On the 9 May 1945 the Second World War ended. The Soviet people fought towards this victory for four years on the front and at the rear. This celebration is celebrated with tears in the people's eyes. This day joins the emotions of joy and sorrow. The War had affected every family which lives on the territory of former USSR. The Day of Victory is a time to remember those who fell on the battlefield, and those who worked towards success at the rear. We deeply thank all those veterans, who not only lived through the most terrible war of all times, but who also strengthened the world after the defeat of the fascism.

On 13 May 2008, 36 veterans of WWII visited the Hesed 'Polina'. All veterans wore their orders and medals, the testaments of their bravery and heroism. The veterans were congratulated by Alexandr Baron, the President of Association of Jewish National Organisations of Kazakhstan, Yosi Lebovich, the head representative in Kazakhstan of the international Jewish agency 'Sokhnut', Rabbi Meir Slezinger and the members of the Counsel of the Jewish Cultural Centre Alexandr Gudkov and Oksana Abdukadirova.

The children from the Jewish Community Centre 'Rimon' prepared a musical present for the veterans - a song in Hebrew beautifully sung by Ksenia Sorokolit. Each veteran received a crystal vase hand-painted by the children. Then the wartime songs with a guitar accompaniment were sung by Victor Raizman, the volunteer at the Hesed, taking the visitors back into their past, who sang along to the more popular tunes quietly, but in unison. The veterans could not hold back their feelings and tears. Then there was war poetry, toasts "For the Victory!" and recollections of the veterans' most dramatic and memorable events from the War.

Oleg Bivalt remembered, "I was called to the army in November 1943, when I was 17. The most memorable day for me was the Day of Victory. On the 8th May my leg was amputated, and on the early morning of the 9th, the Victory was announced over the loudspeakers. Everyone at the hospital cheered, shouted, celebrated; everyone who could walk hurried to the street. As I could not walk, I was informed by the other patients as to what happened on the streets and how people celebrated."

The Victory of 1945 is a significant event in every person's life of our country. The time takes us further away from the largest tragedy in the history, which took away many millions of lives, and for many of us WWII is a distant past, known only from the history books, veterans' stories and other literature about those terrible years. The Day of Victory is a celebration with a truly international significance.

Anna Naumova