Grigory Gendler and his students skiing

This photograph shows me and my students during our ski touring.
It happened near Leningrad in 1970s.

In 1949 I graduated from the College and was assigned to Pushkin (to Radio-locating School), where I taught political economy for five years.

Then I was transferred to the Leningrad advanced training courses for political workers of tank armies. There I taught political economy and other subjects for about ten years. Then the courses were liquidated. I decided to defend my kandidat nauk dissertation.

I did it at my former Military Pedagogical College in 1956. My topic was Forms of Wages in the Industry of the USSR. When I tried to become a postgraduate student (in 1949), I was explained that people of my nationality could not become postgraduate students.

My former co-worker became a faculty head at the Military Academy named after Mozhaysky. He invited me to teach political economy at his Academy. For that purpose it was necessary to be demobilized urgently.

I managed. At that time I was 35 years old. They gave me a small retiring pension (my time-in-service was 23 years, including years of war counted 1 for 3). So I came to the Academy as a civilian person. And later (as you know) I defended my kandidat nauk dissertation in 1956.

At the Academy I worked 17 years, everybody was nice to me. There I became an assistant professor, then full professor (I got a doctor's degree). Lieutenant-general Vassilyev, the Academy chief did not hate Jews.

He used to send me on business trips to different secret establishments, entrusted me with secret research topics. I wrote books and articles. When I brought my doctor's certificate to Vassilyev, he suggested me to move to a new apartment (from our communal one).

That was the 1st separate apartment in our life (it happened in 1980). Later (when my children grew up and got their own families) I aimed at buying a large cooperative apartment.

I managed and we moved to that new apartment together with my wife and the family of my daughter.

In 1975 I started working at the Financial and Economic College. I worked both at the Academy and at the College. It was hard and could not last long. I decided to leave the Academy.

So by now I have been working at the Financial and Economic College more than 30 years. I am a professor of the faculty of Personnel Management.

I am a member of the Jewish Organization of War Veterans, headed by Zhuravin. There are about 3,000 members. Several times I was elected their council member. Several years ago I was entrusted to head the scientific conference devoted to the 60th anniversary of the Victory in WWII.

We invited foreign guests from Jewish organizations from Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, and France. At that conference I was a key speaker and gave a report on the role of Jews in the Great Patriotic War.

My report was a great success, theses were published in Israel.
Zhuravin has got the text of my report.