Chaja Polak (* 1941) is a Dutch writer and visual artist. Her Jewish parents were active in the resistance during the Second World War, including for the underground newspaper “De Waarheid”. After their betrayal in 1944, Chaja’s father Hans Polak was murdered in Dachau, while her mother Annetje survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Chaja was able to hide at various addresses – initially with her mother, later alone with various families – so that she escaped deportation. After the war, she was reunited with her mother. Chaja Polak studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and her paintings and drawings were exhibited internationally. She made her debut as a writer in 1989 and several of her books have been published in several languages. Most recently, her “Letter in the Night” was published; in this book, the Holocaust survivor takes a humanistic look at the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
