World War II veter-
an Alexander Kalish
of Southfield cuddles
his grandchildren
Alyssa, 4, and
Daniel Kalish, 1 1/2,
of West Bloomfield.

.-0

A Lasting Victory

Local Russian vets dedicate monument on
60th anniversary of defeat of Nazi Germany.

fIciNOR. AND 'MEMORY

OF WORLD WAR -
THE -6,0TH ANNIVERSARY
Of THE -VICTORY OVER - THE
GERMAN NABSM_

ut ABA• rimuffrEs ii m!

Story by LEV PERANSKY
Photography by BILL HANSEN

I

Viewing the monument is Ai))
Gutentag of Southfield who, as a
pilot, took part in the bombard-
ment of Berlin. The stone, bedecked
with bouquets of flowers, proclaims,
"Glory to the Victors!"

5/19

2005

30

n the former Soviet Union, one
could hardly find a family that
had not lost one or more of its
members during World War II.
That is why, if asked which event of
that generation was the most impor-
tant, the answer would be Victory
Day, May 9, 1945. And that is why
the Detroit Association of World War
II Jewish Veterans raised funds for a
monument to fallen heroes — and has
found such widespread support.
The monument has been erected on
the grounds of the Jewish Community
Center in Oak Park, and its unveiling
took place on Sunday, May 8 — near
the 60th anniversary of Victory Day
— in a ceremony attended by more
than 300 people.
Locally, there reside about 200
Russian World War II veterans —
those who bravely fought against the
Germans. Their destinies were differ-
ent, but all of them were united by

one goal — to defeat Nazi Germany.
. Here are a few examples.

Blockadniks

The siege of Leningrad was 900 days
of starvation and unbearable cold.
Worst of all were the losses of those
near and dear.
Anya Potashinskaya of Oak Park was
a girl of 17 at the time of the siege.
After a hard day's work at a factory,
she collected corpses of Leningraders
who had died of starvation or cold in
the streets. She brought the bodies by
sled to Peskkarevski Cemetery. Some
600,000 people, many unidentified,
were buried there.
Leonard Polyak, as a boy of 16,
began working at a Leningrad ship-
building fac
Because of starvation,
he was brought to a
hospital. After hi ,.
he volun-
teered in the
,Jught at the
front. Matilda Polyak, his future wife,
also overcame the war's hardships.
I could continue the list of local

"blockadniks." Some include Yevgenia
Rahovsky and Joseph Kruphik, both
of Oak Park, and Zelda Selector of
Southfield.

East Meets West

On April 25, many people in the
United States and the former Soviet
Union celebrated the glorious day
when the American and Russian
armies met at the town of Torgau on
the Elbe River in Germany. "East
meets West" was the makeshift slogan
of that time.
At the monument dedication was
one of the heroes of that time, Major
Naum Levin of Oak Park, who took
part in the fight for Leningrad and
later the liberation of Kiev and Babi-
Yar and battles in Poland
and Germany.
Klavdia Shub of
Southfield took part in the final battles
for Berlin. She was among the victors
who put their signatures on the walls
of the Reichstag.
Also at the ceremony was Lev

RUSSIAN ROOTS