Deston, Avi: my wartime experiences (March 12, 2007)

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Interviewee: Deston, Avi

Interviewer: Fitch, Edward and Sharon

ABSTRACT: Avi Deston Avi was born in 1926 in Kiev, Ukraine, one house away from where Shalom Aleichem had lived. At the age of 16 he was sent to work in a metal factory in Siberia. Hunger, absence of safety standards and the terrible cold are still fresh in Avi's memory. At the end of 1942, Avi was conscripted into the Red Army. Because he had completed grade 8, Avi was sent to Artillery training. Following a serious injury in November 1944, he was discharged from the Army. When he returned home his mother was initially concerned that he had run away from the army; families sheltering deserters were shot! She was relieved that Avi had official discharge papers from the military hospital. After the war ended, Avi studied physics at Kiev University, eventually becoming an internationally recognized nuclear theoretician. He and his wife Suzie have been in Victoria since the early 1990's. Between Stalin and Hitler Avi was housed in a barracks near a German prisoner-of-war camp. The weather was brutally cold and Avi was very fortunate that he had felt boots that had been given to him by a peasant. One day, a fellow worker grabbed his hat and threw it over the barbed wire fence into the POW camp. In those harsh conditions, the loss of his hat could have spelled disaster. A German soldier picked it up and threw it back to Avi over the barbed wire fence. Avi was stunned and shouted back some words he knew in German, "Danke schön!" (thank you). The German soldier responded, cordially, "Bitte schön" (you're welcome). After Avi's partial recovery from his injury, he was discharged from the Army, given two dried herrings and a loaf of bread, and told he could 'go home'. Having no money or other provisions, he jumped a train. Hanging on the outside of the train for dear life, Avi thought he would freeze to death. Some radio operators who were passengers on the train rescued him, brought him inside, and gave him food and vodka.

An interview/narrative of Avi Deston's experiences during World War II. Deston served with the Red Army. Interview took place on March 12, 2007.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Date created Relation
  • Part of the Edward and Sharon Fitch collection of interviews.
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 48.4359, -123.35155
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (DVF) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • DA_546
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • August 28, 2012
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2012. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
Rights
  • This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
DOI

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