Young Russian Jews remember their veterans

Marking V-Day

By Sergey Kadinsky

Issue of May 14, 2010/ 1 Sivan 5770

Every May 9, the sidewalks and boardwalk of Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach are awash in pride, as Russian Jewish émigrés celebrate their World War Two veterans, and Hitler’s defeat by the Russian army. But as time takes its toll, more veterans no longer are able to celebrate Victory Day in public.

“Our organization connects the younger generation to the veterans,” said Inna Goryachkovskaya, the associate executive director of Ezra USA, an international youth movement for Russian Jews. “They will connect with them and hear their stories.”

In contrast to the public concerts held in the neighborhood’s famed cabaret restaurants, and public memorial observances, the Veteran Appreciation Project is a more modest affair.

College students and recent graduates delivered gift packages to nearly 100 local Russian Jewish veterans, taking a few minutes to hear their war stories, personally thanking them for defeating the Nazis, and vowing never to forget the significance of May 9th.

“We all had grandparents who experienced the war, and we want to honor them in a unique way,” said Bronx resident Lev Zinger, 27. “This is financed almost exclusively by people our own age.” In all, the Facebook-driven effort netted some $4,000 for kosher wine, tea, caviar, and a blanket. Alongside the gift, participants also handed out medals issued by the American Association of Holocaust Survivors from the Former Soviet Union.

At Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park, Faina Gulchin, 84, remembered her husband’s return from combat. “He was covered in medals, and when he walked down the street, all the children would give him flowers.” But at age 91, confined to a wheelchair, and with his memory fading away, Lazar Gulchin could not share his expertise in chemical warfare.

Roman Kravchenko visited the Gulchins. “Our families were very close, and survived in the same ghetto during the war,” said Kravchenko. While Mr. Gulchin could only wave and smile at his visitor, his wife thanked the Baruch College student, sharing with him a photograph of the youthful officer she married.

“Our grandson knows about my survival, I wrote it all down,” said Gulchin. “But I don’t think our great-grandchildren will remember this day. I mean, who remembers the October Revolution these days?”

May 9th is an official holiday in Russia, widely celebrated by Russian Jews here, an occasion to remember family members who fought in the war. Under Soviet rule, there was neither Yom Hashoah nor Yom Ha’atzmaut, and the contribution of Soviet Jews to the war effort was downplayed in favor of a collective Soviet narrative.

In the Luna Park apartments, Semyon Roytblat, 86, told Kravchenko about his experience as a prisoner of war, hiding his Jewish identity for almost 4 years.

“When the war broke out, I was a border guard,” said Roytblat. “They began firing at 4 a.m. and by 10 a.m., they were 200 kilometers ahead of us.” Trapped on the seaside garrison of Palanga, Roytblat fled into the forest, desperately seeking to rejoin his comrades. “When Lithuanian collaborators took me captive, I threw away my documents and passed for a Ukrainian,” said Roytblat.

After his liberation in 1945, Soviet SMERSH agents accused him of treason for surrendering. “The agents asked me, how could a Jew survive in captivity for so long,” Roytblat recalled.

After arriving in New York in 1979, his Judaism was rekindled and the retired dentist successfully petitioned to open a synagogue on the grounds of his housing development. Roytblat expressed gratitude at his grandchildren’s success, but dismay at their ignorance of Victory Day.

“They are not interested, they’re too Americanized,” said Roytblat. “Their Russian is nearly nonexistent.”

As Roytblat spoke, Kravchenko took in his apartment, examining his photographs and writings. “It’s very eye-opening, you don’t get this in the history books,” said Kravchenko.

Longtime community activist Gene Borsh praised Ezra USA for the project. “This day holds us together and it’s good that there are people who remember it,” said Borsh.

Borsh estimates that there are 10,000 World War Two veterans living in the vicinity of New York City, divided among 12 veterans organizations that affiliate with LOREO.

As executive director of Local Russian Émigré Organizations (LOREO), Borsh also volunteered in the housing projects of Coney Island, educating black and Hispanic youths about their elderly Russian neighbors. “When they heard their survival stories, it totally changed their minds,” said Borsh. “They now understand that we are not simply folks with fur coats and caviar.”

“The Soviet army saved the Jews from total extermination,” said Roytblat. “I cannot understand why Americans have forgotten this day.”