Yakov Smushkevich, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Yakov Smushkevich

Soviet military commander

Date of Birth: 01-Apr-1902

Place of Birth: Rokiškis, Panevėžys County, Lithuania

Date of Death: 28-Oct-1941

Profession: politician, aircraft pilot

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich (Lithuanian: Jakovas Smuškevicius, Russian: ???? ???????????? ?????????; 14 April [O.S.
1 April] 1902 – 28 October 1941) was the Commander of the Soviet Air Forces from 1939 to 1940 and the first Jewish Hero of the Soviet Union.
Arrested shortly before the start of Operation Barbarossa on falsified charges of being part of an anti-Soviet conspiracy, he became the only person to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union twice and then be executed.
The charges were posthumously dropped and he was rehabilitated in 1954. He participated in the Spanish Civil War, where he was known as "General Douglas".
For his service in Spain he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
He was in charge of aviation for the 1st Army Corps at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, again receiving the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
He was the commander of the Soviet Air Force from 1939 to 1940, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff from 1940 to 1941.
He was arrested in June 1941 and executed without trial on the personal orders of Lavrentiy Beria on 28 October 1941 in Kuybyshev.