A Firsthand Account of Jewish Survival Under Soviet Oppression
A portal into the perseverance of Jewish culture in the face of attempts to destroy it.
Rabbi Hillel Zaltzman wrote this memoir to answer his son's question: what was it like growing up in Samarkand? The result is a detailed historical account of Chassidic Jews who found refuge in Samarkand during World War II and maintained their faith under Soviet rule.
Born in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1939, Zaltzman's family fled the Nazi invasion to Samarkand (Uzbekistan), where they reconnected with other refugee Chassidic families and prominent rebbes. This community became known as shpitz Chabad—the epitome of Chassidic ideals and devotion—until Stalin abruptly shut down its institutions after the war.
Underground Jewish Education in Communist Russia
Zaltzman's father kept him hidden from Soviet schools until a neighbor discovered his existence at age 9. Even after forced enrollment, Hillel continued observing his faith, staying home when necessary. He studied with Chabad rebbes who taught at enormous personal risk—discovery meant harsh labor sentences in Siberia.
The Soviet regime maintained a special NKVD division dedicated to destroying Jewish schools and yeshivas, using synagogue informers for surveillance. Against this backdrop, Zaltzman records the experiences of those who sacrificed to share Torah learning in secret underground yeshivas, celebrate holidays, make matzah, and obtain prayer books.
The Chamah Underground Organization
At 16, Zaltzman joined Chamah, an underground Jewish organization sustaining Jewish life through education. This network established clandestine schools that taught over 1,500 children and provided support to Jews seeking exit visas in the 1960s and 70s.
After years of attempts, Zaltzman immigrated to Israel in 1971, later moving to New York where he became director of Chamah International. The organization now serves Jews from the Former Soviet Union across Israel, Russia, and the US. Rabbi Zaltzman received recognition in the U.S. Senate in May 2016 during Jewish American Heritage Month.
