William Ungar (January 21, 1913 – September 19, 2013) was a Polish-born American author, philanthropist, Holocaust survivor, and founder of the

National Envelope Corporation National Envelope Corporation was an American manufacturer of envelopes. National Envelope was founded in 1952 in New York, New York as the New York Envelope Company by William Ungar, who served as its chairman, president and chief executive off ...

Biography

Ungar was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in Poland where he worked as a teacher in a technical high school. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he fought with the Polish Army and was wounded. He returned to his home and when it was overrun by the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

, he was able to remain hidden thanks to identification documents given to him by a Catholic friend. He was eventually uncovered by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and was sent to the Janowska concentration camp in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. He escaped and once again returned home, where he was hidden by his

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

landlord in a basement crawl space for nine months. In 1944, the city was liberated by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. Ungar came to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1946, arriving on May 20 aboard the SS ''Marine Flasher'', the first deportee boat to reach American shores after World War II. He worked at an envelope machine manufacturing company during the day while attending school at night. In 1952, after graduating from the

City College of the City University of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...

with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

, he obtained several envelope making machines and founded the

. He grew his company into one of the largest privately owned producers of envelopes in the United States. His memoir, published in 2000 by the

University Press of America University Press of America is an academic publisher based in the United States. Part of the independent Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the ...

, is entitled ''Destined to Live''. His second book titled "Only in America" is about his success in the business industry. He was honored with an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

and has received numerous awards for his accomplishments, both in the world of business and in the world of philanthropy, including the

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...

, the America Business Achievement Award, being named the 1996 National Entrepreneur of the Year, the 1996 New York City Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the NCCJ Brotherhood Award, and the 2008 Envelope Manufacturers Association Founders Award, among others.

Philanthropy

Ungar helped to found the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...

in Washington, D.C. He also helped to found Yad l'Yeled, the Children Holocaust Museum and the Ungar School of Holocaust Studies both located on Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta'ot in Israel. The Ungar School of Holocaust Studies was created to foster awareness and understanding of the lessons that can be learned from the Holocaust to young Arab, Muslim and Jewish Israelis as well as to train educators from around the world. He served on the Temple Israel of Great Neck Board of Trustees.

Personal life

In 1950, he married fellow Jew Jerry Schweitzer. She was an underground supporter of the Jewish group

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

which was fighting for the independence of Israel. She assisted by disassembling ammunition-making equipment and shipping it in pieces to Israel. They had four daughters, Florette, Joan, Denise and Rita. In addition, William and Jerry had 17 grandchildren. The Ungars were members of Temple Israel of Great Neck. Commenting on his meeting with the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

along with other prominent Jewish leaders he stated: "Imagine that. I grew up in a small Polish village of anti-Semites and survived the Holocaust. Now, Hitler is in hell, and I get to meet with the Pope."

References

External links

Oral history interview with William Ungar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ungar, William 1913 births 2013 deaths Janowska concentration camp survivors City College of New York alumni American memoirists American businesspeople Jewish American philanthropists American centenarians Men centenarians Polish emigrants to the United States 20th-century Polish Jews 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews