RECREATING UNIQUENESS

If writing, crafting a book, and literary work is a creative process, then translating it is a recreation of the author's original work. Since I started translating I.Z. Postalovsky's WW II memoir ""THIS IS MY WAR, THIS IS MY WOUND…/MOMENTS OF THE WAR/From Stalingrad To Berlin And Farther, Memories Of The Second World War" I was on an honorable and challenging mission of recreating his unique eyewitness testimony to the massacre known to us and the WW II historians as the worst in the history war conflict and unmatched arms contest, his first-hand reports from the battlefields, marshes and swamps of Byelorussia, frontlines, combat zones and engagements of Stalingrad, Moscow, Orsha, Byelorussia, Berlin, Poland, ruins of Stalingrad, bleeding Seelow Heights in Germany before the Red Army's final push to conquer the rubbled Berlin. I enjoyed every minute of this journey of exploring and appreciating I.Z. Postalovsky's subtleties of the language, uniqueness of his narration, originality of his witty, philosophical and sometimes humorous style. My goal as a translator was to convey and deliver the meanings, tone, ideas, concepts, his mentatlity, connotations of I.Z. Postalovsky's WW II original memoir "MOMENTS OF THE WAR: From Stalingrad and Farther…" into English to the readers of this first edition in the U.S.A. I did my best to recreate the original masterpiece into your mother tongue-now it is your turn as readers to judge the final product. WE would be happy to hear from you.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the WW II history and put the USSR's destiny at stake. It involved many thousands of the army men and troops , tanks, aviation, massive weaponry and technology on all/sides of the war conflict. For me it was a great personal experience and unforgettable journey of translating the unique testimony of the representative of the greatest generation and their lasting and enduring legacy who sacrificed so much to make the world a better place for us. This is very well-written personal account of the worst world war conflict, skillfully crafted psychological and philosophical portrait of the war. While translating this book, I had to behave like a 24-hour combat soldier, like embedded reporter with the author, I.Z.Postalovsky's platoon, even like an angel to make sure he, the author, survives every battle, assignment, engagement, escapes from the burning tank, air raids, shelling, bombings, sniper's bullet shower, so he can tell his unmatched story to the generations to come. While in the Red Army, per Soviet laws and regulations of that time, I.Z. Postalovsky like any Red Army man was, not allowed to take any notes, keep a diary or journal, not speaking about using personal or professional or army-owned photo equipment or devices to record the war events. In I. Z. Postalovsky's WW II memoirs we have the case where he lived the society of the total secrecy due to the Soviet totalitarian regime. Some of the information, data that he requested from the Soviet official armed forces archives of different services or tried to locate them by himself visiting some of the archives depository-alas, even so many years after the WWII, some information was and is still considered by the government of Russia to be classified. You will find highly professional investigative work in this book, numerous references to many sources, authorities, archives, both national, and foreign, both Soviet, Post-Soviet and Western, WW II writers, historians, historiographers, researchers and military experts. This makes his book more plausible and credible and it is one of many merits of his book. My team and I, the book reviewers, editors, my family members did our best cross-checking, fact-checking, verification, but it was impossible to cover all bases for the war conflict of such a magnitude as the WWII. All errors, omissions are mine, Peter Kirchikov's.

I.Z. Postalovsky's WW II memoir "From Stalingrad to Berlin" reads like a journal, a diary and is a great, first-hand account of the eyewitness who skillfully recorded with phenomenal memory and sharpness and fantastic accuracy daily battles, struggles, losses and survival during the WWII from the Battle of Stalingrad to the VE, Victory in Europe and to the fallen Berlin of Nazi Germany. His book is a striking testimony, a testament, a tribute, and a memorial to the fallen heroes and staunch reminder of the atrocities of the war and the lessons drawn from the war. It is a strong reminder:

Nothing is Forgotten!
Nobody is Forgotten!
Glory to the Heroes of the WW II!"

I commend and admire I.Z. Postalovsky and his greatest generation of the heroes for their heroism, sacrifices, for doing a monumental job and accomplishing the mission impossible to save our world and for that we all are eternally and gratefully indebted to them. I owe a huge debt of immeasurable gratitude for his heroism to I.Z. Postalovsky and for the trust and honor that he bestowed on me asking me to translate and publish his memoir " in English for the readers in the USA. It is an honor and privilege to have known I.Z. Postalovsky since 1974 till now and lived with him for certain period. I enjoyed every minute of my association with him and his family. Glory to the Heroes of the WW II and the Greatest Generation!

Peter Kirchikov.