Efim Bilder Artilleryman, WWII veteran Date of Birth: 22.06.1922 Country: Italy

1. Biography of Yefim Bilder
2. World War II
3. Later Life

Biography of Yefim Bilder

Yefim Naumovich Bilder was born on June 22, 1922, in Odessa, Ukraine. He moved to Tiraspol in 1925 with his five brothers and two sisters, where he spent his youth. Sadly, Yefim lost his father before the war, and his mother and one of his sisters were executed by Germans in 1941. Out of his siblings, he was the only one who survived. After graduating from Tiraspol Secondary School in 1939, Bilder was determined to join a military academy. He requested the military enlistment office to change his birthdate from 1922 to 1920, so he could meet the age requirement. Alongside Misha Golev and David Rabinovich, he was admitted to the Sevastopol Anti-Aircraft Artillery School (SUZA), where he served under Commander Chernukhin in the 1st Cadet Division.

World War II

From June 23, 1941, Sevastopol faced daily bombings. Yefim became the commander of a cadet anti-aircraft battery located on the slopes of Malakhov Hill. He refused to evacuate and took command of a battery operating in the McKenzie Mountains area. In early 1942, Yefim was entrusted with the responsibility of defending the "Road of Life" on Lake Ladoga by leading a battery.

Yefim earned his first order in the battle near Selizharovo. He participated in a fierce tank battle near the village of Komariha, where his battery destroyed numerous enemy vehicles over six months. However, on the Kalinin Front, Yefim and his men primarily shot down planes, achieving a total of 14 kills in one year. Bilder earned the Order of the Red Banner of Battle for his efforts in the Smolensk region, where the regimental artillery failed to suppress a German 87mm battery, but Yefim and his troops succeeded.

Later Life

While participating in the liberation of Smolensk, Yefim was promoted to major and became the chief of the 49th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (AZD). He was responsible for coordinating with the reconnaissance units of infantry divisions and ensuring communication with them. Bilder also oversaw the advancement of his division's units. However, on October 22, 1943, he was seriously injured during the first offensive on Orsha, which forced him to temporarily withdraw from command. Yefim suffered injuries from bomb fragments and two bullets fired by German pilots from a machine gun. During his medical evacuation in a PO-2 aircraft, a German fighter hit his right shoulder, shattering his scapula.

Towards the end of the war, Yefim served in the 37th AZD under the command of General Gudkov. He participated in the battles for Budapest and reached Austria, where the war finally ended for him. After being demobilized from the army, Bilder worked as the director of a vocational school and the chief of a workshop at an artillery plant. In 1995, he immigrated to Israel, where he lived until his passing.