Plotke Ilya Borisovich (30 March 1916, Kharkiv) - journalist.
Ilya Plotke was born into the family of Boris-Bentsion Sheftelevich Plotke (1890, Riga – 1942, Burnoye station, South Kazakhstan Region), an employee, and Maria Zalmanovna Plotke (née Sominskaya) (1891–1974, Riga), a housewife.
He graduated from S. Gorfinkel’s Gymnasium in Riga, to which his family returned in 1924 after evacuation during the First World War. He worked as an apprentice mechanic at a factory (1935–1936), survived on casual jobs (1936–1937), served in the Army of the Republic of Latvia (1938–1939, Vidzeme Artillery Regiment), and worked as warehouse manager at the “Billes Tuku” factory in Ieriķi (1939–1940). From 1937, he was a member of the underground youth organisation “Union of Working Youth.” He later worked as a commissar for nationalisation (1940–1941).
During the Second World War he was evacuated to South Kazakhstan Region, where he worked at the “New Life” collective farm (1941–1942). He served in the Soviet Army, participated in combat operations, and was later transferred to SMERSH counterintelligence as a translator (in Courland and Romania). He was awarded the medals “For Courage”, “For the Victory over Germany”, and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class.
After the war he worked as an instructor in the Political Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Latvian SSR (1949), then was transferred to Moscow to work for the newspaper for German prisoners of war Nachrichten (1949–1950). In 1951, he worked as an editor-translator at TASS and as a copy editor for the journal New Times. From 1951 to 1962 he was an editor of mass political literature at the Latvian State Publishing House in Riga. He was later transferred to the Latvian Telegraph Agency (LTA, later Latinform), where he served as head of the editorial department for union and foreign information (1962–1976).
He married Zinaida Solomonovna Glinternik (born 1922, Moscow). Their son -Vladimir Ilyich Plotke (born 1948, Riga).
In 1990, Ilya Plotke received permission to emigrate to Israel, where since 1972 his sister Lea Bentsionovna Band (née Plotke) (born 1930, Riga) and his nephew Bentsion Khaimovich Band (born 1950, Riga) had been living.
Family:
Bentsion Sheftelevich Plotke (1890–1942) — father
Maria Zalmanovna Plotke (née Sominskaya) (1891–1974) — mother
Zalaman Bentsionovich Plotke (born 1924) — brother
Lea Bentsionovna Band (née Plotke) (born 1929) — sister
Bentsion Khaimovich Band (born 1950) — nephew
Zinaida Solomonovna Glinternik (born 1922) — wife
Vladimir Ilyich Plotke (born 1948) — son