As a young man in Poland, Michal Hornstein was arrested by the Nazis and set to be deported to Auschwitz, the notorious death camp where thousands were executed during the Holocaust.
But Hornstein evaded his captors by jumping from a train and hiding in the forests of Czechoslovakia. Of the 70 people who tried to escape the Nazis on that day in 1943, only seven survived.
Were it not for this twist of fate, it’s unlikely Hornstein would have survived the war, immigrated to Canada and become one of the city’s most renowned philanthropists.
The 95-year-old Hornstein died in his Montreal home Monday. He was a member of the Order of Canada, a knight in the National Order of Quebec and sat on the board of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for 46 years.
“The city lost one of its most generous benefactors and a great Montrealer,” said Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, in a statement released Wednesday. “(He) never ceased giving back to Montreal and to the Montrealers who welcomed him here. His generosity was limitless. The legacy he leaves to the Museum of Fine Arts … is simply priceless.”
Hornstein founded Federal Construction Ltd. after arriving in Montreal in 1951 and remained president of the real-estate company until his final days. Through his success as an entrepreneur, Hornstein used his wealth to purchase and donate about 420 works of art to the MMFA.
Along with his wife, Renata, Hornstein helped the MMFA amass a vast collection of Renaissance paintings and helped raise millions that went toward restoring and expanding the museum.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend,” said Nathalie Bondil, director and chief curator of the MMFA. “Michal changed the profile of the museum over the decades thanks to his gifts. We already miss his sharp mind, his laconic repartee and his lively sense of humour.”
The Hornsteins also donated money to education and health care, namely the Montreal Heart Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, Hôpital Notre Dame and the Jewish General Hospital.
A new MMFA pavilion, set to be inaugurated in November, will bear Hornstein’s name.
A funeral for Hornstein will be held at Paperman & Sons on Thursday, and the MMFA will host a shiva in his memory on Sunday.
