She was born in 1923 or in 1924 in Sebezh (west Russia, a border town with Latvia) as Liuba Dodzina. A short time after she was born, her family moved to the town of Chikhachevo, close to Velikiie Luki, Russia, where her father Zalman was offered a job at the local selpo (a village general store). After the beginning of the Soviet-German war, Zalman was drafted into the Red Army; Liuba's elder brother volunteered for military service. Since Liuba's mother mainly spoke Yiddish and could hardly speak Russian, Liuba became the de facto head of the family.
In the fall of 1941, the Germans captured the town of Chikhachevo. Liuba decided to move to the remote village of Ratcha, which was regarded as a "partisan zone". However, the Germans appeared in Ratcha, and rounded up the Jews there. Liuba managed to flee from Ratcha and was hidden by a Russian acquaintance, Uncle Vania. From a guest of Uncle Vania she heard that the Germans had killed all the Jews in Ratcha. The guest claimed that she had seen the bodies of Liuba's mother and younger brother lying near the farm. Although Liuba was deeply shocked, she did not betray her presence.
After that, Liuba left Uncle Vania's house and, by good fortune, met some Soviet partisans. So, she joined the partisan unit "People's Avenger", and with it she took part in many military operations. In summer 1942, the unit attacked the German garrison in one of the villages and destroyed it. For her part in the operation, Liuba was awarded the Order of Red Star. In 1942, a time of many military setbacks of the Red Army, receiving such a military distinction was a rare occurrence.
In November 1942, the People's Avengers crossed the frontline and joined the Red Army. Liuba Dodzina served with the 735th infantry regiment on the Northwestern Front. Her job was to safeguard the communication between the command point of the regiment and its battalions. This assignment was probably the most difficult and dangerous task the of an army "communicator." While under fire, she had to carry heavy coils of cable in the sight of the Germans and close to their positions. She also had to repair breaks in the cable, sometimes under heavy mortar or artillery fire. On March 8, 1943, Liuba was wounded. After her release from hospital, she continued servicing as a communicator with various regiments on various fronts. She fought in Belorussia, Ukraine, and Latvia, and was awarded another military order and a medal.
Liuba's elder brother Alexei was killed fighting in Belorussia in 1943.
After the war, Liubov Dodzina settled in Leningrad .
