A. Uri Katz, believed to be related to 'sea group'
B. Heftziba dining hall
C. Heftziba, Ruthie (daughter of Shimon, the kibbutz's carpenter)
D. Goat pen
E. Unknown
F. In Givat Hashlosha
G. In Givat Hashlosha
As mentioned in the two previous articles, the two youngest Liebling brothers – Aryeh and Erwin – were the first family members to immigrate to the Land of Israel in 1936. Erwin immigrated as part of the Aliyat Hanoar movement and arrived at Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha, while Aryeh arrived at Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh, and left to help build the Tel Aviv Port.
Brothers Gustav and Moshe arrived in Israel with their parents on the eve of World War II. In Germany, Moshe had studied to be tooth technician. In Kibbutz Heftziba, he set up a lab which provided services to the Jezreel Valley's residents.
The brothers gathered in Heftziba, helped operate the lab and befriended a group of Czech youth who arrived at the kibbutz.
As there is no documentation of the photos prepared by Erwin, I turned to my friend Giora Salus, one of the first sons of Heftziba, for help. It turns out that Giora's mother was the youth group's caretaker, and his remarks are presented here in the photo captions.
If any of our readers have any details about the photos from Givat Hashlosha, please let us know through the talkback application.
"Steiner (who was nicknamed 'Wentz' by Heftziba's children) was a Czech Jew from the city of Carlsbad, who came from a family of rich wood craftsmen. He also won the lottery in his homeland.
"In 1928, the owner of the valley's lands, Christian-Lebanese Sursok, decided to sell the remaining lands. At the time, the Jewish National Fund did not have enough money to purchase the land and decided to let it go. Heftziba members found out that the church on Mount Tabor had decided to buy the land from Sursok, and decided to make an effort to prevent the purchase.
"Among the people they turned to was their friend Steiner, who was known to be a proud Zionist. On the eve of the purchase he transferred the required sum of money to the JNF, preventing the church from buying the land.
"Steiner immigrated to Israel in 1938 and asked to live next to his friends in Heftziba. He was given a special permit to build his home in the kibbutz. In Israel, Steiner helped (early pioneer Yehoshua) Hankin purchase lands. He died in the kibbutz in 1961. His wife Friedel died in 2004, at the age of 101."
9. Members of the Czech youth group working in the kitchen
12. The youth group, on its way to the vegetable garden
I would like to thank Giora Salus for his help in preparing this article.
- For all trips to the past – click here