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Part One: The Foundations of the Volftsun Family 43 birthplace and inquire about his parents' relatives who lived in Gorodok before the war. It was a very sad visit. The area had been occupied by the German army for some time, although by 1944 it was back in Russian hands. All the Jewish houses around the plaza had been destroyed. Iosif was pleased to see that the grand house his grandfather built was still standing. It had been usurped by a German commander as his headquarters, with the probable support of the many Ukrainians sympathetic to the Germans. In fact, there was so much Ukrainian support for the Germans that the Third Reich had no need to station their soldiers in the town. Worse news was to come. Iosif learned that all of his Ukrainian iends and neighbors had been killed by the Germans, and that his old school iend Sonya had been raped and killed by a Ukrainian policeman. The accused policeman was in the local jail, awaiting trial. The next day, Iosif met up with Sonya's brother, a captain in the army, who was a classmate with the Ukrainian policeman before the war and knew him well. He, too, All through his military career, even when he was an officer, Iosif had to put up with petty discrimination. Because he was so capable and undeniably intelligent, the promotions came on schedule. But he had to endure constant reminders that Jews were second-class citizens of Russia. As was true of most Jews in the military, he had to be twice as smart and work twice as hard as non-Jews to be considered for promotions. He worked to keep his Judaism a secret. During the war, he received a letter om his father reminding him about the dates for Yom Kippur and asking him to fast. He did so quietly. Food was sometimes scarce, and people paid a lot of attention to it, so when Iosif refused his meal, people noticed. Iosif 's buddies were incredulous that he would not eat. Iosif couldn't tell them why he was fasting. Yet as time went on and aer the war, Iosif understood that his status as an Air Force officer brought him and his family considerable privileges. The Soviet Union was a militaristic society, so military officers received preferential access to housing, food, and medical care. The children of officers received the best education. But Iosif 's service also meant he was handcuffed to the country. There was no way the secretive Soviet Union would allow an officer of his rank to travel to the West. The Soviet Union was always aaid that its officers would defect and reveal important secrets. Iosif s Military Career Iosif s Military Career Top: American King Cobra aircra, which Iosif worked on, made for the Russian ont. was visiting Gorodok to see about his family. The captain said to Iosif, "Let's go see this policeman in jail. I want to look in his eyes and ask him why he killed my sister." Iosif and the captain went to the jail and talked to the warden. "All we want to do is talk to the prisoner," the captain said. At first the warden refused, but eventually he gave permission for the pair to visit the prisoner. Iosif was not prepared for what happened next. Sonya's brother took a pistol out of his pocket and shot the prisoner right there in the cell. Then he shot him again. Iosif had no idea that the brother planned to kill the policeman. Now the deed was done, and there was nothing to do but leave the prison and Gorodok forever. Though Iosif still had 24 hours of leave le, he rejoined his unit. In the chaos of war, such incidents were not uncommon. By this time, the war was clearly going in the Allies' favor. The Russian army pushed westward toward Berlin. Iosif's unit continued to fight in Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, where he celebrated Victory Day. When World

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