Tribute to Jewish bravery at the Soviet front is paid today in an editorial in Pravda which emphasizes that it was the Jewish General Lev Dovator who started the retreat of the Nazi army last autumn when he drove it from Rostov, the key to the Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus.
“Gen. Dovator, who fell on the battlefield, is an example of Jewish heroism,” the Soviet paper writes. It points out that the equal treatment of all nationalities in the U.S.S.R. and the possibilities given them to develop a national culture has stimulated even greater heroism among their members in their determination to defend the country.
The first issue of “Einigkeit” (Unity), official organ of the Jewish Committee to Fight Fascism, made its appearance today. It contains interesting descriptive material on the heroism displayed by Jewish fighters in the Soviet Army at the front lines as well as in the rear of the enemy. It tells a story of how a Jewish colonel, Jacob Kreiser destroyed German units after being surrounded by them to a point where it seemed that the entire division which he commanded was trapped. Kreiser was promoted to the rank of General in recognition of the guerrilla tactics which he successfully applied and which resulted in his troops breaking through the German line and forcing a German retreat.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.