Prisoners of Zion. 1946, page 1.

Born on 2.08.1917 in Elgava, Latvia, he was a member of “Hashomer Hatzair” from 1931 till 1939 and collected donations for the Zionist funds “Keren Kaemet” and “Keren Ha’yesod”. In 1941 he was mobilized into the working battalions of the Red Army where he served till 1946. While making an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border between Turkmenistan and Persia in order to reach Palestine –Eretz Israel, he was arrested and sentenced by OSO (Special Tribunal Committee) to 10 years hard labor in the Gulag. Having served his sentence in the camps of “Angarlag”, “Taishet” and others, he was released in 1955 and tried for many years to obtain permission to leave the USSR for Israel. He was unsuccessful in his attempts until 1974.

Born in 1918 in a shtetle near Kamenets, Russia, he, while serving in the Soviet occupation forces in Germany in 1946, was arrested on a charge of encouraging Jewish officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army to flee to West Berlin and from there to Palestine–Eretz Israel. He was sentenced by the military tribunal to 7 years in the Gulag where he served his sentence in the high security camp of “Artemlag”. Came to Israel in 1959.

Born in 1915 in Poland, he was arrested in 1946 on a charge of attempting illegal flight from the Soviet Union and sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. Released in 1956, he succeeded in emigrating to Israel in the same year.

Born in1909 in Chernigov, Ukraine, he was arrested for his Zionist activities and connections with Eretz Israel and spent 3 years in prison, from 1946 until 1948. Arrested for the second time in 1955 and again sentenced for his Zionist activities, he served his sentence until 1966, when he was released. In that same year he left for Israel. He died in 1982.

Born in 1915 in Poland, he worked in “Hachshara” - the courses of training agricultural workers for Eretz Israel- from “Hashomer Hatzair” in Brishnev, Poland prior to WWII. In 1946 he was arrested on a charge of Zionist activity, espionage and helping in the preparation of Jews from the Soviet Union to flee to Eretz Israel. Released in 1951, he had to wait until 1957 before succeeding in emigrating to Israel. He died in 1987.

Born in 1919 in Kaunas, Lithuania, he joined the Zionist youth organization “HaMaccabi HaZair” as a young man in his home town, and later was appointed as commander of the battalion of Maccabi-ists. He was arrested in 1946 on charges of Zionist activity in Kaunas, before the establishment of the Soviet regime, of Zionist work in Vilnius in 1944-46, of the organization of illegal escape to Eretz Israel and in the attempt of illegally crossing the Soviet-Polish border. He was sentenced to 10 years in Gulag and one year in exile. His sentence was served in its totality in the concentration camps of Ukhta, Vorkuta, Taishet and others. Released in 1956, he left for Israel in 1971.

Born in 1922 in Shavli, Lithuania, he spent WWII in the ghetto but after the war, he and his friends organized underground routes to Eretz Israel through Poland. Arrested in 1946 on the Polish border, he was sentenced to 3 years in the Gulag. On his release in 1949 he returned to Lithuania and applied for an exit visa to go to Israel numerous times but was refused on five separate occasions. Not until 1972 did he obtain the desired permission to leave the USSR for Israel.

Born in 1924 in Kishinev, Bessarabia, he was a member of the Zionist organization “Gordonia” from his youth until 1940. In 1946 he was arrested, together with a group, attempting to cross the Soviet-Rumanian border in order to escape from there to Eretz Israel. Sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag, he spent 9 years in the camps. Released in 1954, he did not succeed in getting to Israel till 1972. He died in 1992.

Born in 1918 in Vilnius, she joined “Beitar” at an early age. In 1946 she was arrested on charges of the organization of illegal emigration to Eretz Israel and declared in the court of law as “a traitor to the Soviet Motherland”. Sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag plus 5 years of exile, she spent 8 years in the camps. After her release in 1955 she fought tirelessly for the right to emigrate to Israel. In 1971 her dream finally came true and she left for Israel together with her family. She is a member of the council of the Organization of the Prisoners of Zion.

Born in1905 in Zhizmori, Lithuania, she was arrested in 1946 on a charge of Zionist activity and spent 8 years in a concentration camp. Left for Israel in 1960. She died in 1971.

Born in 1905 in Hungary, from 1945 he was a member of the executive committee of the tiny Jewish community of Munich – Holocaust survivors. In 1946 he was arrested by the SMERSH (Death to Spies – operational arm of the KGB) while on a street in Vienna, taken away to the Soviet Union and sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. He served his sentence in the camps of Vorkuta, was released in 1956 and in 1957 left for Israel. He died in 1986.

Born on May 15th, 1921 in Radautsy, Rumania, he was educated in Zionism at home and up to 1939 was an active member of “Hashomer Hatzair”. In 1944 he was mobilized into the Red Army and sent to the front. In May 1946 he requested demobilization from the Red Army in order, then, to emigrate to Palestine–Eretz Israel. Instead he was arrested in the city of Khust and sentenced to 15 years hard labor in high security camps. His sentence was served in the coal mines of #16 and #18 in Vorkuta from November 1946 until his release in September 1955. He fought hard to obtain permission to leave the USSR for Israel, but with no success until 1971.

Born in 1917 in Chernovtsy, Bukovina, he was a member of the Zionist organization “Beitar” from an early age and up until 1940. He collected donations to the national funds of Israel and was involved in Zionist propaganda among Jewish youth. Arrested in 1946, he was charged with Zionist activity and propaganda against the Soviet regime. Sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, he spent 8,5 years in the camps of the Gulag and was released in 1954 after which he still had to wait until 1972 before getting permission to emigrate to Israel. He died in 1989.

Born in 1919 in Moscow, to a family that moved to Shavli, Lithuania when he was still very young. As a college student in Kaunas, he participated in the Zionist student organization “Hertseliya” – a section of the “General Zionists” organization. From 1942 till 1945 he served in the Red Army, in the 16th Lithuanian division. Being a signaling officer, he was able to communicate with the soldiers of the “Eretz Israelit” brigade (Jewish brigade in the Allied Army) for the purpose of organizing aid for aliyah in Eretz Israel. He was arrested in 1946 and sentenced to 10 years in Gulag plus 5 years of exile. He served his sentence in “Ortlag” in Pervomaysk, was released in 1955, and in 1980 left for Israel.

Born in 1910 in Minsk, he was an activist in “Maccabi” in Lithuania from his youth onwards. Conducted Zionist work and propaganda for emigration to Eretz Israel among the Jewish students. Arrested by the Soviet regime in 1946 in Vilnius, while attempting to flee to Poland, his goal being to reach the then Eretz Israel, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and, though released in 1949, still had to wait till 1971 to obtain permission to leave the USSR for Israel.

Born in 1915 in Vienna, he got involved during his childhood in Zionist activity. During World War II he escaped to the Soviet Union, and in 1944 moved to Drogobych, where he officially represented the Polish authorities. He used his post for the sending of many Jews to Eretz Israel and also illegally transferred money for Zionist activists in the Soviet Union, helping them to escape to Poland. During one of these trips he was arrested by the NKVD who found in his pocket a list of Zionists. In 1946 he was sentenced to 10 years in labor camps. After his release he received a permanent refusal to emigrate from the Soviet Union. In 1959, however, he was able to return to Poland and in 1962 obtained permission to leave it for Israel. He died in 1976.

Born in 1908 in Poland, he became a member of “Beitar" while still in his youth. As an athlete he later became a coach and a role model for the young members of this movement, organizing seminars for the sports coaches and training young sportsmen for the Maccabiads. He also organized camps, congresses and competitions for young Jewish sportsmen. In 1946 he attempted to leave the Soviet Union illegally, but was arrested and sentenced to 3 years in the Gulag. Having served his sentence in high security camps, he was released in 1949, and in 1966 left the USSR for Israel.

Born in 1919 in Russia, as a youth and up to the Soviet occupation, he frequented the circles of Zionist students in Riga. In 1946 he was arrested on a charge of organizing and aiding those Soviet Jews who wanted to get to Eretz Israel. Sentenced to 8 years in concentration camps, he left for Israel in 1974. He died in 1989.

Born in 1913 in Kiev, he became a pilot and used his position to transfer some documents to and from different Eastern European countries. Arrested in Kiev in 1946, he was charged with the organization of Jews fleeing from the Soviet Union. He was sentenced to 10 years in Gulag and served his sentence in the camps on Kolyma. In 1973 he left for Israel.

Born in 1919 in Riga, he became an activist in “Beitar” as a youth in 1939 prior to the Soviet occupation, in his home town, continuing his Zionist activities even under the Soviet regime. In 1946 he attempted to cross the border illegally, but was arrested and sentenced to 7 years in the Gulag. Released in 1953, he still had to wait till 1972 for his dream to make aliyah come true.

Born in 1904 in Kiev, the Ukraine, he was an activist in “Poalei Zion” for 10 years sending letters of protest to the authorities and to newspapers, encouraging Jews to make aliyah and teaching Hebrew and Jewish history. Arrested in 1946 he was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. Released in 1956, he had to wait till 1971 before being allowed to make aliyah. He died in 1993.

Born in 1925 in Vilnius, he was arrested in 1946 on a charge of Zionist activity and sentenced to 8 years in the Gulag. Released in 1954, he was able to leave for Israel in 1964. He died in 1987.