Samuel Henri Englander (also known as Sam) was the son of Nathan Englander and Lea Rimini. He had four brothers and three sisters. At age 20 Samuel Henri Englander was appointed conductor of the choir at the Great Synagogue in Amsterdam. He made the choir internationally renowned. The choir became known as 'Englander's choir'. In addition to performing at shul services, the choir appeared at festive events, including weddings, and in concerts featuring primarily religious music from Eastern Europe and Yiddish folk songs. Samuel Henri Englander also conducted a few other choirs, such as the great youth choir of the Mogein Do-wied association.
Samuel Henri Englander was married to Judith Biet in Amsterdam in 1921. The couple had three children.
Several farewell letters remain from Samuel Henri Englander to friends, choral society directors and choral society members.
Jewish Historical Museum, Documents collection, inv.nr 7644 t/m 7650
S. Bloemgarten and J. van Velzen, Joods Amsterdam in een bewogen tijd, 1980-1940. Een beeldverhaal (Zwolle 1997) 35
M.H. Gans, Memorboek. Platenatlas van het leven der joden in Nederland van de middeleeuwen tot 1940 (6e bijgewerkte druk; Baarn 1988) 747
R. Fuks-Mansfeld (red.), Joden in Nederland in de twintigste eeuw. Een biografisch woordenboek (Utrecht 2007) 83-84
Samuel Henri Englander was born into a family of eight children. Two of them (a sister and a brother) have survived the Holocaust. The others, Eliazer, Judith, Esther, Jacques and Louis have been killed too in the Shoah. City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Nathan Englander, archive card of Samuel Henri Englander.
This person is commemorated on the monument Schaduwkade in Amsterdam. The names of the 200 jewish inhabitants of the Nieuwe Keizersgracht are placed on the canal wall opposite the houses where they once lived.