Sam Krongold

Sam Krongold was born on July 22, 1920 in Ostrowiec, Poland and as a child was given the nickname Hojka. His sisters were Chana Rachel (born 1903), Chela (born in 1914), (born in 1915) and Rivka (born in 1911). His mother was Zysla was a homemaker and his father Jonas was a factory owner and employed many local people in his business.

He survived the concentration camps of Buchenwald, Schlieben, Skarżysko-Kamienna and was liberated at Theresienstadt.

After the war, Sam heard about how Poles in Ostrowiec had killed his cousin and that antisemitism had escalated to the point of killing. Despite his fears, Sam returned to Ostrowiec to run his father’s factory. After just two weeks of running the factory in Ostrowiec, Sam was warned to leave the town or he would be killed. Along with his wife and surviving family members Sam fled to West Germany in order to find safety.

In 1951 the Krongold family immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto.
Sam Krongold passed away on February 21, 2018.

Sam Krongold

I told my family, this is the situation. We can’t stay here.