Ilya Magid

Editor Steven Siegel

Fragments of Jewish History- years 5650-5750
(1891-1991)

1. The situation with Jews at the beginning of the 2nd World War.
1.1 Jews in Germany
1.2 Jews in Poland
1.3 Jews in the Soviet Union
2. War
3. Victory
Boston, 2006
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Fragments of Jewish History -years (5650-5750)
~ (1891-1991)

G-d defines the course of History
Some sages thought that the 6 days of creation are parallel to the 6 millennium years of the existence of civilization. The Messiah will come between the 6th and 7th millennium. If Jews try to live around the Torah, Jews will have a good time for themselves, otherwise they will be punished. American Jews, Moroccan Jews, etc lived safely and they were not concerned for the fate of European Jewry.

TORAH, LEVITCUS, Chapter XXV1"42. then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43. For the land shall lie forsaken without them, and shall be paid her Sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them; and they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected Mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred My statutes. 44. And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their G-d. 45. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their G-d: I am the Lord.

TORAH, DEUTERONOMY, Chapter XXX "1. And it shall came to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thous halt bethink thyself among all the nations, whither the Lord thy G-d hath driven thee, 2. and shalt return unto the Lord thy G-d, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; 3. that then the Lord thy G-d will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither the Lord thy G-d hath scattered thee. 4. If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy G-d gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee. 5. And the Lord thy G-d will bring thee into the land which thy G-d will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6. And the Lord thy G-d will open thy heart, and the heart of the seed, to love the Lord thy G-d with all the heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live."

Rabbi Meir Simcha from Dvinsk wrote (beginning of the 20 century), "and Jews will think, that Berlin is Jerusalem, then the big winter will arise, and a storm will tear up the Jews from their roots."

1. The situation with Jews at the beginning of the 2nd World War.

We considered the situation in the main centers of European Jews in Germany, Poland and the former Soviet Union:

1.1 Jews in the Germany
In Germany at the end of the 19th century Jewish reformation and education arose. It spoke against Jewish isolation. Rabies called Jews, "To move from shtetles to cities. Be like all Germans." German Jews rejected the traditional wish among Jews, 'next year in Jerusalem' as they believed that Germany could be the best place for Jews. Later, the following spiritual declaration declined, "Berlin is a modern Jerusalem". (Berlin in the beginning of the 20th century was the center of the studying Hebrew and Biblical critique). In cities Jews competed with Germans. Anti-Semitism increased.

Germany lost World War I (1918). They believed that Jews also were guilty for Germany's losing the war. Anti-Semitism arose. Hitler was in power in 1933. Germany enacted the 'Nuremberg's law' against the Jews. Benches in parks and trains were painted a yellow color; there was a black inscription,"Only for Jews". The Jews lost their property and jobs. The last reminder was 'Crystal night' in November 1938. Storm troopers demonstrated by fist that Germany was not for Jews. There were 500 thousand Jews, but only 150 thousand emigrated. The other 350 thousand understood that later, but it was too late.

1.2 Jews in Poland
In Poland in pre-war years Yiddish was used not only to produce collected works of Shalom Alachem, Balzac and Tolstoy, Zolja and Maupassant, but also as the language among murderers and pimps. In Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, etc. there were houses of prostitution for Jews; all their clients and attendants were Jewish.

The hatred divided Jews by religious and secular, by assimilated and Zionist, into patriots of Poland and builders of a global world of communism, a Stalinist and Trozkist society. [2]

On the other side of Poland there were many Yeshiva centers for studying Torah. The biggest of the Talmudic Academies were in Mir, Kamenez, Klezke, Lublin, Lubavish, etc.

1.3 Jews in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union absorbed Russia. There was a depressed situation of Jews in the czar's Russia. They lived in the ghetto, and only 3% of the Jews were allowed to enter the gymnasiums and colleges. The Jews were active members fighting against the czar at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. They acted together with Russian intellectuals. Czarism organized pogroms.

Many Jews met revolution with fire. Another earlier regime of Kerenski abolished the ghetto and the 3% restrictions. Under the Bolsheviks, cheders, Yeshivas closed. Rabbis were sent to exile. Instead of cheders, the Bolsheviks organized labor schools. Jewish comprehensive schools sometimes were in their 30th year. (I entered the Belarusian school in 1930.)

Jewish culture disappeared also under the directions of the Jewish section of the Bolshevik party (the Soviet Power took care of those Jews in 1937). As a result Jews were cut from their roots of Judaism.

But Jews could go to the cities, enter the university, and before WAR II a significant number became a part of the Soviet scientific and technical intellectual.

Before World WAR II the emigration to the holy land was negligible. In Germany and Poland Jews felt well and did not want to risk their own well being. In the Soviet Union emigration was prohibited.

At the beginning of World WAR II preservation of Jews was in danger of disappearing from history.

Adolph Hitler said, "If we lost the War, that would have meant the Jews defeated us."[6]

2. War
2.1. In September1939 Germany attacked Poland. England and France announced WAR on Germany. Before the attack Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland according to a secret agreement between them. The Soviet Union received part of Poland, West Ukraine and West Belarus.

Many Jews met the Red Army, as liberators. Soviet Power announced, "Before annexing West Poland to the Soviet Union, those who want to join their relatives in the USA and Palestine were authorized to move to those countries. Those families had to fill out an application. After six weeks fellow workers of NKVD (KGB was successor to NKVD) had 200 thousand applications. The Jews did not understand what was happening. They were given a few minutes to take some things and then they were put on prisoners' trains and sent to Siberia, [4]

Then the Soviet power began to create 'kolchoz'. The wealthy people were sent in exile. They were exiled together with their families to Siberia.

I want to tell you the history of my acquaintance Zalman.
Zalman's family lived in West Ukraine and consisted of father, mother, Zalman and his older brother. His father owned a mill and restaurant. When the Soviet power advanced, Zalman's family was 'wealthy' and therefore was exiled to Siberia. On the way his father was transferred to another prisoner train. The family did not know anything about their father.

The train with Zalman's family stopped by the River of Oka (Siberia). The people were unloaded as a herd of sheep by the police. (One exiled man ran, but he was captured after one year). They cut down trees in the forest and dumped them into the river. Each worker received 400 grams of bread per day. Zalman was 14 years old, his brother-16. Each month they had to report to the commandant's office. They were released from exile only in 1956.

The tragedy of Poland Jewry concerned also the Center of studying Torah-Yeshivas. G-d saved two thousand students of Yeshivas and their rabbis. With the help of the Japanese consul in Lithuania they received transit documents and moved by train to the city of Chabarovsk (across the entire Soviet Union.) Then they traveled to the city of Shanghai, China. That miracle event is described in [5].

2.2. In June 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union. The Red Army sustained heavy losses in the first year of the war. The Soviet Union lost many industrial centers and sources of raw materials. In a short time the defense industry was transferred to the east of the country, where production exceeded the level of the military technical production of Hitler's Germany and its allies. At that time the Jews played a noticeable role. In particular Jews were people's commissars (similar to a minister):
L.M. Kaganovich, railroad transport, B.A. Vannikov, ammunition, I.M. Zalzman, tank industry, Major general of Red Army S.A, Lavochkin was the main builder of the fighters which were better then the German Messer-Shmidts and many other examples.

In the beginning of the war the role of Jews was of great importance. They did not surrender. Lots of Jews were directed to be scouts, in the rocket division of Katush (that was important since they did not go to the army of the Germans), etc.

I want to tell you the history of my neighbor, Semen.
In the beginning of World War II between the Soviet Union and Germany approximately 300 young men were mobilized from Moldova and went to the East under the orders of the commander. They retreated with the Soviet Army. All Moldavian young men gradually deserted the army and went back home. The Moldavians did not have any problem with the Germans. Only 70 Jews, including Semen, continued to go to the East. The Germans persecuted only Jews.

In 1942-43 the turning point of the war arrived. Russian nationalism was growing. Anti-Semitism arose. The role of Jews declined.

We had to mark a role of the allies (especially the USA) in helping the Soviet Union at that time.

For Jews in the Soviet Union war did not end in 1945. In the Soviet Union Anti-Semitism continued (fighting with cosmopolitanism, case of doctors, etc). Discrimination of Jews existed in the area of education and in the professional area. It touched practically each citizen of Jewish nationality. Some Jews tried to receive in their passports in the column nationality 'Russian'. That was advantageous when there was a mixed marriage, where children could choose a nationality 'Russian'. Very often marriages for a Russian permitted promotion on the job, etc.

The policy of forbidding Jewish culture continued for decades in the Soviet Union. It doomed the Soviet Jews. The. sorrow from the holocaust caused despair within that ethnic group.

3. Victory
In the 1970's the Soviet Union had an interest to sign the Helsinki agreement with the West, which would legalize its new territories affiliated during the war. On the other side, the West called for observance of human rights. In the Soviet Union one of the clauses provided for a reunion (of Jewish) families (with relatives in Israel). After signing that agreement, fighting began by Jews for emigration to Israel.

So far the Soviet 'Jews of silence' received a new breath. Some of them, there, who became the community of 'otkaznik', consisted of almost no religious people, but they possessed elements of religious rebirth. [4]
.
This is part of a speech of the head of government of Israel in honor of the 60th anniversary of victory under fascist Germany, "One and a half million Jewish soldiers were in the war with the antifascist coalition armies. Tens of thousands of Jews were in the partisan brigade in Eastern Europe and antifascist underground Eastern Europe and North Africa. About 250 thousand were soldiers of the Soviet Army. More than 200 thousand Jews were awarded medals, postmortem and living. Six million Jews perished in the holocaust. We did not know what other people sent so many soldiers to the war against fascism. The Jewish intelligentsia was our contribution to the victory, but not only Jewish courage."

When Yeshivas moved from Shanghai to New York in 1946, New York accepted them with a ticker-tape reception. They got a hand into the peaceful life in America. Then they began to improve the religious education, changed old and created the new centers of higher Jewish education.

But those who fought the Jews did not become scot-free.
Those who persecuted Jews were punished: Germany suffered a defeat; the Soviet Union was collapsing without the war. The state of Israel was created as a result of the victory. Jews had the possibility to emigrate from the Soviet Union.

Remarks: The total population of Israel (1988) was 4.43 million, of whom 3.63 million where Jews. In 1948, the Jewish population of Israel was 650,000. Since then, Israel has absorbed 1.8 million immigrants.

Jews have to be Jews. G-d is with us!

Literature: 1. Torah
2. Gitik Menachem-Michael, "Where was the G-d at the Holocaust?" Jerusalem, Dvarim 5764 (2004)
3. M. Levusch 'Four Kingdoms'
SHYUT AMI, Jerusalem
4. Ioseph Begun, 'History of Jewish movement in the USSR (1960-1980) Paramout steps
5. Yecheskel Leitner, 'Operation: TORAH Rescue the escape of Eastern European Yeshivot from war-torn Poland to China. SHYUT AMY Jerusalem, 1991
6. H. Picar, "Table-Tale with Hitler", Smolensk: Rusich, 1993.

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