Biography

About Philip Polak

Philip Polak, born in Schoonoord, municipality of Sleen, was a son of Simon Polak and Bettje van Rhijn, a family with in total nine children. One child died in infancy, only 1 year old and one child has survived the Holocaust. All other children, namely Salomo, Hartog, Harmannus, Bertha, Carolina, Anna and Philip self have been killed in the Shoah.

Philip married Aaltje Nathans in Haren (Groningen) on 4 May 1910, the eldest daughter of Simon Nathans and Betje de Jong. Philip and Aaltje had two children together: Betje and Simon. Both were killed in the Shoah.

Presumably Philip Polak stayed in the psychatric hospital "Port Natal" in Assen. This institution was listed as correspondence address for his daughter Betje, as was taken down on her registration card from the Jewish Council. From this psychiatric hospital, all Jewish patients and staff were deported in 1943 by the german occupiers. Philip was killed in Sobibor on 23 April 1943. No registration card of Philip Polak was found in the archive of the Jewish Council. His wife Aaltje was also killed in Sobibor, however one month earlier, on 13 March 1943. His daughter Betje was killed in Auschwitz and his son Simon lost his life somewhere in Mid Europe on 31 March 1943.

Website www.wiewaswie.nl; archve of the Jewish Council, cards of Aaltje, Betje and Simon Polak; Encyclopedie Drente, https://www.geheugenvandrenthe.nl/licht-en-kracht en de geschiedenis van Port Natal, http://www.portnatal.nl/Landgoed_Port_Natal/Geschiedenis.html.