We have never met our great-grandfather (Semyon Ariyevich)- he passed away on March 28 of 1983.
He was born on April 15, 1905 just before the Great Russian Revolution and the birth of the Soviet Union. He passed away just before the fall of the Soviet Union.
He lived through some of the most dramatic events in human history. World War II was undoubtedly the greatest challenge of his life.
He, along with millions of other Soviets, put his life at risk to fight and eventually defeat the Nazi army. The heroic actions of these brave men and women made it possible for us to enjoy life today.
Grandpa Senya was awarded with the Order of the Red Star and the Medal for Combat Merit for defending his country.
We are very proud of you, Dedushka Senya.
Great-grandpa Senya was very fortunate to return from the war alive. The Soviet Army sustained devastating casualties to protect their people. The biggest burden was carried by Russians, with more than 6 million Russian military personnel killed. Alongside the Russians fought hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Jews, Georgians, and practically all other nationalities who considered the Soviet Union their motherland. Overall, more than 11 million Soviet servicemen lost their lives during the 5 years of the war.
The losses among the civilian population of the Soviet Union were even more catastrophic. As a result of Nazi Germany’s “Generalplan Ost” and “Final Solution”, millions of civilians—men, women, and children--in Nazi-occupied territories of the Soviet Union were killed, tortured, died from hunger and in labor and concentration camps. The total number of Soviets who lost their lives during the war is estimated to be around 20 million people. Despite the tyranny and inhumanity of the Nazis, the Soviets wouldn’t give up. They fought relentlessly and fearlessly, sacrificed themselves to save others or to destroy the enemy, shared their last crumbs of bread with each other, and worked day and night to defend their country and defeat the Nazis.
Two brothers, Ариевич Семён Абрамович and Ариович Исаак Абрамович. Two wonderful men who gave up almost everything, basically sacrificed their lifes to protect their country while having idealistic beliefs in equality and fairness for all.