Zarembo, Michael

Michael Zarembo is a Lithuanian Jew, one of so many overwhelmed with the terrible events that befell his people and region during the war.  1941 saw the initiation of that horror…Germany initiated Operation Barbarossa, and within days Michael’s family was under the heel of the Nazi regime.  Life became increasingly difficult in the ghettos that were created, as Jewish families struggled to survive.  A mere teenager, Michael joined the Red Army, and he managed to survive several intense years of warfare, fighting as a member of a Jewish brigade charged with the liberation of Lithuania.  The Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators they were up against had nothing to lose, so the combat was intense.  Michael recalled their attempted flight over the Baltic Sea, and of the Soviet female fighter pilots who hunted them down.  Wounded in battle, Michael ended up in the hospital, and that is where the war came to an end, in a celebration Michael said he will remember forever.   He survived the war and the Shoah, and contributions on the battlefield helped to end both of those dark chapters.  He began to rebuild his life, a journey that would eventually take him to Canada.  

Michael Zarembo was interviewed at his home in July 2017, by Crestwood teacher Scott Masters.  The interview was set up courtesy of the Jewish War Veterans Association of Toronto, with special thanks to Anna Mordukhovich and her daughter Dorina.

Please note that this interview is in Russian, with English overdubs and translations.