Maria Weizmann
Encyclopedia
Maria Weizmann was a sister of Israeli politician and notable scientist Chaim Weizmann
(the first President of the State of Israel
). She graduated from a university in Switzerland
and worked as a doctor in Moscow
from 1915.
Maria Weizman and her husband V.M. Savitsky were long denied the right to emigrate from the Soviet Union
by the authorities (see also refusenik
). Her husband was arrested in 1949.
On February 10, 1953 she was arrested in connection with the alleged Doctors' plot
. Her case was handled by the GRU
(as opposed to MGB as it was common), an evidence of its importance to the Soviet regime. After Joseph Stalin
's death and the admission by the Soviet leadersip that the "plot" was made up, she was still kept in Lubyanka
prison, and released only on August 12, 1953. Weizmann immigrated to Israel in 1956.
She was officially rehabilitated after Perestroika
in 1989.
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
(the first President of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
). She graduated from a university in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and worked as a doctor in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
from 1915.
Maria Weizman and her husband V.M. Savitsky were long denied the right to emigrate from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
by the authorities (see also refusenik
Refusenik (Soviet Union)
Refusenik was an unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively, Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate abroad by the authorities of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc...
). Her husband was arrested in 1949.
On February 10, 1953 she was arrested in connection with the alleged Doctors' plot
Doctors' plot
The Doctors' plot was the most dramatic anti-Jewish episode in the Soviet Union during Joseph Stalin's regime, involving the "unmasking" of a group of prominent Moscow doctors, predominantly Jews, as conspiratorial assassins of Soviet leaders...
. Her case was handled by the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
(as opposed to MGB as it was common), an evidence of its importance to the Soviet regime. After Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death and the admission by the Soviet leadersip that the "plot" was made up, she was still kept in Lubyanka
Lubyanka (KGB)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V...
prison, and released only on August 12, 1953. Weizmann immigrated to Israel in 1956.
She was officially rehabilitated after Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
in 1989.