Since 1945, the day of the victory over Nazi Germany, celebrated on May 9, has been one of the holiest days in the USSR
. Who was ready to hear how the country defeated the German Nazis and liberated Europe and the world from fascism.
Victory Day events over the Nazis in Moscow // Photo: Reuters
The most glorious battles were over the cities of Stalingrad and Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg), and soldiers who had almost no weapons or any help, managed thanks to resourcefulness, courage and "spirit", to lead to a spectacular victory.
At the same time, the story told by the totalitarian Soviet government in the post-war years was made up of many half-truths and historical distortions.
Thanks to well-thought-out propaganda, the Soviet "truth" was told time and time again, until at last its citizens hardly knew any other story.
This is especially noticeable against the background of the current war in Ukraine and the Russian administration's attempt to produce a narrative that justifies the invasion, in which Russia is once again fighting against the “Nazis”.
Only this time it is "Ukrainian Nazis" who are threatening the Russian-speaking minority in their country and Russia itself, so they must be fought in a kind of holy war.
His jacket is adorned with the medals of Alexander "Shula" Krasnov, grandfather of MK Yevgeny Soba, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Ongoing conflict
Either way, the conflict between the stories the veterans' children and grandchildren grew up on, and history as it was, presented many people with a not-so-simple dilemma and affected their identities.
For those who immigrated to Israel, this also affected their Israeli identity, among other things.
An example of this can be seen in MK Yevgeny Soba (Yisrael Beiteinu), who came to Israel at the age of 17. Although as an adult his identity was crystallized, but as someone who experienced the dissolution of the USSR "in the flesh", the conflict between the stories he grew up with Right in front of his eyes.
"From the age of 6 I was more or less interested in the subject of World War II. I think every Soviet child grew up on the stories of the war. You could not miss it. May 9 was a very important and significant day in the USSR.
That's why I knew from the first grade that there was a war, that my country fought and won, "he says.
A picture of the unification of the veterans of the 18th Army in 1987, including that of MK Soba, Alexander Krasnov, Photo: From the family album
"When the USSR disbanded in 1991, I was in fourth grade and we lived in Ukraine.
A few years later, when I was in sixth grade, our history books were replaced, and in the new books most of the things that were related to 70 years of Soviet history were presented in a completely different way from what was written in textbooks in Soviet Ukraine.
At the same time, the story of the war remained pretty much the same and it was very clear who the bad guys were and who the good guys were, and that the USSR defeated the Nazis almost alone.
"It was only when I was growing up that I learned how partial and inaccurate this 'truth' was, to say the least. I suddenly discovered that this huge war, which for Israel and the world began in 1939 - for the Russians began in 1941. "It burned, countries that were conquered, as if it did not exist," he says.
"So I began to connect my part, the history I knew from my childhood, to the history I learned in adulthood, with an emphasis on the Holocaust of the Jews of the USSR, which was hidden and denied in the USSR. European, without recognizing the extermination of more than two million Jews in USSR territory.
MK Soba's grandfather, Alexander Krasnov with his daughters, Photo: From the family album
Partners for victory
Soba goes on to say that "I set myself the goal, as an Israeli who served in the army and studied here at the university, to also tell the stories of the heroism of the Jews in World War II, and that only the story of extermination will remain in the public consciousness. Many people do not know." The Nazis, half a million of whom served in the Red Army and half of whom were killed in the war.
"It's inconceivable when you think about it - every second Jewish soldier sent to the Red Army did not return. That's why it's important for me to say that we, the Jews, were partners in the victory, and not just the victims or the bystanders."
MK Yevgeny Soba with the photo of his grandfather, Alexander "Shula" Krasnov and in the background from his baton with medals and decorations, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"As for my family's story, the veteran I grew up with was my maternal grandmother's brother, Alexander 'Shula' Krasnov.
Because I did not know my grandfather, my grandmother's husband, so her brother was for me as a grandfather for everything.
He was born in Ukraine, close to Uman and when the war started he was sent directly to an expedited officers course, because he was already 24 years old and considered an adult.
He then became commander of an intelligence company in the 18th Army of the Red Army, the same army that took part in the battles of Stalingrad.
"He received many medals for his courage and was a valued veteran," he says proudly.
Compared to her grandfather, Alex Riff, CEO of Lobby Million, a poet and social activist who promotes the issue of the rights of veterans and immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent States, immigrated to Israel at the age of 5 and spent most of her life choosing to be Israeli. Both are very different.
The first, Jacob Riff, was a 'classic' veteran - before the war he was an academic and then enlisted in combat engineering and took care of identifying and neutralizing mines.
He was injured several times, once very badly in the head, an injury from which he barely survived.
He received two "Red Star" decorations and was a decorated war hero all his life. "
Jacob Riff (right) with his friend while serving at the front during World War II, Photo: Courtesy of the family
"My other grandfather, Isak Geller, on the other hand, did not tell much about what he went through during the war years. From what he told my mother about his deathbed, it turned out that one day, while he and his friend were at the front, an order was issued by the administration to remove anyone who was not Russian. ', When it was not clear whether the reference was to Jews or Ukrainians. He and his friend were put on a train and sent to an unknown destination. They decided to flee, jumped off the train and returned to the front. There they were captured and sent to the Gulag (Soviet labor camp; .
"For years I was ashamed"
"In the USSR it was a great shame.
Whoever was sent to the Gulag was considered a traitor in the homeland, so he told very little about it.
What we do know is that he stayed there for three years, engaged in forced labor in very difficult conditions and barely survived, "she adds." In my opinion, this is a very beautiful story anyway, "Alex claims. My grandfather, who despite fighting, was not called a 'veteran' and was considered a traitor and a disgrace to the country.
Isak Geller with his wife and daughter Mira, Alex Riff's mother, Photo: Courtesy of the family
"For many, many years I have been ashamed of my background, culture and heritage," she shares sadly.
"This is reflected in the fact that in high school we learned about the Holocaust and the extermination camps in Poland, and my father tried to tell me our family story, but he used other words I did not learn about - 'veteran', 'gulag', 'evacuation' (civil evacuation; d." C) And I thought to myself that this is not an Israeli story, it does not appear in my history books, so I did not really want to hear the stories of my family. "
Alex Riff with the photos of her two grandparents - Isak Geller and Yaakov Riff, Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
"It was only after my last grandmother passed away that I became interested and realized the great shortcoming of the story of the Jews of the USSR.
Since then, I have started leading the 'Cultural Brigade' in order to instill in Israeli society the all-important story of Jews and Judaism in the Soviet space.
Among other things, the story of the Jews who fought and were not only systematically exterminated during the Holocaust and World War II.
I even named my little son after my grandfather - Oz Isak, in the hope that one day he would also want to know his family's story. "
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us