Jewish Jewish fighters 1941-1945's file / תיק – לוחמים יהודים 1941-1945 1941-1945's file / תיק – לוחמים יהודים 1941-1945

📜Archival Documentation in Tartu

These sources include official participation questionnaires documenting the lives of Jewish soldiers who fought in World War II within the Soviet Army. Each document details personal information, dates of birth, military ranks, and lists of decorations and medals awarded to the fighters for their service. Some of the forms include portrait photographs of the veterans and handwritten personal memories describing their experiences at the front and in various battles. In addition, the documents record the military units in which they served and the geographical locations where they operated during the war years between 1941 and 1945. This collection serves as an essential historical testimony commemorating the contribution of Jewish fighters to the victory over Nazi Germany.

The documents before us reveal rich historical and biographical details about Jewish veterans (demobilized soldiers) who fought in World War II, with emphasis on their connection to Estonia and their diverse roles in the Red Army. Below is an expansion on the central figures, places, and events emerging from the sources:

Prominent Figures

• Abram Samuilovich Izraelyan: Colonel in the engineering and fortification corps. Born in Saint Petersburg, he fought on the Leningrad Front and in the Baltic states. He received many decorations, including the Order of the Red Star and the Order of the Patriotic War (E20-1f).
• Elizaveta Leibovna Borukh: Served as a medical sergeant in the Guards corps. She participated in battles on the First Baltic Front and in the liberation of Lithuania and Königsberg. Her memoirs describe treating the wounded under fire and living under constant danger (E20-1f).
• Natan Leibovich Asnovich: A native of Tallinn who served in artillery units with the rank of lieutenant. He fought in battles in Estonia, Leningrad, and Latvia, and received decorations for bravery in battle (E20-1f).
• Boris Efrosimovich Rokhlin: A senior lieutenant born in Tallinn who volunteered for service and fought in the defense of Tallinn and Leningrad at the very beginning of the war (E20-1f).
• David Semyonovich Slonimsky: A colonel who commanded a battalion and fought on several fronts, including the Fourth Ukrainian Front and the Southern Front. He participated in the liberation of the North Caucasus and the Crimean Peninsula (E20-1f).
• Samuil Itskhakovich Berkovich: An example of a soldier who fell in battle. He was killed in January 1943 during the battles of Velikiye Luki (E20-1f).

Places and Combat Arenas

• Leningrad Front: The main place where many of the veterans appearing in the documents served. The defense of the city and the fighting in the area are mentioned in the questionnaires of Abram Lev, Lazar Pograbinsky, and Mikhail Hirshovich (E20-1f).
• Estonia (Tallinn, Tartu, Narva): The sources emphasize the close connection of the fighters to Estonia – either as their birthplace (such as Samuil Kaplan and Kopel Savitsky) or as a battlefield against the fascist occupation (E20-1f, E20-2f).
• Velikiye Luki: A difficult battle zone where soldiers from the Estonian Corps fought and fell, as documented in the questionnaires of Berkovich and Savitsky (E20-1f).
• Hanko Base: Nikolai Greisman describes in his questionnaire the defense of the naval base at Hanko between 1940 and 1941 (E20-1f).

Events and Fields of Service

• Medical service in the war: A large number of veterans served as doctors, medics, and commanders in the medical service, including Naum Golubov, Eliyah Hirshilevich, and Polina Pograbinskaya. They operated in field hospitals and on the front lines (E20-1f).
• Registration of veterans and preservation of memory: The sources include a detailed name list of 37 veterans who fought “on the soil of Estonia,” including their ranks and notes about receiving decorations (E20-2f).
• Archival and genealogical research: There is correspondence documenting attempts to locate information about Jewish students at the University of Tartu and about Jewish family names in broader historical contexts (E20-3f).

List of Sources

• E20-1f : Collection of personal questionnaires of Jewish veterans from World War II, including biographical details, ranks, course of service, and decorations.
• E20-2f : A consolidated name list of veterans who fought against fascism on Estonian soil, accompanied by photographs and a letter from the Hebrew University.
• E20-3f : Email correspondence and records dealing with genealogical and archival research in Estonia, including student lists and Jewish family names.

E20-1f

E20-2f

E20-3f

** end of Jewish fihgters 1941-1945 files **

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