Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 May 2002 — Page 7

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HEROES OF WAR:

Russian WWII veteran commemorated

jane Tuv

North Central High School Recorder Intern On May 9,2002, Russian veterans in Europe were remembered and honored due to their participation in World War II. It must be noted that it is extremely hard for WWII veterans to speak of their past when they have experienced more in six years of war than average Americans in 20. It is not so common to watch soldiers die before one’s eyes and still be able to continue fighting for each person’s freedom. It was each other’s freedom they fought for. It was their land’s honor they protected; therefore, they killed to preserve. It is difficult to recognize the psychological effects endured after the war’s end. The nightmares one saw at night when blood gushed down an 18-year-old boy’* face as he lay, dying in dirt next to 30 others like him. It is difficult to recognize the fear the soldiers felt as they saw their friends, while others around them were pierced with gunshots and demolished in spirit It is difficult to recognize the pain of mothers who received letters of their only sons’ deaths. “They died in victory,” the letters read. But was it victory they died in? Or was it shame and fear they tried to wrestle while fighting for each other’s freedom and dying to save the land. Taking time out, 87-year-old Russian veteran, Isaac Tuv, spoke about WWII and its hardships. Sitting down behind a dinner table, he began speaking of his adventures in war. Excited yet bewildered, Tuv observed the steaming potatoes and mouth-watering steak placed in front of him. As he began his dinner, the stories commenced to unfold. Born near Kiev, Ukraine, on June 23, 1915, Tuv faced many challenges in life such as hearing about the Soviet Union’s part in WWII and leaving his famjjy for war. “Before Soviet Union troops were involved in war, Russian spies that settled in Germany secretly sent messages to Stalin informing him of an upcoming attack on the Soviet Union. By Hitler’s orders, an enormous number of German troops approached the Soviet borders,” Tuv said gazing into space. He continued, “Stalin failed to realize that Germans, equipped with tanks, a tremendous amount of weapons and aviation, would decide to attack. He did not delegate any orders against figuring out whether the information presented to him by his spies was true because he had signed a peace agreement where neither side would attack.” Cutting a piece of his steak, Tuv quickly exclaimed, “The Germans were fir better equipped than the Soviets. They proceeded over us in their weapon and tank supplies.” “The German generals and soldiers had greater knowledge and intelligence about manners of fighting and planning,” Tuv added

smirking.

On June 22 nd , 1941, at 5 am, the first attack on the Soviet Union

occurred.

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Kiev, Lvov, Odessa, Minsk and Brest. During the first few days of war, the German planes destroyed a great amount of Russian airplanes. They demolished our tanks and weapons,” Tuv said, sighing. Picking his potatoes with a fork, he added quietly, “Under the opponents’ pressure, the Russians began to back out while German troops captured citie* and villages, taking everyone as prisoners. Captured soldiers and generals were forced into concentration camps.” Engaged in passionate conversation, Tuv failed to notice how fast time has passed. Looking around the room at paintings and pictures, he stumbled upon a photograph of a young girl wearing a Jewish star on her neck. Turning his head away from exposure, tears began to well up in his eyes. “Lots of Jews occupied the cities and villages that were captured by German troops. Under Hitler’s command, Jews were told to gather in a designated place and were told to only take necessities along. Like herds, the innocent mothers, children and grandparents were placed in small wagons which only had one destination — the camp.” Tuv’s short pause was followed by a burst of emotion. The room filled with voices of 20 million souls of which 6 million were Jews. After a long sigh, Tuv recalled his wife’s stories of her sister-in-law’s experiences in Lotz Ghetto, Poland. “She was 10 at the time and she along with her brother and family were separated. The parents were taken to one side of the camp and the children to the other,” Tuv remembered. He continued, “I remember her telling me how loud she cried, while troops tore her away from her relatives. She never saw her parents after that They were hungry, so hungry, that her 5-year-old brother developed insomnia and began to have delusions.” “I don’t remember why but her brother was taken out of the small room the children occupied and was commanded to stand in front of the camp. The Nazis shot at him five times, while she watched and withered away in spirit,” Tuv said. “She never talked about her feelings after she watched her brother murdered but she escaped; escaped from the killers,” he added in an angry yet contented tone. Our hero’s mood suddenly changed as a round apple tart was placed in front of him for dessert. With a teaspoon, he dissolved the sugar in his tea and proceeded with new and exciting information. “I am not such a hero of war, but I did have a part in it I was put in as the ‘commander of tank forces' and throughout war I fought the German troops on tanks. I was wounded at times. I must admit the German troops were way ahead of the Russian soldiers in their knowledge, but they were not able to beat us (Soviet troops) in large battles,” Tuv said. Proud and back in good spirits, Tuv spoke of the battles won by the Soviet Union. He remembered, “We won the battle of Moscow, the battle of Stalingrad, battle of Kursk and many battles for Kiev’s

freedom.”

After taking a sip from his tea and a bite out of the tart, Tuv began to tell of the progress made by the Soviet Union in their part of war. “Stalin was angered before at the U.S. because America wouldn’t open the second front. However, things began to change when winter had set in. Germans weren’t prepared for our cold winter, especially the ones settled in Minsk and Siberia; therefore, it hit them hard when the freezing weather and constant snow sprung upon them,” Tuv

recalled.

“The German soldiers lacked supplies and food. We, of course, were prepared,” he added. In 1944 the U.S. opened the front and began fighting with the Soviets against Germany. Infuriated that the Soviet soldiers began to have an upper hand at war against the Nazis, German troops burned cities and villages in the Nazi path. Putting down his teacup and finishing his tart, Tuv said, “They burned everything there was to bum. The people that happened to be in their way were forced into wagons, taken to concentration camps and were either gassed or shot to death.” After taking out a metal case that resembled a cigarette box, Tuv held up a medal that read, “For victory over Germany.” Smiling, Tuv proceeded to talk of his awards. “I was honored with various medals after the war was over,” he said. Taking out a very unique medal, he began relating the story of the special commemoration. Tuv remembered, “During one of the battles for the release of Stalingrad, (now known as Volgograd) there was an enormous combat between the Soviet and German tank troops. In the battle, the German soldiers captured and tried to destroy the tank that I occupied. Our tank began to explode from within due to the great amount of firearms, gasoline and other implements of war stored inside. The mechanic, driver and I were wounded. One of the men who was too close to the storage, burned alive.” While drinking his tea, Tuv finished the rest of the story in great detail adding a happy ending. “When the attack on Stalingrad ended, the mechanic, driver and I were dragged out of the tank and were taken to the hospital where we received first aid. I was fixed up quickly and was sent back to finish the war. After my tank incident I was promoted as the 'chief commander of the tank force,’ handling and delegating operations to the Soviet tank troops until the war’s end.”

Burning CDs: Stealing or sharing!

By Ashley Hardy Northwest High School Recorder Intern The Internet has offered us many new opportunities. With the development of new technology, more opportunities in the field of entertainment are offered through the Internet The way music is viewed, recorded and even listened to has been influenced by the Internet. Burning CDs is an example of the products that influence and affect technology from the internet Many people have raised the argument that burning CDs is theft. So what is it? Stealing or sharing? According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, about 17 percent of all adults wired to the Internet at home, work or school say they have downloaded music. Napster is considered by many to have led the evolution of CD burning. Shawn Fanning developed the idea of Napster while sitting in his dorm room at Northeastern University in Boston. He was listening to his friend whine about dead MP3 links. His high school nickname was Napster—a reference to his hair. He began thinkir\g that there might be a way to access files without going through a Web site. In May of 1999, he founded Napster. Napster built a system that allows its users, who log onto Napster’s servers, to obtain infringing MP3 music files. These files are stored on the computers of other users who are connected to the site at the same time. Here’s an in depth look at how Napster worked: 1. You enter the music you’re looking for into the program’s search engine. 2. Your computer searches other computers on the Internet running the program, and tries to locate people with the song you’re searching for. 3. You can then select a computer and transfer the song to your computer. 4. You can then find out if that user has the similar tastes as you by searching through their entire personal colledrion. In less than five minutes, on a blank disc costing less than a dollar, a user can make an identical copy of an hour-long CD. A court’s decision resulted in Napster being ordered to temporarily shut down The MP3 was developed by German engineering firm Fraunhofer IIS back in 1987 as a way of compressing CD quality sound files. MP3 stands for ISOMPEG Audio Layer - 3. The MP3 made it possible to take songs from a CD and convert them into MP3 files, usually in violation of copyright The MP3 plays an essential role in the downloading of CDs. Chris “Truck” Sharp, a freshman at Warren Central, said, “I think it’s right to bum a CD, instead of going out and buying one for $20. When I had my cd burned, I only paid about $5 when I had one burned. You can get a variety of artists, like Juvenile and Mystikal, on one CD. Brittanie Duncan, a freshman at Northwest High School, said, Burning CDs isn’t wrong. Most of my CDs are burnt You save money by burning CDs,”

However, there are people who are strongly opposed to the burning of CDs. “Why would people pay for music if they get it for free? We’re very lucky... but what about the musicians who are just getting started?” This is the opinion of Lars Ulrich, the drummer for the band Metallica. He is voicing his opinion on the site Napster. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. The RIAA sued Napster, because they believe that Napster enabled and assisted in the piracy of music. Piracy refers to the illegal duplication and distribution of sound recordings. According to the RIAA, “Online piracy is the unauthorized uploading of a copyrighted sound recording and making it available to the public, or downloading a sound recording from an Internet site.” Hilary Rosen, the president of the RIAA, said, “When we win, my hope is, people will see it as more ' productive to work with the creative community than to test the law.” On July 26. 2000, a U.Sc District Court judge issued an injunction against Napster. Traffic increased 71 percent the next day as users downloaded from Napster before they thought it would be shut down. “We are allowing a whole generation to believe that recorded music should be free,” said EMI Recorded Music CEO Aivain Levy. He recently announced a layoff of 20 percent of his work force. A few years ago, second-week sales typically dropped 25 percent or less. Now 40 percent is normal. Consider recording artist Brandy. In 1998, Brandy’s album, “Never Say Never” fell 4 percent. Her new release, “Full Moon,” dropped 4 percent But is the burning of CDs to blame for this drop? Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, introduced a bill that gave entertainment and technology companies a year to agree on standards to let copyright holders curb digital copying. If they fail to agree, the Federal Communications Commission would pick a standard. Some music companies are experimenting with technology to protea CDs from copying. Some add noise, imperceptible on conventional decks, that prevents a disc from being played or makes it sound horrible on computers. However, this does not stop people from burning CDs. Mduduzi Matshazi, a freshman at Northwest High School, said, “It is very easy to bum CDs because they don’t have any protection. I think they (musicians) have a right to say that burning CDs is wrong, because they’re trying to make money off their music. I don’ feel sorry, because I — the consumer feel that I am entitled to the right to listen to musk for a low price.” Depending on who you ask, burning CDs can be viewed differentlv It is imoortant to realize that musicians work hard and put effort into their musk. For this, artists should receive some form