[To Russia with love: ambulances and medical equipment from Eretz Israel to the Red Army].
During the autumn of 1942 the attention of the entire world was concentrated on the decisive struggle at the Eastern Front between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army. The profound sympathies of the "Yishuv" towards Russia derived not only from the common cause--the defeat of Germany but also from the Eastern European mentality, similar socialistic ideology and culture of a significant part of the immigrants. Dr. Avigdor Mandelberg, a known pulmonologist and fervent socialist was instrumental in the formation of "League V" ("Victory") which volunteered to send vital medical equipment to the Soviets. Five locally manufactured ambulances and one mobile hospital were properly decorated with Stars of David and inscriptions in Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian indicating their origin. They were delivered to the Red Army in Teheran. Finally, now more than six decades later, and in spite of the Soviet anti-Zionist policy, we have some proof that at least one ambulance reached its destination with the original Zionist insignia.
Levy
Nissim
N
The Bruce Rappoport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, Haifa, Israel.
D000552:Ambulances; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation / Q000266:history; D007557:Israel; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000266:history*; D012426:Russia; D047789:World War II