Ephraim Ben Zvi

This photo album is from the early 1940s and contains pictures of the country's landscapes; the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee and the Galilee. The photos were taken by Efraim Ben Zvi, a member of the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed Youth Movement. Many of the photos were taken during the journey to Masada (1943), headed by archaeologist Shmarya Gutman. Efraim Ben Zvi was born in Berlin in 1918. His name at birth was Erwin Herrmann. His parents were Max and Kata (Katrina) Herrmann. He had a sister named Ilse Ruth who was born in 1926. His father was a dentist who had a private clinic in Berlin and his mother worked as his assistant. The family was well-off and had a comfortable bourgeois life. On weekends they would go, with friends to vacation on a lake near Berlin. Erwin (Ephraim) studied in a German school whose educational approach was both open and liberal. Many Jewish children, members of the Jewish intelligentsia of Berlin, studied there. From a young age he was a member of the Young Judea Youth Movement, which was both sports minded and Zionistic in its outlook. In 1933, with the rise to power of Adolph Hitler, the Jewish children were banned from continuing their studies in the school. Some of the youth started working, however with the publication of the Nuremberg Laws they were forbidden to continue with this as well. Some of the youth turned to Recha Freier, who worked in the Jewish Agency in Berlin and requested her help. She came up with the idea to send groups of young adults to Eretz Israel Palestine). She approached the parents and encouraged them to send their children to the Land of Israel. She had to convince those parents who were hesitant to part with their children, and also convince the national institutions in Eretz Israel to accept the youngsters. The initial plan was to send the children to kibbutzim. But when that did not work out, Recha Freier joined together with Dr. Zigfried Lehman who founded and headed the Ben Shemen Youth Village in 1926. Certificates were obtainable for students who came to study in educational institutions in Israel. After an extended struggle, she succeeded in sending a group of youngsters to Ben Shemen. Erwin came to Ben Shemen, with his mother, at the end of 1933. They arrived by ship to Haifa and brought with them, according to their account, equipment, mostly bedclothes and blankets that were appropriate for a cold climate, like in Germany. Erwin's mother returned to Germany. The family went on with their lives until 1935, the year the Nuremburg Laws were enacted. The father was forbidden to continue practicing his profession as a dentist and was forced to work sweeping the streets. Meanwhile, Erwin studied and worked in agriculture in Ben Shemen. From childhood, he suffered from severe myopia and physical labor worsened his condition. In 1934 his mother was summoned from Germany to deal with the problem of his short-sightedness. The best ophthalmologist in Israel at that time was Dr. Ticho. According to what he told us the doctor's clinic was on Shivtei Yisrael Street, which was then known as St. Paul's Street. At the entrance to the clinic stood a dark-skinned guard who was responsible for keeping order in the clinic. Dr. Ticho forbade him to do any physical work, so he had to leave Ben Shemen. From here began his wandering between high schools in Israel. His mother appointed a family of friends who would serve as his guardian and take care of all his needs. He joined the Noar Haoved Youth Movement and after a short while he became a counselor. He began studying in the Herzeliyah "gymnasia" and rented a room in the home of Dr. Bograshov, the principal of the Gymnasia. However, due to his political activity in the youth movement he was expelled from the school and was forced to rent a room in the Kerem Hataimanim (Yemenite) neighborhood. Later he went to study in the 'Reali" School in Haifa, but there too he was eventually expelled due to his political activities in the Noar Haoved Youth Movement. The principal of the Reali School, Dr. Biram, did not permit membership in any youth movement other than the Scouts. He wandered from place to place and engaged in various occupations. He worked in a quarry in Kfar Giladi, in direct contradiction to the doctor's instructions. He was a shepherd in the kibbutzim and even returned to Tel Aviv in an attempt to finish high school. He did not succeed, and decided to join the 'garin' of Hakibbutz Hameuchad, which founded Kibbutz Gvaram. In this framework, he was involved in all kinds of outdoor work, including transferring rafts from Sdom to the northern Dead Sea to Kibbutz Beit Ha'arava. In 1940 he married Chaya who immigrated to Israel a few years earlier and in 1942 they settled on Kibbutz Gvaram. Their three daughters, Nira, Roni and Ruti were born there. In 1936 he changed his name to a Hebrew name, as was accepted at that time. He became Ephraim Ben Zvi. As he built his life in Israel, World War II broke out in Europe. I have correspondence of his with his parents and sister on stationery with the swastika stamp of the Third Reich. Ephraim was already married and was waiting for the birth of his first daughter. His parents express their joy at the upcoming birth. In December 1942, the parents and sister were sent to Auschwitz and perished immediately. In the kibbutz he worked in various jobs and soon began to engage in education. He studied education at Seminar Hakibbutzim and wanted to continue his studies, but the kibbutz did not allow him to do so. In 1958 he left Gvaram and became an external teacher at Kibbutz Metzuba in the Western Galilee. After four years he moved to Jerusalem and took part in a special program at the Hebrew University for teachers who did not have a matriculation certificate. He continued to study and did a master's degree in education and history. He worked in many areas in the field of education and was one of the founders of the experimental school in Jerusalem. Among other things, he specialized in acting and creative drama and taught these subjects at the Seminar Hakibbutzim until his retirement. After the death of his wife, the second chapter of his life began. We began our shared life during which we had two daughters Shira and Moran. In 2000 he died of a heart attack. Read more