David Abramovich Dragunsky: biography, career, interesting facts

David Abramovich Dragunsky - a prominent Soviet military leader, a hero warrior, in the final years of his life engaged in politics. The name of Dragoon is known all over the world. He is one of the rare representatives of the Jewish people who were fortunate enough to win a high award - two gold stars - for their military service to their native country. Having become famous as a true hero in the war against fascism, in time of peace David Abramovich Dragunsky was unable to resist the Soviet system. Many of the people who respected him did not understand and condemned him for an active anti-Zionist activity that denied the right of the Jewish people to self-determination.

Dragunsky David Abramovich: biography

The future hero was born to a Jewish family in Svyatsk (a posad in the Surazh district of the Chernigov province). I graduated from the school in the village of Novozybkov (Bryansk province). He went to the construction site in the capital on a Komsomol tour, then worked at various construction sites in the Kalinin region. David Abramovich Dragunsky since 1931 was a member of the CPSU (b).

In 1936 he graduated with honors from the Saratov Armored School and went to the Far East for service. A year later, David Abramovich Dragunsky commanded a tank company. It was he who first conducted his T-26 through Suifun (stormy river) under the water (the current name is Razdolnaya) and brought it to the opposite shore in 15 minutes. Model designers were not designed for the role of amphibians. For this maneuver the future general installed two tubes in the tank, and the unsealed places were smeared with solidol and surrey. This initiative was approved by the command: Dragoonsky was awarded the first award from the division commander - nominal hours.

In 1938, as commander of a tank company, he took part in the battles near Lake Khasan, for his heroism was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In 1939 Dragunsky entered the Military Academy.

The Great Patriotic War

The war for him began on the western border, in the fortress Osovets. Here, Dragoons trained and passed camp camp together with other students of the Academy. The listeners were returned to Moscow for a short time. Soon, Senior Lieutenant Dragunsky was assigned to the Western Front. As commander of a tank battalion, he took part in the Battle of Smolensk. In 1943, for the skillful actions and achieved military successes of David Dragoon awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Red Banner. Thanks to the skilful leadership of the Dragoons, the brigade entrusted to him, during 5 days, counterattacks were repulsed and over one hundred enemy tanks were destroyed. The wounded Dragoon headed the brigade, replacing the seriously wounded commander.

In the fall of the 43rd, Dragoon commanded the 55th Tank Brigade, which liberated Kiev and Right-bank Ukraine. He was repeatedly seriously injured and wound up in a hospital. Here Dragunsky David Abramovich got a terrible, tragic news about his relatives who remained in the territory occupied by the enemy: his family (mother, father, sisters) and all his relatives (74 people) were shot by fascists. In addition, he learned that both his brothers were killed on the front.

Heroism

After treatment in the hospital and a short-term rehabilitation in the sanatorium for the convalescents (Zheleznovodsk), where he was urgently sent by doctors, Dragoonsky returned to his brigade. For the able leadership of the brigade in the battles in the Kiev direction in November 1943, the officer was introduced to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. But instead of this Dragoon again awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In fierce battles at the end of July 1944, his brigade had to cross the Vistula, while the means of crossing were delayed en route. The commander ordered the construction of rafts of boards and logs. On such homemade rafts the tanks managed to force the Vistula, thanks to which our troops were able to capture the Sandomir bridgehead. The decisive counter-attack on this bridgehead was also led by David Dragunsky. For the displayed military skill and heroism, the commander of the 55th brigade of tankmen was awarded the title of Hero.

In the spring of the 45th David Abramovich was sent to the hospital for treatment. Forcing the doctors to accelerate his recovery, Dragoon arrived in the decisive battle for Berlin. Tankers of the 55th, taking the example of skill, courage and courage from their commander, distinguished themselves in many battles. Guard Colonel Dragunsky in the 45th for mastering strategically important German cities was awarded the Order of Suvorov 2nd degree.

In April 1945, his 55th Tank Brigade on the western outskirts of Berlin joined forces with the 2nd Panzer Army. This enemy garrison was divided into two isolated parts, which led to the fall of Berlin. For the courage and courage shown, for the skilful management of the actions of the brigade entrusted to him during the capture of Berlin, for the implementation of the impetuous advance to Prague, Colonel Dragunsky was awarded (again) the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Career

As a particularly distinguished participant of the Great Patriotic War, Dragunsky David Abramovich, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, took part in the legendary Victory Parade, held June 24, 1945 in Moscow. In 1949, Dragunsky graduated from the Military Academy. He was awarded the rank of Major-General. In 1970 he received the rank: General - Colonel. Dragunsky David Abramovich in the post-war years commanded a division, an army, in the Transcaucasian Military District, he holds the post of first deputy commander.

From 1965 to 1985 he was acting as the head of the "Shot" (higher officer courses). In the period from 1985 to 1987 he is a member of the Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense. In 1987, General David Dragunsky retired.

Until the end of his days, David Abramovich was engaged in active public work, and led Akso (Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet public). He died in 1992. Buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

What was he like?

In the war, all those around him knew that the commander of the 55th after the injury in 1943 did not have a living place left. This fact caused special respect due to the fact that the wounding of Dragoons was received at the moment when he closed his young subordinate with his body. It was an unprecedented case: the subordinate did not save the life of the commander, but the commander to the subordinate.

In general, about the Dragoon during the war there were legends. In the army of General Rybalko, this was the most heroic, most famous commander of the brigade. Tankmen from all arms of the war differed in the fact that in their milieu the least developed was ritual worship. A special democratism in the relations between subordinates and the commander was formed due to the commonness of combat activity, joint life in the crew. In the Dragoons' "straggly" battalion, this democratism was brought to a climax. Chinoculation was completely excluded here by the presence of a black sash that crosses the face of the commander, mutilated by scars from burns, his crutches and prostheses. Dragunsky was not subordinated to subordination. The battalion commander was not only respected and loved by subordinates. They worshiped him.

Who is David Abramovich Dragunsky?

Unfortunately, neither historians nor contemporaries of the hero can answer this question unequivocally, remembering only about his military merits before the homeland and the people. Neither personal heroism during the war years nor active social activities will erase those mistakes David Dragunsky made in the postwar years. The story will remember them.

His political biography

Dragoon from his youth was fond of public work. At the age of 19 he was elected deputy of the Krasnopresnensky district of the capital. At the end of the war, the general took part in the activities of the JAC (the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee). In the 50s, David Dragunsky often represented the USSR abroad. His signatures can be seen under articles and statements expressing a protest against Israeli aggression. Dragunsky was among those public figures who were an avid opponent of Zionism long before the emergence of AKSO.

Not to Dragoon's credit, according to the world community, his negative attitude towards the right of the Jews of the USSR to aliyah is the law passed by the Knesset in 1950, which proclaims the proclaiming right of Jews to return to Israel from the countries of dispersion. This law legally justifies the idea of Zionism, on which the emergence and existence of Israel as a state is based.

AKSO

David Dragunsky proclaimed anti-Zionist ideas. Since the creation of AKSO (April 1983) and until the last days of his life, David Dragunsky was his undisputed chairman. He managed to defend the organization twice, when the issue of its dissolution was considered in the Politburo. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dragoon remained at his post. The general has repeatedly expressed the conviction that Zionism is a dangerous misanthropic ideology that is akin to fascism, which had a significant detrimental effect on the social and cultural life of Jews in the Soviet Union, which created significant obstacles to their advancement. In Zionism, extreme nationalism, chauvinism, racial intolerance are concentrated, this is a form of racism, "Drahunsky considered. At least he expressed this conviction.

When Dragunsky was the head of the ASCO, many outstanding Jews and Jewish organizations received help and support. At the same time, he always refused to consider petitions for assistance to Zionist activists who were persecuted by the Soviet authorities.

His beliefs

In 1983, his signature was under the appeal of representatives of Soviet Jews, published in Pravda. In 1984, in one of D.Dragunsky's pamphlets, the general support provided by AKSO to the Jews of the former USSR was also demonstrated. He expressed his conviction that for most of the Soviet Jews their homeland is the great Soviet Union, a multinational socialist country, the state, the cornerstone of all its policies, both external and internal, proclaiming the friendship of peoples.

Meanwhile, the price of this "friendship" was obvious to everyone, including Dragunsky. Journalists learned that more than once in conversations with different people, the general spoke about how much anti-Semitism is developed in the USSR. He also lamented the fact that anti-Semitism was the reason for his own career "backlog": while his colleagues were already in the rank of generals, he was only a colonel-general, with as many merits.

According to the expression of the Jewish sage and scholar Moses Gaster, historically it turned out that the representatives of this people were heroes of "not a battle, but faith". General Dragunsky was a true hero in the battles with fascism, but in peace time submissively obeyed the system.

This great truth is repentance

It is known that in 1982, one of the terrorists killed in the Lebanese war found a certificate, which was confirmed, he received training in the Soviet Union during classes at the higher officer courses "Vystrel." Near the seal was the signature of Colonel-General Dragoon.

Eight years later, in 1990, on the day of the general's anniversary, famous Jews, former participants of the war, turned to him. Among the signers of the appeal are the names of Yuri Sokol, Yefim Gohberg, Ilya Lakhman, and others. In the document, the jubilee expressed sincere respect and pride of the entire Soviet people for his feats in the war. In addition, it contained an appeal to abandon the anti-Zionist views and leadership of the anti-Zionist committee that compromised itself before the world community.

A year later, an article by journalist Matvey Geiser was published in the Jewish Newspaper. In it, the author also expressed his admiration for the heroism of the general and the belief that it is also true for heroes to err. The article called on the general to find the courage and to admit that in the postwar years he was involved in a wave of slander against Zionism - the idea of a Jewish national liberation movement and the creation of a Jewish state. Misconceptions and ambitions in the rapid flow of life are inevitable, the author assured. The general should remember the great truth that all the deluded are offered by life. This truth is repentance. It is known that these appeals did not make a proper impression on the addressee.