Untold Story: How Legendary Broadcaster Sam Rosen's Parents Survived The Holocaust

In a few weeks, legendary New York Rangers play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen is retiring after 40 incredible seasons. 

Rosen’s legendary career is well documented, from his iconic calls to his impact in broadcasting. Everyone knows Rosen, the play-by-play announcer. 

However, most people are unaware of how Rosen got to where he is today. That journey started long before he was born and tragically almost never happened. 

Louis Rosenblum and Gitel Rosenblum, Rosen’s parents, grew up in Poland and lived there up until the start of World War II. 

In the late 1930s, there was a rising threat of the Nazis taking over Poland, which left millions of Jews forced to make life-altering decisions. 

The Nazi Regime left all Polish citizens in danger – specifically Jews, given Adolf Hitler’s threat for the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe. 

With that in mind, Rosen’s parents fled from Poland to Russia, uprooting their lives in order to survive. 

“I think the fear of what was going to happen was overwhelming,” Rosen said of why his parents left Poland. “I think as a family, my mother’s family and my father’s family, discussed what they were going to do. I think the grandparents that I never knew just decided to stay where they were and try to live through whatever would happen. I don’t think anyone could imagine at the time what was ahead of them with the Nazis and what they wound up doing to the Jewish people. 

“I think that they just felt that was their home and they were going to stay there. The siblings that left, disbursed to wherever they felt would be the safest… With my parents and that group of friends from Poland, Russia was the closest ally, so they went into Russia and stayed there through difficult times. At least they were able to find ways to survive. They had the foresight of going to the Western sector at the end of the war where it was a lot safer.”

Louis and Gitel stayed in Russia until the war ended in 1945. Their lives would change dramatically when Rosen’s older brother Stephen was born in 1942. 

To make money for his family, Rosenblum worked as a tailor, sewing uniforms for the Russian army.

The Rosenblum family persevered together. 

“I think it was more of a group staying together with common feelings, common backgrounds and supporting one another. Basically, what it came down to was living day-to-day,” Rosen said. “There wasn’t a tremendous amount of food. The efforts were going to the war. I think on my father's part, he was looking for any way to make a living to provide food for himself and my mother, and my brother. Almost living day-to-day. How can you get enough, do enough, work enough to get some money to get food for your family.” 

While Rosen’s family remained safe from the Nazis during their time in Russia, there was still a fear of what the future would look like after World War II. 

Their lives depended on the Allied Powers defeating the Nazis, which brought upon a different kind of fear. 

“The danger they felt was who would win the war?” said Rosen. “Were the Russians capable of withstanding the Nazis? They felt that that was the safest place for them to be because Russia was the strongest country that tried to combat Germany and the invasions of the Nazis,”.

“They didn’t have the nightmares of worrying about the Nazis banging on the door… It was a matter of how they could best survive on a day-to-day basis and that was the way they really lived their lives in Russia was day-to-day.”

Once World War II did eventually end in 1945, Louis, Gitel, and Stephen moved to Ulm, Germany, where they were situated in a displaced persons camp. 

These DP camps were established in the Allied-occupied zones of Germany, Austria, and Italy. They housed Holocaust survivors and other war-displaced individuals, providing temporary shelter and basic necessities while they awaited emigration or resettlement. 

On August 12, 1947, Rosen was born in the DP camp and lived in Germany for the first two years of his life. 

It wasn’t until 1949 when the Rosen’s family emigrated to Brooklyn, New York, that they started  a new chapter for themselves. 

Rosen was never told in detail about the trauma and hardships his parents had to go through during the Holocaust. 

While he never truly knew why his parents were closed off about their final days in Poland and time in Russia, Rosen had an inclination as to why they were so eager to move on from the past. 

“They were not open about it,” Rosen said of his parents. “It wasn’t something they felt comfortable talking about. We would be at the dinner table or something would come up in discussion and we would try to draw information. I think they limited the amount of things that they wanted to reflect on because it was such a painful experience and they had lost so much of their families during the war.”

The 77-year-old broadcaster has accomplished extraordinary achievements throughout his career. He'll be forever linked to the game of hockey and the New York Rangers. 

That doesn't mean Rosen will ever forget where he came from or what his family endured in order for him to accomplish all of his dreams. 

At the request of his oldest grandson Brendan, Rosen did eventually visit Poland and Germany with his wife Jill. As part of the trip, they went to Krakow, Auschwitz and Berlin. 

Rosen walked through the Auschwitz concentration camp, where around 1.1 million Jews were murdered. 

It was a heavy experience for Rosen and one that brought him a new-found appreciation for his parents. 

“I’m amazed they were able to survive,” Rosen said. “We visited Poland, we visited Auschwitz, and we went to Berlin. While being on that trip and looking around and seeing modern cities, I thought back to the time my parents were there and wondered how they were able to survive. 

“I think the word is I’m amazed at how they had the strength, the inner strength, the physical strength and the ability to survive probably the most horrible times we can conceive of and live through it and be able to come here and make a better life for their families. I think it’s a feeling of amazement.”

On top of the immense pride he felt toward his parents, Rosen couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of sadness during his trip to Poland. 

Rosen’s grandparents were tragically killed during the Holocaust as they decided not to leave Poland before the Nazi’s invasion in 1939. 

That pain of not growing up with grandparents inspires Rosen to be the best grandfather he can possibly be and he makes sure to play a big role in his grandchildren’s lives. 

“There are times of loss that I never got to know my grandparents,” Rosen said. “There’s a feeling of loss and I think I take that and I try to turn that around by being involved with my grandchildren and to let them know I’m there. I want them to know I’m there for them. I think that sense of loss of not having grandparents influenced me to be an involved grandparent.”

Coming to America with very little, the Rosenblums worked tirelessly to create a good life for their children.

The lessons Louis and Gitel learned through the Holocaust shaped the way Rosen was raised. 

Now, Rosen’s goal is for those same lessons and values to be passed down from generation to generation.

“The idea of his family, his children doing better than he did. To go to school, that was always a key thing. Going to school, getting an education. That was something that was always instilled in us. The work ethic that both of my parents had was always instilled in us, so it was always you work hard to get ahead. Fortunately I can say and can speak for my older brother Steve, we've done well and tried to pass that along to our children and to our children’s children. I think that is the way we grew up. That is what was taught by our parents and that’s the influence they had from their background.”

Rosen is ready to let go of his broadcasting career, something he’s dedicated his life to. It shows that all things ultimately come to an end.

Your family roots and heritage are the aspects of life that never go away. Rosen may no longer be the Rangers’ play-by-play announcer once the 2024-25 season comes to a close, but he’ll always be Jewish, something he’s genuinely proud of. 

“I have always taken pride in being Jewish… I’ve never hidden the fact that I was Jewish, I’ve always respected the high holy days,” said Rosen. “I wouldn’t say I’m a deeply religious person, but I do respect the holidays. We go to temple on both days of Rosh Hashanah, we go on Yom Kippur, we light the candles on Hanukkah and observe Passover and those are things that are important. 

“I don’t qualify as being a deeply religious Jew, but I do care about the Jewish community and feel that I’m showing my respect for my community and to the religion that I grew up with.”