Born: 1914 in Łódź, Poland
Died: January 11, 1988, Toronto, Canada
Buried: Bathurst Lawn Cemetery in Toronto, Canada
Family: wife Nettie Oretsky, sons: Alexander and Brian
During the war:
After the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, Szlama Podchlebnik witnessed his father and mother, and his four sisters, along with other Jewish family members and friends, being locked up in a Synagogue and the building being set on fire. Szlama was the only one of his family to escape.
Podchlebnik managed to escape from Poland and made his way to Shanghai. From there he travelled by ship to Vancouver, and then on to Owen Sound. In Owen Sound he met his father’s cousin, Chaim Goldberg, who was also in training at Camp Kościuszko. Szlama joined the Beth Ezekiel Synagogue on his arrival in Owen Sound.
After completing his training in Owen Sound, he was sent by ship to Scotland. He was assigned to the 10th Polish Mounted Rifles Regiment, part of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. With this unit he saw service during the Normandy Campaign, including the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the liberation of the Netherlands, and the final entry into Germany. While delivering supplies to a refugee camp, he lost one eye in an accident.
After the war:
Szlama, who was now known as Saul Podnik, returned to Owen Sound in Canada and married Nettie Oretsky of Oretsky Furs, located at 277 8th Street East. Saul created his own successful business, Grey & Bruce Salvage and Auto Wreckers. Saul and Nettie had two sons – Alexander and Brian. Saul died on January 11, 1988 and is buried in Bathurst Lawn Cemetery in Toronto. There is a brass memory plaque (Yarhzeit) with his name at the Beth Ezekiel Synagogue in Owen Sound. This plaque is unlike all the other plaques in the synagogue, as it remembers his parents and all four of his sisters who were murdered on the same day (along with the rest of the Jewish people from their Polish village) by the Nazis. All the other plaques commemorate individual people.
author: Stan Skrzeszewski, Canada