Jack Goldberg shares the survival story of his grandfather Sam and his grandmother, Esther. Growing up, Jack heard the stories of their daring escapes and near-death experiences at the kitchen table and before bed.

Esther and Sam both grew up in Poland prior to the outbreak of World War II. Sam was conscripted into the Soviet Army and later imprisoned in a German POW Camp. He escaped, but was eventually deported to the Nazi death camp Treblinka. In 1943, Sam escaped from Treblinka and found safety in a nearby forest, where he met Esther. Esther had already established a hiding place there after fleeing Stozeck, Poland.

Esther and Sam survived in hiding with the help of the non-Jewish Stys families. After the birth of their first child and several years in displaced persons camps, the Goldbergs came to the United States in 1949.

In 2016, Jack and his family traveled to Poland to meet the children of the Stys families, and thank them for their courage in saving the Goldbergs’ lives. Jack was inspired by the trip and realized that the responsibility to pass on his grandparents’ story. He decided to become a speaker for the Holocaust Center’s Speakers Bureau.

Jack works in commercial real estate and has 3 children with his wife Emma. He resides in the Seattle area.