The Jew, a Citizen and General.

     Mainly the article was written to support Jews in American army. Unfortunately, coming from another social culture, Jewish immigrants from former Soviet Union have a little knowledge about Jews in American Army. For last several years the situation was quite changed: we are fighting invisible enemies. It's clear for us, that we have to defend our FREEDOM. General Shachnow said: "Remember, freedom is not free. Each generation pays a price." It's a truly remarkable wisdom of survivor and hero. He was lucky to to survive Holocaust and was able to love. Oftenly we are looking for heroes, who lived their lives with no regrets. Definetely he is the ONE. "Schaja, I think you have a great deal of potential as a human being. I admire your courage and persistence. I also think you have a great deal of humanity within your heart," - rabbi said to Schaja Schachnowski just several days before his bar mitzvah. He still have a lot of humanity within his heart, and the road to FREEDOM became his major life achievement. We achieved a lot, we want to achieve even more, but only FREEDOM can guarantee the future. From surviving the insanity of Hitler's holocaust to becoming Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Special Forces... Could you imagine?..

     June 1941, Kaunas Lithuania. Terrible tragedy happenned during German occupation of Lithuania (1941-1944). It was killed about 200, 000 Jews, which composes 90% of Jewish population before the war in the republic.

Lithuania is a country of your childhood, and first thirteen years of your life passed in this wonderful place. Each house and each stone is a living history for you and your family. Everything was changed in 1941. It is even difficult to imagine the measure of the sufferings of Jews in the Kovno-ghetto. Your family was one of the "luckiest." Your parents escaped ghetto by themselves and made everything possible to survive you and your brother. Sixty years later after these terrible events one of the Lithuanian journalists wrote: "We must understand that the destruction of Jews is a destruction of us by themselves. Evil always remains evil, murder remains a murder, and crime is a crime." Who is guilty in this tragedy? How is it possible to understand what happened 60 years ago?

Shachnow: No useful purpose is served at this time to point fingers. There are many who share responsibility, those who set policy, those who supported the policies, those who executed the policies and those who enforced them. Most are now dead. Much has been written and discussed of the victims and the perpetrators. If I was to hold one group specifically responsible it is the BYSTANDERS, for by not taking a position they allowed this strategy to occur. This is also the case currently, Nations, organizations and individuals stand by while crimes to humanity go on. You can look at world today, and nothing has changed.

     1945, Kaunas Lithuania - 1955, Boston, USA The road to the freedom is always a difficult choice. But nevertheless you never stepped away from this difficult road. "My parents were never able to let go of their past completely. Yesterday was gone forever and we had to learn to move forward without shame and humiliation." Many of the recent arrived immigrants never will feel the horrors, which you had gone through. They have really different meaning of America. Do you criticize "new" immigrants?

Shachnow: The immigrants coming to the US, legal and illegal come here for one primary purpose. To have a better live. If one puts themselves in their shoes and demonstrated some empathy you will come up with the same actions. My criticism is only when they arrive in this country and are not loyal and fail to assimilate and become Americans.

     "O, wonderful! O, beautiful!" 1955 - 1994 United State of America. "I'd like to know how I can enlist. I want to join Tenth Mountain Division. I lived in Germany before I came to the United States. That's where I first saw U.S. Army GIs." In many countries military career became practically inaccessible and impossible for the Jews. Despite the harsh anti-Semitism, some Jews became generals. At the beginning World War II the Soviet Army counted 21 Jew Generals and even one rear admiral, and in the years of WWII the number of Jew Generals, who were directly involved in military activities, grew to 132 people. Before the war there was only one Jew General in the Polish army, there were eight Jews General among the highest commanders of British armies. There were six Jew-Generals among the military leaders, who entered into the liberation movement "Free France" and served in the army under Charles de Golle, 26 Jews occupied the highest command posts in the American army in the years of war. President Roosevelt wrote: "Courage and heroism of the present generation of Jews decorate the glorious combat past of the Jews of America. I convince that the descendants of Abraham solidly believe in the final victory of good above the evil, and they will become the witnesses of the celebration of our valid victory." Did you dream to become a general of US Army?

Shachnow: No I did not plan on becoming a General. As a matter of fact when I joined Special Forces and served there for 32 years out of my 40 years of service, I accepted the fact that Special Forces was a dead end career. I was lucky, things changed and it became very vogue to be in Special Forces. I am glad it turned out that way, but if had I remained a Colonel that would have been fine with me. I enjoyed doing what I was doing. That was more important to me than being a General.

Winston Churchill served 4 wars, and you? It is not much?

Shachnow: Once you decide to be a soldier, the number of wars is not important. We do not ask a surgeon how many surgeries are too much?

     One of the soldiers wrote about you: "General Shachnow is an excellent commander and soldier. He was respected by everyone. He is truly the American hero." One episode impressed me especially, where one of the officers was involved in Ku Klux Klan: "Colonel Shachnow, I have no ill feelings about this. You've always been fair and just with me as an officer. I have always respected you, even though you were a Jew." Time goes on and number of anti-Semites in the world did not diminish. What you do think about the contemporary antisemitism?

Shachnow: Although much of the Arab anti-Semitism is blunt and filled with hatred; in many parts of the world it is much more subtle and indirect – like voicing displeasure and criticism of Israel. For a Jew anti-Semitism is something he should accept and guard against. I have no hope of eliminating it. Only of minimizing it.

     Many years later you returned to Germany as Commander-in-Chief. "Here you are a Jew, a survivor, who was imprisoned by the Nazis. Brutalized by them. Liberated by the great Soviet Army. You joined Americans, came to Germany, and defend the very people that did to you so much harm. You do that by being prepared to fight and kill the very people that have freed and saved you. I must admit I had never thought about it that way. I was going to say. "Only in America," but decided against it." What do you think about this now after fall of Berlin Wall?

Shachnow: Although it was brought to me into perspective, there is nothing new. Things change. Some of our greatest enemies became friends like Japan, Germany and even now Russia. President Bush looked into the eyes of Putin and seen a decent man.

     You had read Dr.Mengele's archive. Page after the page you have gone though the history of his experiments. Sixty years later our world is too far from ideal. I frequently ask myself a question: "Do we do enough to warn future generations against this horrible crime?"

Shachnow: There are plenty of warnings out there. I am not certain that people are listening. All of us are capable of evil. It is character and discipline that keep it in check.

     Women in your life... "If you marry that Catholic girl, we will declare you dead and have funeral at the same moment of your marriage. You will no longer be a living member of this family!" - your mother said. "When it comes to marriage, it pays to be more practical" - a rabbi said. This year you and Arlene celebrated 50th anniversary of your wedding. Fifty years together is only half, and this half was most difficult. Ancient wisdom says, that only happy person has a right to erase children, and you have four daughters. Do you think, you're HAPPY PERSON?

Shachnow: Yes, I am very happy and pleased how things have turned out in my life. I have been very lucky and fortunate to have found my wife Arlene and not given in to the pressures not to marry her. We have four beautiful daughter, four great son in laws and 14 amazing grandchildren. I have lived a full life with no regrets. I have not dwelled or spend a great deal of time looking back. I have been too busy focusing on the future. Although I do not look forward to dieing and have no such wish – I am not afraid when that day comes.

     Fight for Freedom is never easy task. WE count those who never will come back from Iraq. Two more Jewish service members were killed in action recently: Sergeant Howard Paul Allen and Airman 1st Class Elizabeth N. Jacobson. He was 31 and she was 21. We will always remember them.

"May You Who are the source of mercy
Shelter them beneath Your wings eternally,
And bind their soul among the living,
That they may rest in peace. Amen"

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