Soviet Jewish general

[Steen Ammentorp]

I am trying to identify a Soviet general of Jewish origin by the name of I.S. Babich (Isaak Savelevich Babich?). He is mentioned in Michael Parrish's 'Sacrifice of the Generals : Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953'. He is said to have been born 11th June 1895 and to have been promoted to Major-General of Medical Services on 22nd February 1944. Following the war he is to have been Head of the Neurosurgery Department of Leningrad Institute of Advance Medicine 1946-1953. In 1953 he is to have been Deputy Director of same institute.

Now Parrish gives F.D. Sverdlov's Evrei-generaly vooruzhennykh sil SSSR (1993) as his source. What makes is a bit strange is that this site list all Jewish generals and admirals in the USSR using Sverdlov as a source, but missing Babich.

Babich is not mentioned in any other source that I know of concerning Soviet generals during WW2. So I am a bit puzzled that Parrish can give so detailed information on him as he doesn't seem to exist. To get Parrish full entry on Babich, then make a search on: General Babich Parrish in Google books.

Any thoughts on this puzzle would be highly appreciated.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II

[Penn44]

I am trying to identify a Soviet general of Jewish origin by the name of I.S. Babich (Isaak Savelevich Babich?). He is mentioned in Michael Parrish's 'Sacrifice of the Generals : Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953'. He is said to have been born 11th June 1895 and to have been promoted to Major-General of Medical Services on 22nd February 1944. Following the war he is to have been Head of the Neurosurgery Department of Leningrad Institute of Advance Medicine 1946-1953. In 1953 he is to have been Deputy Director of same institute.

Now Parrish gives F.D. Sverdlov's Evrei-generaly vooruzhennykh sil SSSR (1993) as his source. What makes is a bit strange is that this site list all Jewish generals and admirals in the USSR using Sverdlov as a source, but missing Babich.

Babich is not mentioned in any other source that I know of concerning Soviet generals during WW2. So I am a bit puzzled that Parrish can give so detailed information on him as he doesn't seem to exist. To get Parrish full entry on Babich, then make a search on: General Babich Parrish in Google books.

Any thoughts on this puzzle would be highly appreciated.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II

Just guessing: Could the fact that he was a medical officer (physician) be a factor in why he is not mentioned in some lists? Was his rank in any sense honorary?

Penn44

.

[Rodan Lewarx]

I found only one general with that family - Babich Isay Yakovlevich, lieutenant-general since 26.05.1943, but he was the assistant of head of SMERSH.

Regards

[Steen Ammentorp]

Penn,

The fact that he was a medical officer shouldn't be a problem as all other sources that I know of includes medical officers. Again according to Parrish then Babich didn't join the army until 1941 and retired again in 1945, an so it couldn't have been an honorary rank. To my knowledge the Soviet army doesn't use honorary ranks as such, though a few retired officers (I know of three) were given a general rank during WWII like: Major-General of Artillery in resignation. However this can't be the case of Babish.

Yes - I.Ia. Babich is also the only one that I have found so far.

I was wondering whether anybody might have access to Sverdlov's book which seems to be the source used by Parrish.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II

[Steen Ammentorp]

I am glad to say that I have recieved information on this officer. Apparently Parrish garbled the name.
He is Isaak Savelevich Babchin http://www.neuro.neva.ru/Russian/Issues ... abchin.htm

Sadly none of the articles that I have found on him on the net gives his military rank. So I still have to verify his rank as a general.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II

[Steen Ammentorp]

I have been able to obtain another book of F.D. Sverdlov: 'Entsiklopediia Evreiskogo Geroizma' from 2002 where Babchin is also mentioned (No additional information though). Along with Babchin Sverdlov mentions the followings as Soviet Jewish generals during the war:

Major-General (1944) Mikhail Efimovich Litvin (1912-1978)
Major-General (1943) Izrail Aleksandrovich Shapiro (1901-1981)
Major-General of Aviation (1940) Isaak Senderovich (Aleksandrovich) Levin (1896-1956)
Major-General of Artillery (1944) Efim Moiseevich Varshavskii (1892-1983)
Major-General of Technical Troops (1945) Naum Abramovich Rabinovich (1893-1958)
Lieutenant-General of Technical-Engineering Service (1944) Viktor Mendelevich Sorkin (1899-1978)
Major-General of Technical-Engineering Service (1943) Iakov Zalmanovich Kronrod (1909-1986)
Major-General of Technical-Engineering Service (1943) Boris Lazarevich Livshits (1909-1986)
Major-General of Medical Services (1942) Lazar Moiseevich Moizhes (1903-1943)
Major-General of Medical Services (1944) Boris Samoilovich Sigal ( ? - ? )

I have been unable to verify their ranks. Does anybody else have info on them.

Sadly Sverdlov's book seems to be full of errors, or at least he has a number of generals with different (and more Jewish) first names and patronymics compared with those I have been able to find in other sources.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II

[HFK]

Hello Steen, MG Moizhes, Lazar Moisevich is listed as L. M. Moizhes in your "Generals of World War II". Has to be the same man; the dates of birth and death are identical. Have no information on the others. Regards, Harry