1.  My name is Boris Jochai.  I have always used the spelling Jochai.

2.  I was born in 1922 in Swieciany, Poland; a Polish citizen.  I was born to a Jewish family and consider myself to be a Jew.

3.  In 1939 Swieciany was annexed to the Soviet Union, along with the rest of Eastern Poland.  Thus I became a Soviet citizen.

4.  In 1941 Nazi Germany overran the Soviet Army.  Swieciany was occupied by the German invaders.  The barbarity of this occupation is a matter of historical fact.

5.  In 1942 I left Swieciany for the surrounding forests with my younger brother and some other men.  My purpose was to survive and fight the invader.  I did the best I knew how.

6.  In 1943 the Soviet Union, by parachute and glider airplanes, placed trained Soviet Partisans close to my location.  I made contact with these Partisans.  This group of Soviet Partisans accepted me into their organization.  They trained me in the handling of high explosives and in the proper techniques of military demolition.

7.  In three months time after having joined the ranks I was given command of a Soviet Partisan Demolition Group.  The Demolition Group under my command operated in Lithuania (specifically Vilna to Dianaburg) from 1943 to July of 1944.  Our mission was to demolish the railroads and deprive the enemy of supplies arriving to the front.  Many of our targets were chosen by Soviet Intelligence.  Occasionally we took targets of opportunity.

8.  In July of 1944 we were united with the Red Army and began to dislodge the Germans from our country.

9.  I have lived in the United States since 1949.  I became a United States citizen by choice in 1955.  I am a United States citizen today.

That is pretty much all I have to say about the subject of my experience in the Partisans at this time.
 

Boris Jochai