Jack Polak

Residence : Eastchester, NY

Biographical information

Jack Polak was born in Amsterdam on December 31, 1912. When he was 28 years old, he was trapped in his home country, when Germany invaded Holland. In July of 1943, Polak was deported to Deportation Camp Westerbork, where he became principal of the camp's school. In February of 1944, he was deported to Bergen Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Just over a year later, on April 9, 1945, he was taken from Bergen Belsen in cattle cars on a 14 day "train" ride and liberated by the Russian army.

After surviving spotted typhus, Polak returned to Holland, where he re-started his business in certified tax consulting. In 1946, he married a young girl, whom he courted in the camps; Polak wrote about their love story in his book STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME, comprised of "love letters" that the two exchanged whilst in the concentration camps. This day-to-day diary of those years is being made into a movie.

Polak has lived in this country ever since he emigrated with his wife, Catharina Soep Polak, and their two young boys in January of 1946. Today, he is active in many Jewish organizations, including U.J.A., Israel Bond Drive, B'nai B'rith, and his local temple, and has received honors from all of these organizations. A member of the New York State Commission on the Holocaust and a founding member of the Westchester Holocaust Education Center, he often speaks about the Holocaust in schools, churches, synagogues, colleges, universities, and private organizations.

Jack Polak serves as the Chairman Emeritus of the Anne Frank Center U.S.A. For his involvement with the center, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands knighted him in 1992--on his 80th birthday. In 1997, he received the Louis E. Yavner Award from the Regents of the University of the State of New York.

Polak has three children and five grandchildren. Professionally, he is still working as an investment banker and director of a public company.

Discussion topics

Polak's general topic is the Holocaust. He has speeches for old people, Jewish groups, gentile groups, mixed groups, children of different ages from 10 on, synagogues, churches, universities, and colleges.

• The Importance of Religion and Belief in "a" God: Polak speaks on faith and inspiration. His talk is based on an interview he gave to authors Joanna Laufer and Kenneth S. Lewis for Inspired, the Breath of God, a compilation of conversations with 42 gifted people on issues relating to spirituality.
• Polak's Personal Story: This talk chronicles the three lives of Jack Polak: his first, in a "normal" country from 1912-1940, his second, during the Holocaust from May 1940 to April 1945, and his third, surviving the Holocaust 'til the present.
• Concentration Camps/Extermination Camps/Labor Camps: Polak helps his audience to understand these difference kinds of camps and helps to elucidate the different methods of survival in them. He provides compelling examples of each in this talk.
• Jewish Council: Polak explains the definition of the word "Council," which is used in normal discourse in every phase of our life. During the war years, the concept of "Council" had a completely different interpretation. Polak explains and also responds to the work of Hanna Arendt, a major opponent of the Jewish Councils, with whom he disagrees entirely.
• Discrimination: Polak does not use this word, as it refers to black/white race relations or anti-Semitism, but in a much more general form, referring to young people against old people, healthy people against sick people, intelligent children against non-intelligent children, etc. In this talk, Polak discusses these and looks closely at the discrimination in Germany by Hitler against anyone who was not "pure" in his eyes.
• ANY subject relating to Anne Frank
  • Anne as a writer
  • Anne on the Holocaust
  • Anne in hiding
  • Anne as a philosopher
  • Anne the teenager
  • Anne the child
  • Anne on religion
  • Anne in relationship with her Father/Mother/Sister
• Anti-Semitism before the war, during the war, and now: This subject has become even more current today than in years gone by. Polak refers to a new book by Professor Dienke Hondius, entitled Holocaust Survivors and Dutch anti-Semitism during this talk.
• STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME-A talk based upon Polak's book of the same name, a compilation of the love letters exchanged between the author and the young woman he was courting whilst in the concentration camps. The two have been married now for 56 years. A movie is being made about their incredible story.

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