Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (Лидия Владимировна Литвяк, (August 18, 1921 in Moscow – August 1, 1943 in Krasnyi Luch), also known as Lilya, was a ace fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Lydia Litvyak was a Soviet flight instructor who had trained 45 pilots by the time the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. She began flying when she was 14 and performed her first solo flight at 15. When Operation Barbarossa broke out and the massive Wehrmacht was making its way into the interior of the country, she tried to fly for the Soviet Air Force. After being turned down several times she eventually was allowed into the 586th Fighter Regiment, the famed Soviet all-female regiment formed by Marina Raskova. She began training on the Yak-1, the Soviet’s scrappy but reliable small single seat fighter. She was called the “the White Rose of Stalingrad”, or the White Lily. During her combat dories, she claimed 14 kills give or take a few that may be in dispute. It is not in dispute that she was an aggressive and highly skilled aviator who was obsessed with flying and fighting the invading Nazis. She claimed several Me-109s and Focke Wolfe 190s and Junkers 87 Dive Bombers. Litvyak flew her first combat flights in the summer of 1942 over Saratov. In September, she was assigned to the 437 IAP, a men’s regiment fighting over Stalingrad. In the 437th Fighter Regiment, Litvyak scored her first two kills on 13 September, three days after her arrival and on her third mission to cover Stalingrad, becoming the first woman fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. She shot down Staff Sergeant Erwin Maier, another German ace. He parachuted down and was taken prisoner. He asked to see if it was true that he was shot down by a woman and he was allowed to meet her. He could not believe he was shot down by a female pilot—and by a Jew no less-- and only when she accurately described all the maneuvers in the flight that he knew it was true. Twice she crash landed and once was she hit and wounded in her plane. On August 1, 1943, Lydia did not come back to her base of Krasnyy Luch, in the Donbass, Ukraine. She was an escort to a flight of Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmoviks. It was her fourth sortie of the day. As the Soviets were returning to base near Orel, a pair of Bf 109 fighters dived on Lydia while she was attacking a large group of German bombers. Soviet pilot Ivan Borisenko recalled: “Lily just didn’t see the Messerschmitt 109s flying cover for the German bombers. A pair of them dived on her and when she did see them she turned to meet them. Then they all disappeared behind a cloud.” Borisenko, involved in the dogfight, saw her for the last time, through a gap in the clouds, her Yak-1 pouring smoke and pursued by as many as eight Bf 109s. Borisenko descended to see if he could find her. No parachute was seen, and no explosion, yet she never returned from the mission. Litvyak was 21 years old. Soviet authorities suspected that she might have been captured, a possibility that prevented them from awarding her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Two German pilots are believed to have shot down Litvyak: Feldwebel Hans-Jörg Merkle of 1./JG.52 and Leutnant Hans Schleef, of 7./JG 3. Merkle is the only pilot that claimed a Yak-1 on Dmitryevka (where she was last seen and was – reportedly – buried), on 1 August 1943, while Schleef claimed a LaGG-3 (often confused in combat with Yak-1s by German pilots) on the same day, in the South-Ukraine area where Litvyak’s aircraft was at last found.
In an attempt to prove that Litvyak had not been taken captive, Pasportnikova embarked on a 36-year search for the Yakovlev Yak-1 crash site assisted by the public and the media. For three years she was joined by relatives who together combed the most likely areas with a metal detector. In 1979, after uncovering more than 90 other crash sites, 30 aircraft and many lost pilots killed in action, “the searchers discovered that an unidentified woman pilot had been buried in the village of Dmitrievka… in Shakhterski district.” It was then assumed that it was Litvyak and that she had been killed in action after sustaining a mortal head wound. Pasportnikova said that a specialist commission was formed to inspect the exhumed body and it concluded the remains were those of Litvyak. On May 6, 1990, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev posthumously awarded Litvyak Hero of the Soviet Union. When you find yourself traveling to Russia on kosher cruises and tours, remember the sacrifices that Lydia has made. Because of her help and that of countless others, you can now enjoy the lives you live today. תנצב"ה
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Coimbra is an ancient and important city of Portugal. It lies on the Mondego River in the Beira region, 120 km south of Porto and 195 km north of Lisbon. The city has about 100,000 inhabitants, but around half a million live in the entire metropolitan area. It is home to the oldest university of the Portuguese-speaking world, founded in 1290. In 2013 it was listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was also home to a sizable Jewish community in medieval times, making it a relatively popular spot for kosher tours. History On the Alçacova hill, the Romans founded the Aeminium. Its importance grew gradually, that it was engulfed by the nearby Conimbrigue. At that time, the city was an important point between Lisbon and Braga. In 711, the city was captured by the Moors, becoming the link between the Christian north and the Muslim south. In 878, the city was taken back, but only for a hundred years. The Muslims again took over. Finally, in 1064, the King of Castile Ferdinand the Great conquered Coimbra. In 1139 the first Portuguese king Alfonso I of Portugal decided to make Coimbra the capital of Portugal. The city retained this honor until 1256. Six Portuguese kings were born in Coimbra. Sights The center of the Lower Town is Praça do Comércio. There is a São Tiago church in one corner. Its slender facade imitates the original 12th-century building, but there is a richly decorated altar of gilded wood inside. Rua Visconde leads to the next square, Praça 8 de Maio, and to the historic Santa Cruz Church. The Rua de Sofia ("The Wisdom Street"), named after former theological faculties, is located behind the square. Only the adjacent monastery churches - Igreja do Carmo (1597) and Igreja da Graça, founded in 1543 by Jan III, were preserved here. The converted and refurbished 12th-century Arco de Almedina, next to Rua Ferreira Borges, is the gateway to the Old City. The stairs go up around the tower of Torre de Anto, whose Renaissance windows and medallions come from the sculptor Jean de Rouen. The two cathedrals, Sé Velha and Sé Nova, stand ”in the shadow“ of the university. Behind them is the main square of the Upper City, Praça da República. On the other side of Mondego is a beautiful view of old Coimbra. There are also two monasteries, Santa Clara-a-Velha and Santa Clara-a-Nova. The Sé Velha cathedral in the Romanesque style was built to celebrate the victory over the Moors in 1064. The son of the first king, Alfonso I, Sancho I, was coronated there. There is a tomb of the first Christian governor of Sisinanda, who died in 1091. In the northern side of the nave, the tomb of Byzantine don Vetaço, a companion and teacher of the wife of King Dinas, Saint Isabella, can be found. The Cathedral of Sé Nova near the University was founded by the Jesuits in 1598. Marquis de Pombal banned the Jesuit Order in 1759, but the church became the seat of the bishop soon thereafter in 1772. Sculptures of the Jesuits can be seen on the façade. One the finest sculptures by the famous Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro is located in the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, a former 16th-century bishop's palace. The collection includes paintings from the 12th to the 20th centuries. It also has textiles, robes and fine porcelain. A very interesting feature is Criptoportico de Aeminium, a labyrinth of underground Roman corridors. The church and monastery of Santa Cruz was founded in 1131. Two Portuguese kings are buried there. Their magnificent tombstones were most likely carved out from marble by Chanterêne, who also eventually found his eternal rest here. The two Santa Clara-a-Velha and Santa Clara-a-Nova monasteries on the southern shore are connected with Saint Isabel and Iñes de Castro, the unfortunate lover of Pedro I, who was stabbed to death in 1355. According to the legend, a spring emerged here--the Fonta dos Amores Fountain can be seen in the Quinty das Lágrimas Garden, now a hotel. Universidade de Coimbra – the Coimbra University – was founded in 1290 by King Denis I. It was originally located in Lisbon, but moved here. It belongs to the oldest and most famous universities in the world. It stands on top of a hill in the old part of town, high above the Mondego. Several small streets leading to the university are lined by cosy pubs and bars that are visited by the university students. The main courtyard of the university is surrounded on three sides by historic buildings and a bell tower. The bell tower, the symbol of the university, is visible from anywhere in the city. The most famous of the three bells, called ”cabra“ – or ”Goat“ – has been in use since 1733. There is also the remarkable Baroque library Biblioteca Joanina, built in 1720 by King Jan V. In three gilded and richly decorated rooms, over 300,000 books written in many languages are kept. On the same side of the courtyard is the Museu de Arte Sacra and Chapel of São Miguel with its large Baroque organs. In the opposite building, there is a richly decorated aula, Sala dos Capelos, a university life center where graduations take place. Theology, law and medicine was historically studied here. Today, subjects like IT, management and economic studies are part of the curriculae. Taking a kosher tour to the many Jewish communities in Europe? You might want to visit Saint Petersburg too. Saint Petersburg is Russia's second largest city after Moscow. It is one of Russia’s most important naval ports and has a population of over five million inhabitants. It lies in the very western part of the country, on the borders of Finland, Estonia and Latvia. The city is situated at the mouth of the Neva River in the Gulf of Finland, which is located in the north-east segment of the Baltic Sea. Saint Petersburg is a geopolitical, commercial and cultural hub and the window of Russia into Europe. Of all the cities in the world with more than a million inhabitants, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. Given its size, it is one of Europe’s most densely populated cities. The city is also Russia’s most modern, progressive, westernized and cosmopolitan city, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and its other monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site was recognised for its architectural heritage, fusing Baroque, Neoclassical and traditional Russian-Byzantine influences. Due to its short but very rich history and specific layout of many canals flowing through the city’s blocks, together with dominant classical architecture, Saint Petersburg gained the nickname “the Venice of the North“. Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums today, boasting the world‘s largest collection of paintings. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks, and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg. Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Tzar Peter the Great during the Great Northern War. This was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe. Saint Petersburg’s importance grew instantly, so the port – originally founded on marshy grounds and out of nothing – subsequently became the capital of the Russian Empire for the next two hundred years, between 1712 and 1917. The name was chosen by the Tzar Peter The Great himself based on the Dutch town of Sankt-Pieterburch he once visited. Contrary to the popular belief, he did not chose the name in his own honour, but rather in the honour of his patron, Saint Peter. During the Soviet Union, government bodies were moved back to Moscow and Saint Petersburg was renamed to Leningrad in honor of the bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. It was not the fall of the Soviet Union when the residents decided to rename it back to its original name. The Jews of Saint Petersburg The Jewish population in Russia have historically resulted from a large religious diaspora. The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest population of Jews in the world. The primarily Ashkenazi communities in many areas flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions. This was while also facing periods of anti-Semitic discriminatory policies and persecutions. The presence of Jewish people in the European part of Russia can be traced to the 7th–14th centuries CE. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Jewish population in Kiev, Ukraine, was restricted to a separate quarter. Evidence of their in Muscovite Russia was first documented in 1471. During the reign of Catherine II in the 18th century, Jewish people were restricted to the Pale of Settlement within Russia, the region where they could live or immigrate to. Alexander III escalated anti-Jewish policies. In the 1880s, waves of anti-Jewish pogroms swept across different regions of the empire and continued for several decades. More than two million Jews fled Russia between 1880 and 1920, mostly to the United States. Saint Petersburg became significant to the Jews at the end of the 18th century, when the Russian Empire conquered and annexed Eastern Poland and unintentionally acquired half a million Jewish subjects as a result. A limited number of Jews—nobles, university students or graduates, members of affluent merchant guilds, particular artisans, military personnel and some services associated with them, their families, and sometimes their servants of these—were allowed legal access to the Russian interior, including the imperial capital, during the reign of Tsar Alexander II (1855–1881). Saint Petersburg quickly became the address of choice for privileged Jews. By the end of Alexander’s reign, roughly 16,000 resided in the city legally, making it the largest Jewish community outside the Pale. Contemporaries estimated that a nearly equal number of Jews were living in Saint Petersburg illegally. By 1910, the number of legal Jewish residents had reached 35,000. Prior to the Soviet period, Jews never accounted for more than 3 percent of the city’s population. But in fields as banking, law, and journalism, they made up around a third of the total number of professionals. Unlike other East European cities such as Warsaw, Kiev, and Odessa, Saint Petersburg was always dominated by a single ethnic group: Russians. They represented 80 to 90 percent of the population. Unlike those cities, and because of a large police force and army presence, the Russian capital never experienced pogroms.
Saint Petersburg never had a Jewish ghetto. Nonetheless, the majority of Jews who moved there settled in the Podyacheskii neighborhood south of Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s grand central boulevard. Since the city’s Jewish life – unlike most other places in Europe – was virtually uninterupted during WWII, the community has continiously existed in the city to this day. During the communist era, however, Jews throughout the Soviet Union were persecuted and religious life was actively supressed by the authorities. A significant portion of Saint Petersburg’s Jewish population moved to Israel, US and Germany since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the Jewish community numbers over 40,000 – the second largest kehila after the capital Moscow. There are nine operating synagogues throughout the city and many other smaller shtiebels. Saint Petersburg boasts a Jewish kindergarten, primary school, newspaper, museum, and even a university. There are multiple religious activities going on in St. Petersburg such as prayers, shabats, Jewish holidays, Tora lessons, brit-mila, bar-mitzva, Jewish weddings and Jewish burials. |
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