Lena Polak, the eldest daughter of Jonas Polak and Marianne Schouten, was born in Amsterdam on 21 September 1918, when her parents lived in with Marianne’s father Barend Schouten at Joden Houttuinen 72 2nd floor. Her sister Sara was born in 1922, when the Polak family had been moved to Weesperstraaqt 35 2nd floor. In 1929 the family moved into a house at the 1st floor of the Retiefstraat 110. Before Lena got married, she was employed as a craftswoman.
On 25 March 1942, Lena married the leather worker and bag maker Barend Winnik, who was born on 4 October 1910 in Amsterdam as a son of Abraham Winnik and Clara Goudsmit. In Februari 1941, Barend was registered at the address Retiefstraat 118 ground floor, but since 11 March at the address Nieuwe Keizersgracht 37 3rd floor. After the wedding was concluded, his 8-year younger bride came living in with him on 31 March 1942.
Barend and Lena were already called for employment in Germany on 20 July 1942, the so-called “Arbeitseinsatz”, however, an exemption of deportation was still granted through the Jewish Council. It can be deduced from the registration cards of the Jewish Council, that Barend Winnik and almost certainly also his wife Lena Polak were arrested during the large-scale raids at the beginning of October 1942 and taken to Westerbork, where they were brought in somewhere between 3 and 5 October.
On 19 October, they have been put on transport to Auschwitz, where upon arrival there on 22 October 1942, Lena Winnik-Polak was immediately murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Barend Winnik however passed the selection upon arrival and was put to work somewhere in the camp. Where is unknown, nor the kind of work he had to do. Eventually he lost his life in Auschwitz on 8 December 1942, however it is unknown whether he was murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau or he has lost his life due to diseases, exhaustion or hardship.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration card of Jonas Polak, archive cardd of Lena Polak and Barend Winnik; Amsterdam birth certificate 10695 of 21 September 1918 of Lena Polak; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Barend Winnik and Lena Polak and the certificate of death nr. 148 dated 5 January 1951 from the A-register 63-folio 26verso - made out in Amsterdam for Barend Winnik.