Video History Archives
Of Jewish Soviet Soldiers
during WW2

Beniamin Frumkin

Born 1922 In Smolensk, Soviet Union.
Interviewed In: Montreal, Quebec
Medals Awarded: Medal For Defense of Moscow, Medal For Capture of Konigsberg, Order of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class) and Victory over Germany In The Great Patriotic War

“I was so tired of the constant shooting”

Regiment Engineer – Defence Of Moscow, Capture Of Konigsberg, Advisor to North Korean Army.

Beniamin was at military college in Moscow when the war began: “We were sent to the front right away. I was at the front. I had a big position: I was regiment’s engineer, just think of it, I was just a 20 or 19 year old kid. I wasn’t exactly in a trench. I was in an arrears dugout with two trenches in front of me. I remember sitting in a

trench with my white camouflage cloak on, as it was in the winter. It was an active defense on our part. Our goal was to capture a “Yazyk”, a German prisoner who would talk. We spotted a German machine gunner and brought down fire on both sides making sure he couldn’t escape. My sappers made a passage over a mine land surrounded by barbwire.”

After The Defence of Moscow, Beniamin was given more advisory tasks related to his engineering background. He commanded an artillery brigade, supporting a tank unit during The Battle of Konigsberg:

“We accompanied a tank brigade, I was in command of the accompanying company, the platoon commanders were in front. I was with our chief of staff in the tank.”

Beniamin became an advisor to The North Korean Army after the war in Europe:

“As an advisor I was involved in training and instructing them. They had an army, with platoons and companies. They had a personnel arrangement similar to what we had. We trained them how to fight. We had interpreters.”

Beniamin returned to The Soviet Union in 1953. He noticed antisemitism had grown more prevalent but was still able to find work as a department manager at a secret military production facility in Minks. He had to destroy classified documents before immigrating to Israel with his wife and children. They eventually settled in Montreal.

View Other Veterans Interviews

Yakov Gelfandbein

Born: 1922 Kherson, Ukraine. Passed Away: August 13, 2014 Montreal, Quebec.
Interviewed In: Montreal, Quebec
Medals Awarded: Medal for Battle Merit, Medal For Defense of Stalingrad, Medal For Defense of Moscow, Order of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class) and Victory over Germany In The Great Patriotic War

Yakov Krenin

Interviewed In: Toronto, Ontario
Medals Awarded: Order of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class), Medal For Capture of Berlin and Victory over Germany In The Great Patriotic War

Mikhail Bass

Born March 16th 1928 Mink, Belarus
Interviewed In: Toronto, Ontario
Medals Awarded: Order of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class), Medal for Partisan of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class) and Victory over Germany In The Great Patriotic War
Medals Awarded: Order of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class), Medal for Partisan of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd Class) and Victory over Germany In The Great Patriotic War