Stephen Shooster current situation. I was appalled to think after what I went through it could happen again so quickly. There was no way I would risk going back to a concentration camp or a Russian gulag. 1950, the Soviets turned their attention inwardly and began to investigate all of the members of the Office of Public Security. That was the time I was graduating from school. The year corresponds to the creation of the State of Israel. Everyone who gradu- ated became a lieutenant. I never earned that privilege. Instead, I was interrogated about my connections to my family in the West and if I was Jewish. It was happening again. I expecting to be arrested. When I initially signed the papers to become a soldier, I never declared I was Jewish. My associates asked me, “Why didn’t you graduate?” I told them not to ask me but to ask the officers in charge. After the interrogation, I was deemed unreliable but allowed to stay on base free to roam around, as long as I reported as requested. I had nothing to do other than to wait. I knew this was bad and started to plan my escape.
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