Semyon Nezhynski

This is a picture of me as Major of Guards in Leipzig, Germany, in 1945. For battles in Berlin I was awarded an order of the Combat Red Banner, the highest military award. On 7th May we met with American troops north of Magdeburg and were allowed to take a rest. On 9th May we heard on the radio that Germany had capitulated and the war was over. We couldn't believe this was true. We hugged each other, congratulating each other for this victory. On 11th May I went to Berlin to take a look at the Reichstag that we had been firing during our attack on Berlin. Like other soldiers I signed my name on the wall of the Reichstag. After the war our regiment stayed in Germany in the so-called group of Soviet troops under the command of Zhukov. We kept training and were prepared to combat actions, if necessary. Some military were released and new young recruits arrived. They needed training. In April 1946 I was sent to study at the Higher Artillery School in Kolomna. In October 1946 I finished it with excellent marks in all subjects. However, when I was at school my regiment was dismissed: the army was reduced after the war. I was appointed commanding officer of a division in another regiment. This regiment was based in Leipzig in Eastern Germany. Our military unit was based in a field camp and we got lodgings in apartment houses that Germans left for us. My family was with me there. In January 1948 my son Vladimir was born in Leipzig. I was commanding officer of a division until late February 1948. There was a process of replacement of officers in the German based Soviet troops. There I faced the fact that Jewish officers were the first to be removed from Germany.