctor, did you encounter anti-Semitism?" - Not at all. "Did you talk to your children about what you and a wife had gone through" (one more son and daughter were born after the war) - Yes, we usually talk a lot. I used to be a good writer. I'm the author of many articles for local newspaper. Last 10 years I spent organizing my memoirs. I hope, my children and grandchildren are proud of their parents. (The youngest son Matthew asked: "Father, there are three children in our family. Why is only three, not six?") Dr. Gezunterman quickly replied: "I and mama were in the army. Life is beautiful in a peacetime, and we fought for PEACE."
I felt his honesty and straightforwardness. For sure, only a few know that in the years of World War II the military physicians returned back to the active duty 72 percent of injured and wounded soldiers. It's almost 10 million people. When I asked photo for the article, Dr.Peter Gezunterman said: "Only with wife." (Sofia Gezunterman-Sirota was died several years ago)
About one million women served in the Soviet Armed Forces during WWII, yet their significant contribution to victory in that war has, so far, received insufficient attention. 70% of the 800,000 Russian women who served in the Soviet army in WW2 fought at the front line. One hundred thousand of them were decorated for defending their country.
Four years of war were the most difficult period for Private Yakov Grichener (dob 1924, currently live in Plymouth, MN, USA), who was born in Romania and moved to Moldavia only in 1940. He begins his recollections with the words: "We all wanted to be alive! We wanted Victory!" Four years were contributed to heavy fighting, into cold and heat the commander of the machine-gun crew Grichener fought for the Victory. Being injured in the hospital, he requested to be sent back to the frontline: the head injury could not stop the soldier of dreaming of peaceful life after Victory. Peace and happiness settled in his family after the war. In the following year Grichener family will celebrate the diamond (60 years) anniversary of their married life: the dream is truly eternal. Talking with Yakov, I recalled the famous aphorism: "Dreams - are the cornerstones of our nature."
"How did the Jewish soldiers get along with non-Jewish?" - Personally, I did not feel any anti-Semitism. Discipline in the Red Army was outstanding.
When I looked through a photograph album, I found a lot of pictures of children and grandchildren.
"Yakov, do your children know Yiddish?" - Yes. My family is Jewish.
"Is your life beautiful?" - Yes. You just have to proud to be a Jew.

Is it difficult to be Jew and officer during the war?... Now there is time for some thoughts, and in 1941 young officer Yakov Rabinovich (dob 1921, currently live in Minneapolis) began his military career: "Victory was the amazing motivation in order to want to live. All four years I was in a front line, knowing that each battle can be the last one for me and each of the soldiers in my platoon. Between combat I used to read and learn dreaming about the peaceful life and military academy. All four years of the war I had known nothing about my parents and sisters, and all four years I searched for them. The long-awaited letter from the father arrived 2 weeks prior to victory: they waited for me. For years Soviet Government used to hide truth about heroism of Jewish soldiers and officers in wartime, anti-Semites in the Soviet Union would assert that Jews had not fought at the Front but had stayed in the background awaiting its outcome. After war I managed to start to work on my advanced military degree. For sure, it was the best thing for me." Even now he talks enthusiastically about his studies: the dream came true. His bravery, courage and commitment to work were highly awarded during the war and after by Soviet government.
"Do you like to wear the military awards?" - Not at all. Peace is a reward for all of us, who fought for it.