Aron Movshovich

Aron Movshovich was born in Krasnaya Sloboda, a town near Minsk, in 1924.

After finishing school, Aron began to attend the Minsk Construction Tekhnikum (school). By June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Movshovich had completed his second year of study at the Tekhnikum. The Movshovish family managed to be evacuated to Turkmenia, but all their relatives who had stayed behind in Krasnaya Sloboda were killed under the Nazi occupation.

Since the Red Army suffered from a catastrophic shortage of commanding personnel of various professions, the authorities hastened to set up specialized military schools, which trained both sergeants and officers, in the territory of the Central Asian Military District. Cadets would typically spend 6-8 months studying there. Following the end of the war, in mid-1945, most of these schools were shut down.

In 1943, Aron Movshovich completed his studies at one such institution, the Ashgabat Military Infantry School. Thereupon, he was sent to the front to join a rifle division. Aron initially served as the Komsomol organizer (komsorg) of a training battalion, later being promoted to komsorg of a rifle regiment. Throughout this time, he combined his job with the main duties of a military man.

Over his two years of service, Aron took part in fighting in the regions of Kursk and Kharkov, and served as a scout during the battles in the area of the Dnieper River.

In late February 1945, Aron Movshovich was killed in action during the fighting over the Hron bridgehead, near the Hron River in Slovakia. In the course of the war, Movshovich was awarded two Orders of the Red Star; Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st and 2nd class, as well as medals. He was posthumously nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but the honor bestowed on him was downgraded to an Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class.