Ilya Velednitsky was born in Kiev in 1922. His father Oscar was a construction engineer. After finishing school in Kiev, Ilya enrolled in the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute.
On June 2, 1941, twenty days before the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Velednitsky, who had just finished his second year of study, was sent to Murmansk for practical training. Shortly after the Nazi invasion, the Germans began to bomb Kola Bay, where Ilya was at the time. When the vessel on which he was serving arrived in Arkhangelsk, he tried twice to get enlisted in the army, hoping to be sent to the front. Instead, he was sent to the Borisov Military Engineering School. His two years of study at the Shipbuilding Institute were credited, and he was given the rank of sergeant. For the next 1.5 years, Velednitsky studied at the School, graduating in late 1942. After passing the exams, he was assigned to a special engineering brigade on the Northwestern Front.
Ilya Velednitsky went on to serve as the commander of a communications platoon. Ilya and his team had to operate on the battlefield under cover of darkness, disarming landmines and establishing supply lines. It was dangerous work, claiming the lives of many of his comrades. During his frontline service, he also gave lectures on mine warfare to various branches of the military.
Ilya was wounded in action in the spring of 1943. After being discharged from hospital, he petitioned his superiors to be assigned to the Ukrainian Front, since he wished to take part in the liberation of his native Kiev. His request was granted, and he resumed his prior job of commander of a communications platoon. This time, his unit was tasked with road and bridge building, demining, and setting up communications – and they had to do all these things very quickly. Ilya met V-E Day in Czechoslovakia.
After the end of the war, Ilya Velednitsky worked as a teacher for thirty years. In 1979, Ilya and his family immigrated to the US.
Ilya's older brother, Yan Velednitsky, and two of his cousins, Boris Goldstein and Leonid Mishilevich, were killed in action during the war.
Related Resources
Recollections of Ilya Velednitsky about antisemitism in the USSR
"I headed home. At the intersection of Kreshchatik and Fondukley Streets, I saw a beer stand. I came over and asked the seller to pour me some beer. Suddenly, some scumbag got up from the bench: "Don't serve beer to this zhid! He sat out the war in Tashkent!" I grabbed my pistol, intending to shoot the bastard. However, it would have been a shame to waste bullets on such filth. Instead, I hit him with the grip of the pistol.
The beer seller got scared, thinking that I intended to rob his stand. With trembling hands, he poured me beer into a cup. I drank it up and went home. There, I took a look at my pistol: The grip was covered in blood..."
