Article by A. Saydakov about the Goykhman family
History of one family #
A pretty young woman Maya Tarasovna Kashuba, editor-in-chief of the Mako advertising and publishing agency, with whom our editorial office has fruitful cooperation, came to the editorial office of the newspaper "Pridnestrovie". But this time, Maya appeared before us as the great-granddaughter of Benzion Goykhman, the head and founder of a large Jewish family, which, back in the distant years of the 19th century, took root in Pridnestrovie and devoted the life of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren to Tiraspol and its region, which had become native ...
At the dawn of the birth of Tiraspol, a part of the Yekaterinoslav cavalry, which included Russians, Ukrainians and Moldavians, settled near the bastions of the Suvorov fortress. Over the years, the city was settled by people from neighboring villages, especially Parkan, Ternovka, Slobodzeya, Suklei, Ploskoe, schismatic settlements of Ukraine, immigrants from Poland and Zaprut Moldavia, Jews and Ukrainians from Podolsk, Volyn, Kiev provinces. And historically, the inhabitants of Tiraspol and Pridnestrovie forever stuck to their new small homeland and, in fact, became a single multinational people.
Maya told us with great love about old Benzion, about his wife, who gave birth and raised six sons and a daughter.
Benzion's great-granddaughter especially dwelled on the life of his son, Abram Bentsionovich Goykhman, respected by everyone in Tiraspol, who devoted his whole life to Tiraspol, spent all the years of the Great Patriotic War (from June 23, 1941 to September 1945) on the fronts of the fight against German and Romanian invaders. His military deeds are evidenced not only by orders and medals on his chest, but also by stripes about five wounds and three shell shocks ... Unfortunately, the military officer died this year, he died.
Maya introduced us to the personal archives of Lieutenant Colonel Goykhman, his diaries, letters to his wife from the front. These documents, along with her stories and memoirs of friends and old residents of the city, formed the basis of the documentary essay.
ONE DAY IN OLD TIRASPOL #
Out of respect for the founder of the Goykhman family in Tiraspol, I cannot show our reader at least one day in the life of Benzion in November 1896, that is, exactly 100 years ago. I did not invent this day. As a native Tiraspol resident, I know a lot about the life of old Tiraspol, there are records of the memories of my parents, grandfather, grandmothers and even great-grandfather. Grandfather Evdokim, for example, was well acquainted with two owners of the best mills in the city of that time - Khaimsky and Kamenetsky, for whom, by the way, Benzion Goykhman worked as a miller for a long time.
So, November 30, 1896. It's still a dead night outside. But the noisy rooster of the owner of the house on Sadovaya Street, from whom the Goykhman family rented an apartment, excited not only his “colleagues” in the chicken coop, but also the neighbor's dogs with “singing”. But the rooster was late: Benzion's wife, Feiga, had been on her feet for a long time: she was frying fish, boiling potatoes, baking cakes. The owner of the mill (Ploskovsky peasant - Old Believer Kamenetsky) himself came to the mill very early and did not tolerate late workers. Even before dark, he walked around the rows of carts with grain that came from the villages, made marks in the granary book ...
Feiga fed her husband, wrapped the cakes for dinner, Benzion passed Sadovaya Street, went out onto Klintsovskaya Street, and there it was within easy reach of the mill. From a distance I saw the owner. He singled him out among other workers for accuracy, accuracy, for not drinking and being honest. It is no coincidence that the strongly devout Kamenetsky made gifts to Benzion not only for Orthodox, but also for Jewish holidays (this was a sign of special respect).
The owner called the worker to him:
“I owe Khaimsky money,” he said, take the receipt. You can't rush to work. You wanted to go to a haberdashery shop for shopping - come in.
Having received money from the owner, Benzion walked along Rybnaya Street (now Uprising), went to Bazarnaya (now Sverdlov), Pokrovskaya (October 25) and along Kolodeznaya (Shevchenko) reached the Khaimsky mill (corner of Kolodeznaya and Kazarmennaya).
Having given the money and received a receipt, he went to a number of shops along Pokrovskaya, then along Cathedral (Lunacharsky) streets, chose a gift for Feiga and went to work satisfied ...
The working day is over. Walking in on the way to a shopkeeper I knew, I bought a pound of sugar. He was already on his way home when Ivan, a worker from a fish store on Bazarnaya, called him.
- Let's go to the Podgorny tavern. I treat, earned today ...
- I can not. They are waiting at home. Here are the gifts for them...
He has indeed been waiting at home for a long time. After dinner, the family, festively dressed, headed to the synagogue ...
AT THE DAWN OF A NEW LIFE #
Years passed. The children grew up. In 1912, another son, Abram, was born, later there were 6 sons in the family: Joseph, Leib, Yehuda, Haskel, Abram, Vadim and daughter Gela.
Big family means big expenses. Father and mother were no longer able to raise and educate such a family. Therefore, the older children Joseph and Leib went to work for hire. And life became more complicated: in 1914, a world war broke out, and my father began to ache.
It must be said that the Goykhman brothers were modern young people. The revolutionary moods that engulfed all sections of the society of tsarist Russia did not bypass the youth of Tiraspol. Joseph and Leib were the first in the family of an old worker to support the revolution, becoming members of the anti-gang squad. Others were not left out. And everything would have been fine if not for the illness of his father, who died in 1921.
Subsequently, in his autobiography, Abram Bentsionovich Goikhman wrote: “After the death of my father, I remained in the upbringing of my brothers and my mother’s housewife. Until 1924 he studied at an elementary school. In 1925, due to the difficult financial situation in the family, the school had to be left and go to work. From 1925 to October 1927, he worked at the Tiraspol freight station for the freight forwarders Barsky and Volodarovsky as a laborer.
In November 1927, I entered the cannery named after. Tkachenko first worked as a laborer, and then became a solderer in a tin and can shop. He systematically worked to improve his qualifications, in which my comrades in the Komsomol organization provided me with great help (in 1927 he became a member of the Lenin Komsomol). In September 1929 I entered the evening department of the workers' faculty, which I graduated in July 1933. By this time, I became a worker of the 8th category, then a shop foreman.
In November 1932, Abram Bentsionovich firmly determined his future life path, becoming a communist. An advanced worker, an active member of the Komsomol and a communist - he is among the young Tiraspol residents, builders of a new life in the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Komsomol members of the Tiraspol printing house "Moldpechat" elect him as their leader ...
October 1934. The forces of fascism and reaction are becoming more active in the world. The time has come to be ready for all sorts of surprises with weapons in hand. And the communist Goykhman becomes a fighter of the Red Army, graduates from the Kiev armored school and serves as a platoon commander of the 12th tank brigade on the Polish border.
From 1937 to June 1941, Abram Bentsionovich was again in his native Tiraspol. Together with his young wife, also a native of Tiraspol, Rosa Spiegel, an analytical chemist at the Tiraspol wine and cognac factory, he plunges headlong into the peaceful construction of his native city and region. Goykhman heads the special department of the State Data Administration of Moldova, works as an instructor in the city party committee.
OFFICER OF THE TIRASPOL FORTIFIED AREA #
The tragic morning of June 22, 1941 upset the peace plans not only of Pridnestrovians. The entire Soviet people, as one person, rose to the defense of their Motherland.
Already on the second day of the war, officer Goykhman appeared at the disposal of the headquarters of the Tiraspol fortified region No. 82 and accepted the post of military commissar of a separate auto unit.
"UR", mothballed in 1940 in connection with the transfer of the state border to the Prut, was urgently put on alert. The command and party organizations of the fortified area faced many difficulties, because the enemy, albeit slowly, was advancing towards the Dniester. Heavy defensive battles were ahead. Around the clock, the military commissar Goykhman, together with other officers, strengthens the defense. Fierce battles continued for more than a crescent, but still had to retreat.
On August 10, 1941, the last native left Tiraspol. By order of the command, the units of the Tiraspol fortified area joined the Primorsky Army and with hundreds of their machine guns and guns blocked the enemy's path to Odessa. So the military commissar Goykhman with his soldiers became the defenders of Odessa. At that time, his wife Roza was already producing very important products for the front at a cotton factory in distant Uzbekistan ...
From Odessa, Abram Bentsionovich was transferred to the 51st separate army stationed on the Southern Bug. In its composition, he defended the Crimea, fought on the North Caucasian front. As part of the 64th Army, he fought near Stalingrad. Then wounds, contusions, evacuation hospitals, treatment in the Caucasus and Moscow. Then again the Southwestern, 4th Ukrainian, Baltic fronts ...
The last places of service before the victory: deputy commander of the 176th Guards Regiment of the 59th Guards Division and the 1003rd Infantry Regiment of the 279th Lisichanskaya Red Banner Division.
During this time, there were different things in his front-line life ... But he especially remembered the night raid behind enemy lines in the Crimea on May 11, 1942 in the Agibel region.
Here is an excerpt from the diary of A. B. Goykhman.
Night. Pouring rain. After a fierce battle, an order: retreat to a new line. They retreated and took up positions. Early in the morning, during the check, it was found that there was no standard bearer with the banner of the unit. This is an emergency. The regimental commander Ivanov and the military commissar Khvorost make a decision: to return to the territory occupied by the enemy and look for the standard-bearer and banner.
Goykhman and the fighter Krivoshein volunteered to carry out this task. We crawled into the location of the enemy. Inspected areas in the rear of the Germans. The search turned out to be successful: the standard-bearer and banner were safely delivered to the location of the regiment. In the future, by order of the commander, the banner of the regiment remained with Goykhman ...
In the archives of Abram Bentsionovich there is a letter addressed to his wife Rosa from the front. Here are some of his fragments: “... In a few hours I will go into battle for height 66.3. But I don't feel fear. I will go on the attack without bending. Because I am fighting for my country. I am sure that our Banner, the Banner of Victory and Happiness will soon develop on our Moldovan land.
Dear Rose! It's so bad that you and I didn't cherish the minutes, didn't appreciate the hours, we didn't even count the days! Now I have learned to count the minutes. I cherish them now, as for years. A minute is life. Take care of the minutes. Take care and count the working minutes. Follow the rules for two or three people. By doing this you will help the front ...
How I love life! Live in such a way that the sun plays in the soul, so that all people are free and happy. And not only here in Moldova…”
He returned from the front alive. On his chest are four military orders, medals "For Courage", "For the Defense of Odessa", "For the Defense of Stalingrad", "For the Victory over Germany", stripes for five wounds and three shell shocks.
Fought for the Motherland and his brothers. Yehuda died in the battles for Odessa, Haskell, a pilot, was awarded high military awards for downed enemy planes. The rest, like his wife Rosa, were active fighters of the labor front. Leib was awarded the medal "For Labor Valour".
HOME WITH VICTORY! #
Lieutenant Colonel Abram Bentsionovich Goykhman was demobilized from the army in September 1945, and already on November 1, he began to restore the urban economy destroyed by the war. Our compatriot Abram Goykhman worked as he once advised his wife Rosa in a letter from the front to work - to count not only days and hours, but also minutes ...
Wintrest, construction trust, a bakery, a factory of reinforced concrete products, a factory of industrial products, a factory of manufacturing enterprises ... For merits in the restoration of the national economy, the labor order "Badge of Honor" was added to the combat awards of the veteran.
On July 16, 1973, A. B. Goykhman legally retired. But for more than 20 years after this date, he was an active worker of the city committee of people's control on a voluntary basis, then an activist of the state control committee of the PMR.
It is no coincidence that on the day of the 50th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people over the fascist invaders, A. B. Goikhman was invited to the State Control Committee of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and the chairman of the committee A.P. Manoilov cordially congratulated Abram Bentsionovich on the great holiday, wished him health, happiness, presented a valuable gift on behalf of the committee.
A.B. Goikhman until the last days of his life remained a kind, sympathetic person who wished good and happiness to people, his fellow citizens and compatriots. His last will was to transfer his personal library, numbering over 200 volumes, to his native Tiraspol represented by the city library.
We are grateful to him for everything: for what he was, for what he did for Tiraspol and Pridnestrovie.
A. Saidakov