TABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM TRANSCRIPT - ENGLISH TRANSLATION 2 CITATION&RIGHTS 11 - TABLE OF ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM TRANSCRIPT
ENGLISH TRANSLATION 2
CITATION & RIGHTS 11
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 1/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
TRANSCRIPT ENGLISH TRANSLATION
—Today is March 19, 2008. We are in Ashdod, Israel, meeting with a veteran of the Great Patriotic War.
Please introduce yourself, tell us about your parents, what they did for a living, how you ended up in the
army and what you did during the war.
My name is Avraam Radomyselsky. In the Soviet Union I was called Abram Konstantinovich. I was born on
October 4, 1913, in Kherson, in a family of religious toilers. Father was a master at the Gurevich Factory. He
later built his own ironmongering business, managed it and was good at what he did. His name was Akiva.
My father loved going to the synagogue, and when I was old enough, he would take me with him to carry a
purse with his tallit. Mother’s name was Hannah, but she was also called Anna. She was a housewife. She
used to be a seamstress. All this happened before the Revolution. The family lived well, because they
earned a good living and worked hard.
But then, the Revolution of 1917 happened. Kherson was constantly raided by various gangs. In one of the
battles, when Father participated in the defense of the Jewish community and the synagogue, he suffered
a saber blow to the head from Petliura gangs, and in March 1921 he succumbed to his wounds. He
couldn’t be saved. Thus, I grew up without a father. Mother was a wise woman. The pogroms and anti-
Semitism that swept Ukraine affected Kherson as well. The famine forced Mother to sell and barter
furniture and other valuables and stay with her relatives, who lived nearby. The famine came and brought
epidemics on its tail. I was still very young, but I remember bluish bodies lying in the streets. Often I myself
had to starve. One fine day, the entire family contracted typhus. I was left alone, by myself at six or seven
years of age.
—Did everyone die?
No, they were taken to the hospital, and I was left alone. The landlady who lived above us, sometimes
would leave some food for me by the door, as if for a little dog, because she was afraid. And I often
rummaged through garbage bins . . . would find a herring head . . . This situation drove our extended
family to leave Ukraine, leave Kherson in 1924 and move to Baku, Azerbaijan. In Baku we lived modestly,
but we had food on our table. In Baku, I grew up, matured. I even remember the number of my
school—Soviet secondary school no.30. Despite the fact that my mother worked as a seamstress, I had to
study and work from the age of thirteen. I still have no idea how I managed it, to study and work
simultaneously. A party leader at my place of work told me, “You are a smart boy, you should go get an
education at a factory school”. On his recommendation, I passed exams and enrolled at a factory school
named after Grisha Kolesny. I studied well and became a turner.
It was 1930. After graduation, I got a job as a turner at the Lenin Factory. They needed specialists for the
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 2/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
First Five-Year Plan. I worked, but still wanted to study. So, I enrolled in the evening course in cold metal
processing. When I started my studies, I was appointed as shift foreman of the machine workshop. All this,
at eighteen-nineteen years of age. The year 1933 came, and so did the military draft. Head master says,
“Look, come back after the army and continue your work here”. I agreed. I ended up in Tiflis at a separate
tank battalion. From then on I became a lifelong tankist. A separate tank battalion. I studied tanks. The first
Soviet tank, MS-1, only made 16 km per hour; it had a folding “tail” to overcome obstacles, because it was
very short and could not cross trenches and ditches . . . I served there for a year and then was made a
squad leader, ostensibly for good performance. I was summoned by the commissar and a representative
of military educational institutions, who tried to recruit me to a military school.
I attempted to wiggle out of it, because I already had a profession and didn’t feel like going to a military
school, but I was also a Party candidate. I had been accepted into the Party at the plant. So there was no
way out of it. They said, “It’s necessary”. Oh, well! So I went. There were three more people travelling with
me. I came to Moscow to take exams at Moscow Tank Military School. I got admitted and from that
moment on, began to study not only our tanks, but also tanks in general, systems and mechanisms,
combat operations, tactical and battle exercises. I became a Voroshilov shooter—at the time it was like
getting a military order. I graduated in November 1937. I don’t know why, but it so happened that my
fellow students were being arrested right, left, and center . . . Ozornitsky, Ozolin . . . because their fathers
had been arrested. They were taken and shot or sent to the camps. There were several such people who
studied with me. I even have photos with them, but I did not advertise my friendship with them at the time.
There was a single case of anti-Semitism at the school. Having fought back, I was summoned by the deputy
commander of the training platoon: “Are you being bullied?” “No”. I didn’t tell him about anti-Semitism,
but dealt with it myself. From then on, no one bothered me again. Back in the school no.30, I was involved
in a big fight. As I was returning home, someone was singing a song in the yard which contained the word
“yid”. I was already familiar with this phenomenon so we got into a fight. Suddenly, I punched the guy so
hard, he flew into a nearby garbage bin. I even remember his name, Mitka. From then on, the questions of
anti-Semitism had ceased to exist altogether. I became a respected citizen of our yard. There were lots of
boys, lots of hooliganism in our yard . . . there were dovecots, the idiosyncrasies of youth, but while I lived
there, there were never any occurrences . . . This shows that anti-Semites are a cowardly lot. In a real fight,
we, the Jews, energize and can really do some damage.
I enrolled at the school and studied well. This was my third educational institution—and there would be a
fourth. In 1937, I graduated and got a posting in Ukraine, the city of Proskurov [Khmelnytskyi]. The 23rd
Tank Brigade was deployed in Proskurov. They had an old and new hardware stock. I served in Proskurov
until 1939.
It’s a known fact that the Second World War began on September 1 when Germany invaded Poland. On
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 3/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
September 1, the Germans attacked Poland, and we got involved, as well—broke into Poland on
September 17. By September 17 we had already accumulated our forces and were raised on alert. We had
assembled on the Polish-Soviet border. There is a town called Gus-Khrustalny, from where our brigade
marched into Poland. On the way, we disbanded Polish units, which were very weak and poorly equipped.
This is how it went: officers were arrested and taken away—I don’t know, where—and the rank and file laid
down their weapons and went home. There were a few individual excesses. This was the year of 1939. In
June 1940, our 23rd Tank Brigade was deployed in Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia. We did our part
and returned to Stryi. From Stryi we went to Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina and came back. In 1940,
the 23rd Tank Brigade was reorganized into the 12th Tank Division, which in turn became part of the newly
formed 8th Mechanized Corps.
We received new equipment, replenishments, began field exercises, and classes. It was necessary to learn
new technology, controls, and communications. In 1940 I was deputy company commander. A
communications battalion was being formed, and so I was appointed deputy commander of a
communications battalion. The battalion boasted a radio rotation, a field communications company, and
the largest armored company. I pay special attention to the armored company, because there were no
such formations anywhere else—an armored company had command tanks, communication tanks, and a
communication armored vehicle.
June 22, 1941. I planned . . . I got married in 1940, my wife became pregnant. I planned to go sightseeing
with my wife in Lvov [Lviv], because it was 70 km away from Stryi. However, instead of leaving for Lvov, we
felt our house shake early in the morning. Bombs had been dropped. German Ju 88 planes, dropped their
load, and flew over the city strafing it with large-caliber machine guns. I was put on high alert. A car came
to drive me to the unit. I went straight to the park, where we had assembled a powerful force: automobiles,
armored vehicles, radio installations. There were even bomber aircraft radio sets. We led all the hardware
to the staging area. En route, we were strafed and bombed. I saw first German casualties on this march.
We were accompanied by anti-aircraft artillery—37 mm automatic guns—and when the bombers dived onto
our convoy, the anti-aircraft gunners managed to hit one Junkers aircraft. We were overjoyed and began
to harbor hope that victory would be ours. But it proved to be a singular case.
From the staging area we went on a Drohobych-Przemysl march. The border was between Germany and
the Soviet Union. Przemysl was divided: we held one part, the Germans had the other. But before reaching
Przemysl, our column turned 180 degrees towards Lvov. Lvov was packed with hardware; it had beensuffer
bombed. To top it all, we began to sustain casualties inflicted by Ukrainian nationalists.
—Straight away?
In Lvov. We had special detachments to apprehend them. But this did not always succeed. From Lvov we
raced to Brody. There was a forest, so we amassed there, but managed to do so only on the 25th instead
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 4/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
of the 24th. Many vehicles went out of order during the march. There was no inspection on the march.
Everything was both unexpected and predictable, because we, the young ones, knew that the war was
coming, but we were forbidden to talk about it so as not to “upset” the Germans. But we felt that the war
would come eventually. Near Brody the Germans saw that our convoy was powerful enough, so they
began to bomb us every fifteen minutes with German precision. Everything was ablaze, vehicles broke
down, people got killed and wounded. Once we had assembled, an order came to mount an offensive in
the morning of the 26th. We were ordered to form a striking force with our tanks, except for those
belonging to the commander and the divisional chief of staff. Since our battalion commander and
commissar were missing in action, I had to lead the battalion, together with the battalion chief of staff,
Captain Savich . . .
The Corps was divided into two mobile groups. The Germans advanced in our direction. We managed to
win the first battle and throw the Germans 15 km back. But the Germans received constant reinforcements,
a column after column. We gave battle in this area until the 29th. My crew and I knocked out several tanks
there. But our tank was taken out of action on the 28th. We jumped out: one of the tracks had been
destroyed. We have spares and began to fix it—the crew could deal with this malfunction on their own. As
we got down to work, there was an explosion, and we got covered with dirt. I was wounded in the right
hand; the loader was wounded, too. But we did not leave the battlefield. The crew managed to replace the
trucks and join the fray again. From June 28 to June 29, a terrible battle was taking place to the north of
Brody: flares going down at night amid drizzle . . . people had never experienced this kind of thing, so
some lost it . . . didn’t behave normally. And at this time we received orders to retreat. It turned out that the
Germans had already outflanked us, and there was only one way out, lest we get encircled in the same way
as the first mobile group near Dubna. Surrounded, the first mobile group had been wiped out. We did
manage to get out, though. We fell back fighting—I will not list all the settlements on our way to Tarnopol
[Tarnopil], the forest of Tarnopol. By then, I had only three tanks left. I was ordered to leave one of them
with the force covering our retreat. It wasn’t just one corps that was retreating but the entire army group.
So we retreated. One tank broke down, so it had to be destroyed on the orders of the division
commander. Our battalion was left with one tank. Thus, we retreated towards the old border through the
Tarnopol forest. We fought hard. Heavy fighting was taking place near Kiev, in Brovary near Kiev, so we
were immediately thrown there. After the battles near Kiev, the division was rendered completely
inoperable. We were taken for reorganisation to Nezhyn [Nizhyn]. In Nezhyn, the remnants of the mighty
tank division were reformed into the 129th Tank Brigade, which became part of the 26th Army. It was the
end of August. Having reformed, we transferred to Moscow Oblast. I forgot an important event: we got
replenished in Voronezh, attended to our hygiene . . . By then we had lice and forgot when we had last
washed and ate. At that point, we had only bread rusks and tea, which we made with cherry twigs. The
Germans pressed on three sides, and we had only one road, which was shelled. It was getting muddy, so
Po2 planes dropped gourds with fuel and barrels with provisions for us. Picture this: everyone was hungry,
whoever caught it first, would get to eat. That happened. We were surrounded; some of us remained
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 5/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
behind, got killed in action, but we broke through.
After Voronezh, after we got replenished—our brigade was supposed to have sixty-one tanks, but got only
thirty—they sent us to Moscow Oblast. This was the beginning of the Moscow Operation. Battles raged. The
Battle of Moscow became symbolic, because the Germans were 25-30 km from Moscow and could see it
through their binoculars. One can talk about the mistakes Germans made, which prevented them from
taking Moscow, but the most important thing was that we drove the Germans 100–250 km away from
Moscow.
My unit was operating together with a rifle division, which had been transferred from the Far East, and in
early December we liberated Livny. Having liberated Livny, we took up defense positions. We couldn’t go
any further, because we had ran out of steam. By then, we needed a communication line with the front
headquarters, replenishments, and our tanks were in need of repair. And suddenly I am summoned to the
front headquarters and offered to take an exam. Back then the army largely consisted of peasant boys with
a four-year education, and the officers were . . . not quite literate. So I was told that the military academy
was recruiting. I got a referral to Moscow, passed exams, and began my studies at the academy. This was
in February 1942.
Studies are going well, summer approaches, and suddenly there comes the Directive 020 of the Supreme
Commander Stalin to begin the formation of new armies and corps. What we had before, had been lost.
According to official statistics, by January 1, 1942, of those who fought in the beginning of the war only
10% survived.
—Do you mean tankists?
I mean all the servicemen, and I fall into these 10%. We were privileged, battle-hardened. So, Stalin's
Directive 020 called for all those who had passed their academy exams, the officers who had fought, to go
to formations. As a Jew, I volunteered and was right to do so. And so, I got in the 9th Independent Tank
Corps. From then on, my combat journey began with the 9th Independent Tank Corps. The Corps
distinguished itself. Rokossovsky writes about it, Zhukov writes about it, because it participated in many
battles and included many very talented people. So I fought on. Importantly, near Smolensk, the Tank
Corps was urgently loaded on the train. At first, we didn’t know where we were going and then we found
out: Shchigry near Kursk. We were being transferred to Kursk. Before the start of the hostilities, serious
preparations were underway. Despite continuous air raids, replenishments arrived in force . . . the Kursk
Operation was being arranged. And we are part of it.
The Battle of Stalingrad dealt such a blow to the Germans that it turned into a near catastrophe for them. I
want to remind you that the Battle of Stalingrad saved the Yishuv of Israel. Israel's Yishuv was 450,000
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 6/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
strong. It was in trouble: a German army group led by Rommel was advancing on the Yishuv. To save the
6th Army Hitler diverted men and ammunition from other military theatres, including Rommel’s forces. This
is absolutely historically accurate. Mongomery exploited the situation and led an attack on Rommel . . .
Now, back to the Battle of Kursk . . . During the Battle of Kursk many officers and rank and file distinguished
themselves. I want to mention one person in particular: the commander of a tank brigade, Roman
Alexandrovich Liberman. He was an incredible person. He had graduated from the academy. I made his
acquaintance in Proskurov. I had just arrived, and he was already commander of the training company.
With his incredible maneuver tactics, Lieberman managed to deceive the Germans and defeat part of their
advancing forces to allow the advancement of our troops. Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov was the corps
commander. He loved Lieberman for his optimism, sense of humor, courage, and skillful tactics. So
Bogdanov recommended him for the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. But Lieberman did not get it;
instead, he received the Order of the Red Banner, also a fairly high award. I met Lieberman later in life. He
was twice recommended, but never received the Hero title.
—What was your rank and responsibilities during the Battle of Kursk?
During the Battle of Kursk I dealt with technical issues: tank repair and operation. When I insisted on
retaining my command responsibilities, they told me, “We have loads of commanders, but no engineers”.
—The repair bases were right at the front?
The corps had two repair bases: the tank one and the automotive one. Both were well equipped. In
addition, we were never denied army and front stocks.
After Kursk, we reorganized, put ourselves in order, and the corps continued to operate.
—You have four Orders of the Patriotic War.
Instead of the Red Banner.
—Did you get them during the war?
Yes, except one.
—Three Orders of the Patriotic War, what did you receive them for?
Any reward when you are recommended . . . And we were raised in this spirit. Any award has its own
characteristics and its own glory. If we talk about the former . . . The Berlin Operation.
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 7/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
—The Berlin Operation. That’s where you received . . .
The Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class for providing mechanized support to assault troops. Every
building, every street, every crevice was shelled. The situation itself—to deliver tanks in an urban
environment—is the most difficult thing. It’s not like finding a bomb crater in field conditions. It was
unbelievable. I can give you dozens of examples, both combat and technical. On the 2nd, the garrison
capitulated, shooting could still be heard only in some places . . . We longed to inspect the battlefield.
—The Medal “For Battle Merit” . . .
It was my very first decoration for Livny. I remember, my commander told me, we were lucky, because it
was rarely awarded back then.
—You said that the brigade commander was called Lieberman.
Yes, the 8th Tank Brigade.
—You are a Jew, Lieberman was a Jew . . . But in general, were there many Jews in your tank unit.
A lot, specifically tankmen.
—Education?
Naturally . . . Tellingly, as Jews we didn’t publicize it but intuitively gravitated towards one another. As soon
as we would stop, leave battle formations, we would get together. Who arrived? Kogan has arrived. Who is
it? Finkelstein, Fleishman. I remember them all. We were constantly around one another. Do you see what I
mean? There was Khichinsky . . . Jewish tankmen . . . They were good guys.
—In your tank unit, did you feel any manifestation of anti-Semitism?
I felt anti-Semitism in the last year of the war. At first, it was covert: you are recommended for the Order of
the Red Banner, but don’t get it; the same thing with promotions.
—The last year of the war . . . was it conversations . . ?
After Bogdanov we had Bakharev, then Kirichenko, a giant of a Ukrainian. He retained his cadres; he knew
that Jews were the best, so he valued them. But as soon as the headquarters got his recommendations,
they would ignore them. But the thing is, Kirichenko was transferred at the end of the war and replaced by
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 8/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
Garkusha. Never in my life had I met such an anti-Semite. That's when it was time to leave the Corps. By the
end of the war, after Garkusha’s arrival, the deputy commander Afonsky left the Corps for the front
headquarters. He was the first to go. As he said his farewells, he advised me, “Leave this idiot”. So he
arrived, lined up the headquarters staff. And I was part of it. We had just left the battlefield. He began to
drill us, the entire staff—as the corps commander—and the chief of staff Rabinovich, who was also among
the first ones to flee. He says, “Who marches like that! Officers . . . ” and swearing. “I’ll teach you all the
same! You’ll sweat your balls off, but you will learn”. This is just an example. He realized that we greatly
respected Kirichenko, Rabinovich, so he warned, “I’ll knock the spirit of Kirichenko-Rabinovich out of you.”
So, I, too, escaped the Corps.
—When did you come to Israel?
I arrived in Israel in December 1997.
—Are your children and grandchildren here?
Yes. My relatives live in Petah Tikva, and I am here with my daughter.
—Did your grandchildren serve in the army?
Yes. I have grandchildren here and there.
—Those who are here . . .
Of course. Why did I go to study military art? I always had Father on my mind. Us, Jews . . . I was obsessed
by it. The Petliura gangs. I saw his blood. When I was offered to join the army, it played a major role: I
agreed.
—Did you tell your children and grandchildren how you spent your youth, your war years?
I came here from the Crimea. My last posting was in the Crimea. I was a lecturer in the “Znanie” Society. I
told my children, but for some reason I couldn’t do it as well as in schools and universities. I gave school
talks already here. Youngsters came to visit me and still do. I wrote a lot of articles in the journals “Russkoe
Echo”, “Nachalo”, and in the newspaper “Vesti”.
—During the war, did you come across American and British tanks?
No. We were lucky not to get “Matildas”. Our neighbors criticized them and envied us. Our Corps only had
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 9/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
T-34s and IS's.
—Thank you very much.
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 10/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGDIGITAL COLLECTIONS
ITEM TRANSCRIPT
Radomyselsky, Abraham full unedited video
ID IS070.interview PERMALINK http://n2t.net/ark:/86084/b4q814v0h
ITEM TYPE VIDEO ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RUSSIAN
CITATION MLA
Citation information coming soon!
CITATION APA
Citation information coming soon!
CITATION WIKIPEDIA
Citation information coming soon!
CONTACT
INFO@BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORG
212.275.4600
BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION
1633 BROADWAY AVE, 4TH FL
NEW YORK, NY 10019
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORG
FACEBOOK.COM/BLAVATNIKARCHIVE
2021 © BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE FOUNDATION PG 11/11
BLAVATNIKARCHIVE.ORGYou can also read
