2020 is the 115th anniversary of Mr Aron Dukor, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, an employee of the National Library of Belarus, who worked under Iosif Simanowski

Mr Aron Dukor was born in 1905 in Minsk. He began his career at the age of 17: he worked for 10 years as a printer in the printing house named after Stalin, later – in the printing house of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR.

In 1936, Mr Dukor graduated from the Higher Party School and entered the Faculty of Bibliography at the Moscow State Library Institute named after V. Molotov (now the Moscow State Institute of Culture). After graduating from the Institute in 1940, he received the position of bibliographer at the BSSR State Library named after V.I. Lenin.

However, like most of Aron's contemporaries, the Great Patriotic War violated all plans, designing its own scenario for the future path of his life. While at the front, the Red Army soldier A. Dukor worked in the editorial office of the "War Comrade" newspaper. He fought on the 4^th and 1^st Ukrainian fronts, took part in the liberation of Prague and seizure of Berlin.

For heroic deeds, Mr Aron Dukor was awarded II degree Order of the Patriotic War, two medals "For Service in Battle", medals "For the Liberation of Prague", "For the Battle of Berlin", "For Victory over Germany", "40 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War."

After demobilization, Mr Dukor worked as a librarian at the USSR State Library named after V. I. Lenin in Moscow from 1946 to 1947, and from February 1947 he returned to Minsk, where he continued to work at the BSSR State Library named after V.I. Lenin as Senior Bibliographer in the Reference and Bibliographic Department. Mr Dukor was fruitfully engaged in the compilation of bibliographic indexes, carried out even the most complex bibliographic information requests of readers, as well as for organizations and institutions of the Republic.

In 1966, Mr Dukor was promoted to a Senior Editor and worked in this position until his retirement.

Mr Dukor compiled numerous recommendatory lists and references.

He took an active part in the public life of the library: he was Chairperson of the Committee of the Voluntary Society for the Assistance of the Army, Aviation and Navy, more than once was elected a member of the trade union committee.

Mr Dukor was awarded the badge of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR "For Excellent Work", Diplomas of the Ministry of Culture of the BSSR, Honorary Diploma of the Belarus Republican Committee of the Trade Unions of Cultural Workers, and a diploma of the Lenin Republican Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus of Minsk, the Certificate of Honour of the Ministry of Culture of the BSSR and the BRC of the Trade Unions of Cultural Workers.

This is how his colleague Ms Liudmila Skibina recalls him: “Having entered the library of Belarus for the first time as a reader, I ended up in the information department. Senior bibliographer Aron Dukor met me. Moving silently, he spoke quietly, but with constant delicacy and wisdom, finding clear answers to seemingly stupid questions. Mr Aron Dukor was a true intellectual of the old school of bibliographers from the generation working under the auspices of the first director of the National Library, in fact, the founder of the main library of Belarus – Iosif Simanowski."

After working for 20 years in the BSSR State Library named after V.I. Lenin, Mr Dukor retired in 1969.

On February 7, 1989, Aron Mendeleevich ended his life.

Bibliology Research Department.