Leon Lifsches in Lenino on the celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Battle of Lenino

This is me. The picture was taken in Lenino during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Lenino in 1968.

My brother Iziek and I fought in the Battle of Lenino, and my brother was killed virtually a couple of steps away from me. I was the second in command of the regiment’s medical company. I personally took part in taking wounded soldiers away from the front line under enemy fire. During one such excursion to the front line I was heavily wounded. I went through several hospitals between October and May, and eventually found myself in a Polish hospital in Moscow, where I underwent the final surgery.

After being released from the hospital, I was sent back to the front, to the headquarters, in Lutsk, Ukraine, and from there I went with the army as an officer, already wounded in battle, with the back units. I took part in the liberation of Lublin, and then in the liberation of Warsaw on 17th January 1945.