Leonid Yusefovich Girsh is a veteran of the Jewish Community. In May 2010 his book "Alone with Your Memory" was published with the financial support of the Fund of the First President of Kazakhstan. In this autobiography book the author tells the young generation about important events of the past, shares his vision of his epoch and people he met. The book is even more valuable as it includes an article of a well-known Kazakhstani writer Moris Simashko "In the mirror of the century". For many years, Moris Simashko and Leonid Girsh were close friends. And now Simashko speaks about Leonid Girsh from the pages of the book.

IN THE MIRROR OF THE CENTURY

  Every life reflects its time. Often the "mirror" reflects an ordinary dim life. It is actually not a life but an existence. But sometimes there are such bright biographies that light their epoch as a projector. My old friend, a Colonel of Tank Forces, Leonid Yusefovich Girsh lives such a bright life.

A boy from a poor Jewish family that was living in a single room apartment with a soil floor had to earn a living for the family by doing random jobs. He had to fix with a wire his falling apart shoes and the greatest joy for him was to get a new coat. However, the boy went to school and was going to become a pilot or an engineer in future.

Then the war began. Leonid, following the general spontaneous patriotic movement, joined the army in the first days of the war as a volunteer. He had to witness the difficult stepping back through all of the Ukraine and he was wounded for the first time then. After the hospital he was admitted to the military navy college, and right after the college was sent to fight in Stalingrad. The Kursk Bulge, the largest tank battle in history near Prohorovka, forced crossing of Dnepr, liberation of Poland and fighting all the way to Berlin, and after the official end of the war he participated in the liberation of Prague. The war is probably the most controversial phenomenon in human history because it makes people undergo enormous sufferings but at the same time it promotes development of the noblest feelings. Of course, if it is a fair war. That’s how the Great Patriotic War is perceived in Leonid Girsh’s book.

High sense of loyalty to comrades in arms, family, and his Motherland goes through the whole life of the author. It is not just a phrase. Everybody who knows him can confirm these words. The author does not say it about himself but all his life after the war is the evidence to it including his service in the Karakum Desert, on the border with Afghanistan, his leadership of civil defense activities in Kazakhstan, volunteering in environmental projects. Wherever he was working he was always surrounded by friends. He writes about his personal life with incredible sincerity, about a golden wedding with his beloved wife, about his children and grand children. Everything is written in a healthy optimistic tone. An attentive reader will never doubt the absolute sincerity of his thoughts and feelings. This is what is called "personal integrity", quite a rare quality at our controversial time.

I would like to mention that there is no reference in the book to the notorious "fifth section", which starting from the 40s was dividing peoples of our united country into "elder" and "younger" brothers. He is above all that. But I think that if it were not for the "fifth section" in his biography he would be at least a General now. In this regard, I would urge all chauvinists and anti-Semites of all kinds to look in the eyes of the war veterans.

Moris Simashko,
People’s Writer of Kazakhstan,
1999