Naum Semyonovich Shusterman (18 August 1912 – 25 April 1976) was a lieutenant colonel of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, who served as the chief engineer of the 43rd Soviet Fighter Aviation Regiment during the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

Biography

Early life

Shusterman was born on 18 August 1912, in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, then

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, to parents Shendlya and Simeon Shusterman. He had four sisters.

Military service

At the age of 18, Shusterman attended the Military Aviation Engineering Academy of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He remained there for three years, and learned numerous technicalities of military aircraft. In 1932, Shusterman enlisted in the 16th Aviation Army of the USSR, where he served as an engineer of the 3rd rank.

Great Patriotic War

During the Winter War and the Great Patriotic War, Shusterman served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and later as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, holding the position of Chief Engineer of the 43rd Soviet Fighter Aviation Regiment. Serving all over the Eastern Front, he participated in the defense of

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

and

, in the liberation of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and in the capture of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Shusterman became one of the few people who fought in the war from beginning to end.

Later service and discharge

In 1949, Shusterman was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He continued to serve as Chief Engineer until his discharge. Shusterman, aged 42, was honorably discharged from the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

in 1954 on account of illness. His discharge conditions gave him rights to wear his military uniform.

Death

Even though Shusterman attended the 30th Anniversary of Victory celebrations in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1975, his health slowly began to deteriorate. He was admitted to the Kiev Military Hospital in February 1976, where he spent the final three months of his life. On 25 April 1976, Shusterman died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. He was aged 63.

Personal life

Shusterman married Elizabeth Chernyak in 1934, and in 1936, they had their first son, Alexander. In 1937, Chernyak gave birth to twins, Arnold and Mikhail.

Awards and decorations

Shusterman received seven Orders, seven campaign medals, three service medals and six jubilee medals during his military career and personal life. In 1939, he received his first Order of the Red Star. He received an Order of Lenin in 1941, and another Order of the Red Star in 1942-1943. He was also awarded the Order of the Patriotic War twice (one of each class), and received an Order of the Red Banner towards the end of the war. Shusterman received medals for his participation in the defence of Stalingrad, Kiev and the Caucasus, in the liberation of Warsaw and in the Capture of Berlin. He was also awarded the Medal for Battle Merit and the Medal for Victory.

List

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

(three times) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class *

, 2nd class"Electronic repository of awards and other documents relating to the Great Patriotic War"
*

Medal for Battle Merit A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union. Medal history The Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" was established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet o ...

Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" The Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union. Medal history The Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" was established on May 1, 1944, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet o ...

* Medal "For the Defence of Kiev" *

Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" The Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to satisfy the petition of the People's Commissariat for Defe ...

* Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw" *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

Medal "For Impeccable Service" The Medal "For Impeccable Service" () was a Soviet Union, Soviet military award for long service awarded to deserving members of the military personnel of the Soviet Armed Forces, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union), Interior Minist ...

, 1st class *

, 2nd class *

, 3rd class * Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" *

Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 18, 1957 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the fortieth anni ...

* Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" *

Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

* Jubilee medal "For Military Valour in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shusterman, Naum Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet World War II pilots Soviet engineers Soviet Jews in the military 1912 births 1976 deaths Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner