Anna Dresden-Polak

Not to be confused with Anna Sophia Polak.

Anna "Ans" Dresden-Polak (née Anna Polak) (24 November 1906 – 23 July 1943) was a Jewish Dutch gymnast.^[1][2][3]

Ans Polak
Anna Polak in 1928
Personal information
Country represented	Netherlands
Born	(1906-11-24)24 November 1906 Amsterdam
Died	23 July 1943(1943-07-23) (aged 36) Sobibor extermination camp
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Medal record Women's gymnastics Representing the  Netherlands Summer Olympics 1928 Amsterdam Team

She won the gold medal as a member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics, in her native Amsterdam.^[4][5][6] She was one of five Jewish members of the team, which included Stella Blits-Agsteribbe (who was murdered in Auschwitz), Lea Kloot-Nordheim (who was murdered in Sobibor), and Judikje Themans-Simons (who was murdered in Sobibor).^[3][5] Their coach, Gerrit Kleerekoper, was murdered in Sobibor as well.^[5][7]

She was born in Amsterdam, and was murdered in Sobibor extermination camp. From Westerbork concentration camp, she had been deported to Sobibór, where she was murdered on 23 July 1943,^[8] together with her six-year-old daughter Eva.^[9][10] Her husband, Barend Dresden was murdered a few months later in 1944 in Auschwitz concentration camp.^[10][11][12]

She was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.^[4][13]

See also

• List of select Jewish gymnasts

References

1. Paul Taylor (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics - With a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medalists. Eastbourne, UK: Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 9781903900888. Retrieved 27 January 2013 – via Google Books.
2. Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. Jersey City, N.J.: KTAV Publishing House. p. 329. ISBN 9781602800137. Retrieved 27 January 2013 – via Google Books.
3. Paauw, Ruud (Winter 1994). "After the Glory" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 2 (1). Durham, N.C.: International Society of Olympic Historians: 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
4. "Dresden-Polak, Anna". Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
5. Lipman, Steve. "Connecting the World to Jewish News, Culture, and Opinion". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
6. IX Olympic Games - Official Report (PDF). Amsterdam: Nederlands Olympisch Comité*Nederlandse Sport Federatie. 1928. p. 694 – via LA 84 Foundation.
7. "NETHERLANDS 1928 OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS". Jewishsports.net. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
8. Schaffer, Kay; Smith, Sidonie (2000). The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. pp. 60–62. ISBN 978-0-8135-2820-5 – via Google Books.
9. Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games. Eastbourne, UK: Sussex Academic Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-903900-87-1 – via Google Books.
10. Winston-Macauley, Marnie (2009). Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 331. ISBN 9780740788895. Retrieved 27 January 2013 – via Google Books.
11. Yogi Mayer, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games. Elstree, UK: Vallentine Mitchell. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-85303-451-3 – via Google Books.
12. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
13. "International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame: Netherlands 1928 Olympic Champions".

Further reading

• Brouwer, Erik (2010). "De Moord op een Gouden Turnploeg". In van Liempt, Ad; Luitzen, Jan (eds.). Sport in de Oorlog (in Dutch). L.J. Veen. pp. 29–58. ISBN 978-90-204-1936-8.

External links

• Ans Polak at databaseOlympics.com
• Anna Dresden-Polak commemoration, Yad Vashem website