Jacob Polak 1913 - 1941
Born 16.9.1913 in Amsterdam
Died 18.12.1941 in Mauthausen
Biography
Japie Polak, the oldest of Liepman Polak and Roosje Spanjar’s seven sons, grew up at 89 Rapenburgerstraat in Amsterdam’s Jewish quarter. Originally his father had been a diamond cutter but later earned a living as a market trader. The Polaks were a close-knit family and as the eldest son, Japie felt a particular responsibility towards his younger brothers. He was extremely attentive towards both his brothers and his parents.
After primary school Japie attended the MULO[1] secondary school, which he was not able to finish as he needed to start going out to work. He had various jobs: he worked as an insurance agent for the Delflandse Assuratie Compagnie (Delfland Insurance Company) in Delft and – like his father – offered textiles and cigars for sale at markets both in and outside of Amsterdam.
On 25 January 1939 he married Emma Johanna (Hanny) Pytlyk – who was not Jewish – the girl with whom he had won the dance championship in Amsterdam. They lived at 126 Rapenburgerstraat. Even after his marriage Japie remained close to his parents and brothers. Japie and Hanny had less than two years of marriage ahead of them. On 22 February 1941 he was apprehended on the street and taken to Schoorl. From there, on 26 February, he was able to smuggle a letter to his wife in which he wrote: ‘Hanny, I am well. Kiss, your Japie. Also tell Mrs. Kropveld that her husband is here too.’[2]
Petitions for his release from a former military service comrade and from two officers of the 5th Infantry Regiment, under whom Japie had served during mobilisation, failed. He was deported to Buchenwald and was put onto a transport to Mauthausen on 22 May.
In a letter of 3 August he congratulated his wife on the birth of their daughter Emmy, born on 15 July – the daughter he was never to see. Japie Polak was 28 years old when he died in Mauthausen.
Apart from Hanny and her little daughter, only one of the seven brothers survived from the Polak family. Four of them died in 1942 together with their wives or fiancées in Auschwitz. The youngest was murdered together with his parents on 4 June 1943 in Sobibor.
Henny E. Dominicus
Stichting Vriedenkring Mauthausen
Translation into English: Joanna White
[1] The MULO (= meer uitgebreid lager onderwijs) is a school offering extended primary education.
[2] David Hartog Kropveld, born on 26 November 1915 in Amsterdam, died on 12 September 1941 in Mauthausen, also lived on Rapenburgerstraat.
Location In room
