Shmuel Bogler was born in Bodrogkeresztúr, Hungary, in 1929 to a religious family. In April 1944, in the midst of the holiday of Passover, the village’s Jews were deported to a ghetto in the provincial capital of Sátoraljaújhely. Several weeks later, on May 21st 1944, Shmuel and his family were taken from the ghetto to Auschwitz-Birkenau. His parents were sent immediately to the gas chambers and Shmuel and his brother were sent to the Kittlitztreben labor camp. On February 9th 1945 the two brothers were sent on a death march together with another 1000 Jews from the camp. After about two months, on April 4th 1945, they arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Following the liberation of the camp, Shmuel and his brother were hospitalized. Once recuperated they returned to Hungary. Shmuel left the country after about half a year, arriving first to Germany and then to Italy, where he stayed in DP camps until boarding an illegal immigrant ship bound for Eretz Israel. The ship was caught by the British and Shmuel was interned in the detention camps in Cyprus.
Following the outbreak of the Israeli War of Independence, Shmuel volunteered to join the Palmach and was sent to the Etzion bloc. When the bloc fell, he was taken prisoner by the Jordanian Legion. After nearly a year in captivity, Shmuel was freed and joined the Israel Police. He became an officer and worked in high-ranking capacities, including as the Southern District Deputy Commander. Since retiring, Shmuel has worked in various public capacities, such as the secretary-general of the National Council for the Prevention of Accidents.
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