Polina Gelman
Encyclopedia
Polina Vladimirovna Gelman ' onMouseout='HidePop("72986")' href="/topics/Berdychiv">Berdychiv
25 November 2005, Moscow
) was a Soviet Air Force
officer, decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union
for her service with the famed Night Witches
unit during World War II
.
in 1919, Gelman joined the Soviet military in October 1941 after repeated disqualifications of her attempt to volunteer as a result of her short stature. Following a course of training in aviation, she became a navigator in 1942 with the all-female 588th "Night Witches" Night Bomber Regiment
, later known as the 46th Taman Division. Gelman had completed 860 missions by the time of Nazi Germany
's capitulation to the Allies and was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1946. Continuing her career as a professional military officer, she was sent for instruction as a military translator, graduating from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in 1951.
Gelman settled in Moscow
following her retirement from active service as a major
in 1957, where she taught political economy
as a college instructor until retiring in 1990. Gelman attained the rank of lieutenant colonel
in the reserves. A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
since 1942, she was also sent as an advisor and translator to Cuba
.
Gelman's memoirs of her years as a pilot were published in Moscow in 1982.
She died on 25 November 2005 in Moscow, where she was laid to rest at Novodevichy Cemetery
.
Berdychiv
Berdychiv is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Berdychiv Raion , the city itself is of direct oblast subordinance, and is located south of the oblast capital, Zhytomyr, at around .The current estimated population is around...
25 November 2005, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
officer, decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
for her service with the famed Night Witches
Night Witches
"Night Witches" is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname , for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces...
unit during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Biography
Born to a working-class Jewish family from the Ukrainian city of BerdychivBerdychiv
Berdychiv is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Berdychiv Raion , the city itself is of direct oblast subordinance, and is located south of the oblast capital, Zhytomyr, at around .The current estimated population is around...
in 1919, Gelman joined the Soviet military in October 1941 after repeated disqualifications of her attempt to volunteer as a result of her short stature. Following a course of training in aviation, she became a navigator in 1942 with the all-female 588th "Night Witches" Night Bomber Regiment
Night Witches
"Night Witches" is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname , for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces...
, later known as the 46th Taman Division. Gelman had completed 860 missions by the time of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's capitulation to the Allies and was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1946. Continuing her career as a professional military officer, she was sent for instruction as a military translator, graduating from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in 1951.
Gelman settled in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
following her retirement from active service as a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in 1957, where she taught political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
as a college instructor until retiring in 1990. Gelman attained the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in the reserves. A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
since 1942, she was also sent as an advisor and translator to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Gelman's memoirs of her years as a pilot were published in Moscow in 1982.
She died on 25 November 2005 in Moscow, where she was laid to rest at Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
.