"Work Does Not Set You Free"
It took me 4 years to write this book. Its name is is adapted from the German phrase “Arbeit Macht Frei.” It is a story of 13,000 children, out of about 100,000 Lodz Ghetto workers, who were forced to produce goods for the German military and allied civilians. Workers received starvation rations of food. Germans spread the illusion that Jews “who work, will survive.” In fact, all residents of the Ghetto were deported; very few survived. My book includes 25 interviewed survivors, some children. .Data collected from archives in Israel, Germany and Poland. I have more than 200 previously unpublished photos of working children. The stories behind the photos are extraordinary. This is a unique book about a subject that was almost lost to history.
Note: There are 6 different lectures in this category
"Zionism and Board Games 1900-1948"
The book describes a spiritual, cultural, ethnographic and physical journey of board games during the years 1900-1948. Most of these games are not known to the public but they reflected the Zionist ideals : the Second to Fifth Aliya movements, the Establishment of the National Institutes, the purchasing of land, the building of rural areas and cities, the funding the education system based on the dispersion of Diaspora countries. These games revive Jewish holy days and combine them together with the newly established culture of Jews in their ancient Homeland and the revival of the Hebrew language and enable the new settlers to learn geography, plant life and local animals.
The production of the games required the employment of professionals, most of whom had just arrived as new immigrants.
The new immigrants of the major countries were from Polish-Eastern European countries and of a background of German culture.*
Note: There are 3 different lectures in this category
"The Roots of the Israeli Hi-Tech Industries and Updating Them"
Historical phenomena have deep cultural roots. The same can be said of the Israeli High Technologists. Israeli survival is linked tightly to the possibilities of being able to continually renew and create advanced items and ideas.
In many cases, the Zionist movement utilized untested ideas taken from the Jewish Yeshiva holy studying organization that was based on the idea that the Rabbi and the youngest pupil can equally discuss any matter at the same level. To this method of studying they added the western cultural way of thinking such as: daring, knowledge, technological ability, rebelliousness, accuracy, and a sense of reality. All these human characteristics can be found in the following technologies: Agriculture, Security, Physical Technology, Computer Science, Biology, Medicine and other High technologies. In our book we can find about 30 interviews with Scientists, Entrepreneurs and Technologists.
Some of these people were the first in Israel to start the Hi tech industry.
Others are relatively young at their thirties or less. Some are the breakthrough people. This brings us to conclude that we have to keep up and encourage the youngsters in order to build up the next generations
Note: There are 2 different lectures in this category
Gadi Kfir
Lecturer and author
Isarel
English, Hebrew
Gadi Kfir Born in Jerusalem, third generation, High rank military officer.
Has B.Sc. & M.Sc. of Engineer of the Technion , Haifa. Sculpture Wood and Stone.
Wrote 5 books. Lecturer about Hi tech, Zionism and Holocaust subjects.
For many years was involved in engineering subjects.
Gives zoom lectures and frontier ones around the world.