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About Work Does Not Set You Free
Product Description “Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Sets You Free). These were the words displayed on the gates of the Nazi concentration camps, as part of the elaborate system of deceptive propaganda aimed at the Jews. In fact, work was far from freeing – it merely postponed death. The Germans viewed the Jews as unproductive parasites in their midst, and with their rise to power, they declared certain sectors of the Jewish people as worthless and thus dispensable: anyone over the age of 55 or under the age of 12; sick people and invalids; homosexuals; communists. Many efforts were made to save those Jewish children who were younger than twelve, and their parents went to extreme measures to keep them safe – disguising them to appear older, using personal connections to smuggle them to safety, faking their ages and offering goods – anything to allow them to survive. Much has been told about the working adult Jewish population, but little has been revealed of the forced labor imposed on children. One of the most prominent examples is Lodz Ghetto, which held about 100 workshops where at its peak, an estimated 100,000 Jews worked under forced labor, including 13,000 children. “Work Does Not Set You Free” tells the story of twenty-five young heroes who were forced to work in the ghettos’ workshops, manufacturing products for the German military, and the German civilian market during World War II, and survived the inferno to recount the stories of many others who did not make it out alive Review "Gadi Kfir addresses an incomparably important subject. He is one of the first to do so and uses the excellent historical tools at his disposal to make a much-needed breakthrough. He deserves our utmost respect." Prof. (emeritus) Zuckerman, Tel Aviv University "In addition to highlighting important testimonies, Gadi Kfir's research presents a socio-economic perspective of Jewish life in Poland on the eve of World War II and during the age of the ghettos. This combination makes his book one of the most original and important manuscripts on the Holocaust." Ami Salant, CEO of The Jewish Child, a documentation initiative "The study covers many subjects, such as life in the ghetto, economic data, Rumkowski's status and more, subjects that are crucial for understanding the matter at hand. I would like to thank Gadi again for addressing the subject, which has not been studied in depth to this day." Prof. Zvi Tauber, Tel Aviv University "I read everything Gadi publishes. Incredible work. A wonderful way to inform our youth of our forefathers' suffering." Yoram Oren About the Author Gadi Kfir was born in Jerusalem in 1939 to a secular family which originated in eastern Europe. His mother emigrated from Poland in 1935, and in 1942 her entire family was annihilated in her hometown. Gadi has written three books in Hebrew. His most recent book, "Work Does Not Set You Free", was written after he read a book mentioning a ten-year-old Jewish girl who worked under forced labor in Sosnowiec Ghetto in a workshop manufacturing toys for injured German soldiers. Kfir was stirred by the story and embarked on a five-year study, which resulted in his book.
