Gabriel Wilensky
Encyclopedia
Gabriel Wilensky in an American author, software developer and entrepreneur. He was born in Uruguay
, where his eastern-European grandparents had emigrated to before the Second World War. He is the author of the book Six Million Crucifixions
(2010), which traces the history of antisemitism in Christianity and the role it played in the Holocaust.
in the early 1990s. The company quickly became internationally known for the software product Morph
, which introduced the computer graphics effect of morphing
to widespread public use. Gryphon Software then developed a pioneering new line of edutainment products, the Activity Centers. Gryphon developed many products in that line, some of which used well-known characters from Disney, Warner/DC Comics
, and others. The Activity Center line of products introduced video from the feature films and cartoons in the application, a remarkable technical accomplishment at that time. Gryphon was acquired by Cendant Software
(then CUC International), a Fortune 500
company.
Wilensky contributed to the development of these various products in the areas of software and user interface design
, product management
, audio and video production
and new research and development work on audio/video compression. His software was used to make some of the special effects of several feature films, such as Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Robin Hood: Men in Tights
(1993), Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
(1993) and others. Wilensky’s work was covered and showcased by print and television media around the world, and won numerous awards.
After Gryphon Software Wilensky worked on the development of other software products in the areas of user interface software for wireless devices
, web site development
, and TV broadcasting for mobile devices
.
, published in 2010.
Six Million Crucifixions provides an account of the almost two thousand year old Christian teaching of contempt for Jews
, and argues that it was this relentless animosity and even hatred toward Jews and Judaism
in predominantly Christian lands that laid the foundation on which racial antisemitism stood, and which eventually led to the Holocaust. As Holocaust scholar John K. Roth
argued in the foreword of the book, “Absent Christianity, no Holocaust would have taken place.”
The book provides an account of how antisemitism developed from the very early days of the Christian movement
into full-blown hatred by the time of the Crusades
. Six Million Crucifixions shows how anti-Jewish sentiment stemmed out of Christian Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Fathers, until it became second-nature to European Christians. As Dr. Carol Rittner, Distinguished Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies at The Richard Stockton College wrote, “Too many of those hate-filled words had their origin in the Christian Scriptures and were uttered by Christian preachers and teachers, by Christians generally, for nearly two millennia.”
The book also describes the role of both the Catholic and Protestant churches in the period leading to and beyond the Second World War, and sharply criticizes the Catholic Church (in particular), as well as the Protestant churches for their lack of loud and clear objection to the extermination of the Jews
, for the assistance some members of the clergy gave the Nazis in their persecution of the Jews and the help some members of the Vatican
gave to people who should have been regarded as war criminals
to escape justice after the war. As Holocaust scholar and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute Michael Berenbaum
wrote, “Gabriel Wilensky’s Six Million Crucifixions is a powerful and passionate indictment of the Vatican for acts of omission and acts of commission.”
Six Million Crucifixions further presents material that he asserts could have been used for a potential indictment of any Christian clergy
who may have been guilty of crimes of incitement and/or persecution against Jews
before, during and after World War II, had the Allies
pursued another international prosecution after the Nuremberg Trials
.
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, where his eastern-European grandparents had emigrated to before the Second World War. He is the author of the book Six Million Crucifixions
Six Million Crucifixions
Six Million Crucifixions: How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust is a history book by author Gabriel Wilensky. The book examines the role Christian teachings about Jews played in enabling the racial eliminationist antisemitism that gave rise to the Holocaust...
(2010), which traces the history of antisemitism in Christianity and the role it played in the Holocaust.
Software development
Wilensky co-founded the software company Gryphon SoftwareGryphon Software Morph
-Morph:Gryphon Software's Morph was the first commercially available morphing software program for personal computers. Gryphon Software was founded in 1991 by Duane Maxwell, Bridget K...
in the early 1990s. The company quickly became internationally known for the software product Morph
Gryphon Software Morph
-Morph:Gryphon Software's Morph was the first commercially available morphing software program for personal computers. Gryphon Software was founded in 1991 by Duane Maxwell, Bridget K...
, which introduced the computer graphics effect of morphing
Morphing
Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction...
to widespread public use. Gryphon Software then developed a pioneering new line of edutainment products, the Activity Centers. Gryphon developed many products in that line, some of which used well-known characters from Disney, Warner/DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, and others. The Activity Center line of products introduced video from the feature films and cartoons in the application, a remarkable technical accomplishment at that time. Gryphon was acquired by Cendant Software
CUC International
CUC International Inc. is a membership-based consumer services conglomerate with travel, shopping, auto, dining, home improvement and financial services offered to more than 60 million customers worldwide based out of Stamford, Connecticut and founded by Kirk Shelton and Walter Forbes...
(then CUC International), a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company.
Wilensky contributed to the development of these various products in the areas of software and user interface design
User interface design
User interface design or user interface engineering is the design of computers, appliances, machines, mobile communication devices, software applications, and websites with the focus on the user's experience and interaction...
, product management
Software product management
Software product management is the process of managing software that is built and implemented as a product, taking into account life-cycle considerations and generally with a wide audience. It is the discipline and business process which governs a product from its inception to the market or...
, audio and video production
Video production
Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production...
and new research and development work on audio/video compression. His software was used to make some of the special effects of several feature films, such as Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a 1993 French-American adventure comedy film and a parody of the Robin Hood story. Produced and directed by Mel Brooks, the film stars Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, and Dave Chappelle in his film debut...
(1993), Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a 1993 American semi fictionalized biographical martial arts action film telling the story of actor and martial arts expert Bruce Lee, starring Jason Scott Lee as Bruce Lee, Lauren Holly and Robert Wagner...
(1993) and others. Wilensky’s work was covered and showcased by print and television media around the world, and won numerous awards.
After Gryphon Software Wilensky worked on the development of other software products in the areas of user interface software for wireless devices
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
, web site development
Web development
Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...
, and TV broadcasting for mobile devices
MediaFLO
MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
.
Research and writing Six Million Crucifixions
Wilensky spent years of research into the question of why the Holocaust happened. He used his technical background for a methodical study of the question and then wrote Six Million Crucifixions: How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the HolocaustSix Million Crucifixions
Six Million Crucifixions: How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust is a history book by author Gabriel Wilensky. The book examines the role Christian teachings about Jews played in enabling the racial eliminationist antisemitism that gave rise to the Holocaust...
, published in 2010.
Six Million Crucifixions provides an account of the almost two thousand year old Christian teaching of contempt for Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and argues that it was this relentless animosity and even hatred toward Jews and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
in predominantly Christian lands that laid the foundation on which racial antisemitism stood, and which eventually led to the Holocaust. As Holocaust scholar John K. Roth
John K. Roth
John K. Roth is an American-based author, editor, and, for over 30 years, professor of philosophy of religion at Claremont McKenna College. In 1988 he was named CASE U.S. National Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching....
argued in the foreword of the book, “Absent Christianity, no Holocaust would have taken place.”
The book provides an account of how antisemitism developed from the very early days of the Christian movement
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
into full-blown hatred by the time of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. Six Million Crucifixions shows how anti-Jewish sentiment stemmed out of Christian Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Fathers, until it became second-nature to European Christians. As Dr. Carol Rittner, Distinguished Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies at The Richard Stockton College wrote, “Too many of those hate-filled words had their origin in the Christian Scriptures and were uttered by Christian preachers and teachers, by Christians generally, for nearly two millennia.”
The book also describes the role of both the Catholic and Protestant churches in the period leading to and beyond the Second World War, and sharply criticizes the Catholic Church (in particular), as well as the Protestant churches for their lack of loud and clear objection to the extermination of the Jews
Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews in the General Government, and marked the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the use of extermination camps...
, for the assistance some members of the clergy gave the Nazis in their persecution of the Jews and the help some members of the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
gave to people who should have been regarded as war criminals
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
to escape justice after the war. As Holocaust scholar and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute Michael Berenbaum
Michael Berenbaum
Michael Berenbaum is an American scholar, professor, rabbi, writer, and film-maker, who specializes in the study of the memorialization of the Holocaust...
wrote, “Gabriel Wilensky’s Six Million Crucifixions is a powerful and passionate indictment of the Vatican for acts of omission and acts of commission.”
Six Million Crucifixions further presents material that he asserts could have been used for a potential indictment of any Christian clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
who may have been guilty of crimes of incitement and/or persecution against Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
before, during and after World War II, had the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
pursued another international prosecution after the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
.
Awards
- Two Software & Information Industry Association Codie AwardsCodie awardsThe CODiE awards are annual awards issued by the Software and Information Industry Association for excellence in software development within the software industry....
- BYTE MagazineByte (magazine)BYTE magazine was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage...
Award of Excellence - UCSDUniversity of California, San DiegoThe University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
Connect Most Innovative New Product Award - Bronze Award in New Media Magazine’s InVision Contest
- Two MacUserMacUserMacUser is a biweekly computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK.In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, licensed the name and “mouse-rating” symbol for MacUser to Ziff-Davis Publishing for use in the rest of the world....
Editor’s Choice Awards - Finalist - Discover MagazineDiscover (magazine)Discover is an American science magazine that publishes articles about science for a general audience. The monthly magazine was launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It was sold to Family Media, the owners of Health, in 1987. Walt Disney Company bought the magazine when Family Media went out of...
Award for Technological Innovation - Finalist
Published works
- Six Million Crucifixions: How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust, San Diego : QWERTY Publishers, 2010, ISBN 978-0984334643