Prisoners of Zion. 1945, page 2.






Hava Litvak

Born in 1910 in the town of Skolani, Bessarabia, she became a member of the Zionist organization “Gordonia”. Deported by the Soviet authorities to Siberia in 1941, she continued her Zionist activities among the Jewish deportees. Arrested in 1945 by “troika” and sentenced to 5 years in Gulag plus lifetime exile in Siberia, she served her sentence in the Tomsk camp, and her exile in Kargasik. Released from the camp in 1950 and from exile in 1957, she finally managed to make her dream came true when she and the family left Israel in 1972.





Pinchas Mabel

Born in1908 in Vilnius, Lithuania, he became an active member of the organization “General Zionists” in1930. In 1945 he attempted to flee by air to Rumania and from there to Palestine – Eretz Israel, but was arrested and served 6 years in several labor camps. Released in 1950, he was still unable to leave the USSR for Israel till 1972. He died in 1989.





Leon Markovitz

Born in1915 in Poland, he joined to the organization “Beitar” in his youth and became one of the leaders of the organization in the Lodz region until WWII when he escaped to the Soviet Union, to the city of Frunze. Arrested in 1945 on charges of Zionist activity among young Jews and of the organization of underground routes of Jews to Poland, and from there to Eretz Israel, by means of fictitious marriages and false documents, he was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag plus to 2 years of exile. The sentence was served in Mariinsk, Lakhash, Karaganda and other places. Released in 1954, he received permission to go to Israel in 1956.





Leib Meerovitz

Born in1903 in Sivola, Lithuania, he became an activist of the urban department of “Beitar” in his youth, eventually being appointed as the commander of this department. Arrested in 1945 on charges of Zionist activity and attempting an illegal crossing of the state border, he was sentenced to 7.5 years in a maximum security labor camp. After his release in 1952 he continued fighting for the right of Jews to emigrate freely to Israel. He fought on until he was allowed to leave the USSR for Israel in 1969. He died in 1989.





Moshe Melamed

Born on 12.25.1919 in Rovno, Poland, he joined the organization “Beitar” in 1932 in the town of Luborska. During WWII he was involved in dissemination of educational Zionist materials in the Soviet Union. Arrested in 1945, he was charged with Zionist activities and cooperation with foreign, anti-Soviet Jewish organizations. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag, and spent his time in maximum security camps - Siblag, Steplag and others. Released in 1955, he was still unable to leave the USSR for Israel till 1967.





Haia Mirvays

Born on 12.15.1917 in Lithuania, she was an active member of “Maccabi” and “Hashomer Hatzair” from an early age. After WWII, in 1945, she joined a group of Jews in Vilnius, attempting to leave the Soviet Union illegally to emigrate to Palestine –Eretz Israel, Arrested, she was charged with “high treason and creation of underground Zionist anti-Soviet organizations”. Sentenced to 8 years in the Gulag plus 2 years in exile, she served her sentence on Kolyma. Released in 1953, she still had to wait to get to Israel in 1967. She died in 1991.





Moshe Mirvays

Born in1914 in Ponevezhe, Lithuania, he was an active member of organization “Maccabi” from an early age. Arrested in Vilnius in 1945, he was charged with an attempt to hijack an aircraft for an illegal flight from the Soviet Union. Sentenced by “troika” to 8 years of Gulag, he served 6 years in a camp on Chukotka plus 3 years in exile on Kolyma. Released in 1954, he still had to fight for release from the USSR in order to get to Israel in 1967.He died in 1978.





Mordehai Neividel

Born in1903 in Yurborkas, Lithuania, he was an active Zionist throughout his life. Arrested and accused of attempting to hijack an aircraft in 1945 to flee the Soviet Union illegally to get to Palestine –Eretz Israel, he was sentenced by the “troika” to 8 years in the Gulag serving his sentence in labor camps in the Urals, in Chelyabinsk, and also in Ivdlag. Released in 1953 but was unsuccessful in his bid to get to Israel till 1979. He died in 1993.



Nahman Ozdin

Born on 06.21.1920 in Vishki, near Dvinsk, Latvia, he joined “Beitar” in 1935 and was soon appointed as Commander of the local branch. He called for the necessity of the implementation of the Zionist ideal –the creation of the Jewish state- and became a celebrity in his town. After the invasion of the Nazis he fled by bicycle with a group of comrades to the Soviet Union, settling in a state farm near Tashkent. At the end of 1942 the majority of young people were mobilized into the Red Army. In 1945 after being denounced to the authorities, he was on arrested by them and sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag plus 5 years in exile. Released in 1953 from the Kurgan camp, he finally reached Israel in 1960.





Yehuda Persool

Born in1907 in Poland, he joined the Zionist youth movement “Ha’mizrakhi” as a youngster and became an activist in the movement “General Zionists”. He was especially active in the collection of money for “Keren Kaemet” and “Keren ha’Yesod” for the formation of a Jewish State. Arrested in 1945, he was charged with Zionist activities and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He served his sentence in prisons and labor camps and was released in 1949. Even then he was not successful in reaching Israel till 1968.





Meir Shafir

Born in 1911 in Lutsk, Poland, he became a member of “HaHalutz Hatzair” as a youngster. From 1931 till 1933 he served in the Polish Army and in 1941 he was mobilized into the Red Army. While in Belorussia he was taken prisoner of war by the Germans. In 1942 he succeeded in escaping from captivity and until 1944 fought in a Polish guerilla unit. After the War he organized the flight of Jews, especially children, from the Soviet Union through Poland to Berlin, and from there into Eretz Israel. Arrested by Soviet authorities in Berlin in 1945, he was sentenced to 6 years in the Gulag. Released in 1951, he succeeded in getting to Israel in 1957.



Alter Shikman

Born in1918 in Ilkush, Poland, he was a member of “Hashomer Hatzair” from 1930 to 1939. He also completed the course of agricultural training for Eretz Israel called “Hachshara”. He and his friends had illegal connections with foreign Jewish organizations. In 1945 he was arrested in Yaroslavl and sentenced by a military tribunal to 10 years in the Gulag plus 5 years in exile. His sentence was served in the prison camps in Vorkuta, Rybinsk, Magnitogorsk and also in the labor camp of Wetlag. Released in 1961, he was prevented from getting to Israel until 1971.





Jacob Shiloni (Shilanski)

Born in1907 in Lithuania, he was appointed as squad leader of “Beitar” in the city of Kovno in 1929, when he went to Argentina to become one of the organizers of the Zionist Party of Revisionists. Returning to Lithuania in 1932, he became a prominent activist in the revisionist movement before WWII. In 1941 he was mobilized into the Lithuanian Regiment and fought the entire war in this division. Arrested in 1945 as a result of a denunciation, he was accused of Zionist activities and sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment in prison camps. Released in 1950, he was exiled to the province of Kemerovo in Siberia. In 1953 after Stalin's death, he was released and returned to Lithuania. His numerous requests for the exit visa were constantly rejected until 1972 when, with many difficulties, he managed to leave the Soviet Union for Israel.





Joseph Shmuelowitz

Born in1908 in Riga, Latvia, he studied in a German university and was a Zionist activist among the Jewish students. Arrested in Riga in 1945, he was charged with Zionist activities. Sentenced to 5 years in the Gulag, he served his sentence in several prison camps in Siberia. Released in 1950, he still had to fight to get to Israel by 1969. He died in 1973.





Shmuel Trotzkis

Born in 1929 in Kovno, Lithuania, he joined the organization “Hashomer Hatzair” in his youth and was especially active in the city as the propagandist of Zionism. In 1945 he joined a group of young people attempting to leave the Soviet Union illegally in order to reach Palestine – Eretz Israel. Arrested by the Soviet authorities, he was sentenced to 4.4 years in Gulag plus 3 years in exile. Released in 1953 after Stalin's death, he was prevented from reaching Israel until 1972. He died in 1992.





Zvia Vildstein

Born in 1906 in Sarni, she was arrested in 1945 on charges of Zionist activity and sentenced by OSO to 8 years in the Gulag plus years of exile in Kolyma. Released in 1956, she left the USSR for Israel in 1957.





Elijahu Vislitsky

Born in1925 in Kovno, Lithuania, to a family of religious Zionists, he fled the ghetto of Kovno in1941, after the Nazi occupation, but was mobilized into the Red Army, fought the entire war, and reached Berlin in 1945. There he was arrested on charges of Zionist activity and attempting to flee to the West, and from there to Palestine –Eretz Israel. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag, but received a pardon after 5 years when he returned to Vilna. In 1969, he finally obtained permission to leave the USSR and go to Israel.



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