Bettje Polak, (known as Betty) was a daughter of Salomo Polak and Klara Nathans. She married in Hoogeven Sunday 14 April 1929 (chupah) the religious teacher and the later chief cantor Herman Isidor de Lieme from 's Hertogenbosch, a son of meijer de Lieme and Anna Rachel Italie. The couple had two daughters who both have survived the Holocaust.
Bettje and Herman went into hiding, separate from their children, but were betrayed. On 28 November 1943 Bettje and Herman arrived in Camp Westerbork, where they had to stay in barack 67. Except that was noted on her card of the Jewish Council about her training (3-yr HBS) was still the peculiarity mentioned that she had a great interest in costume sewing and cooking.
Together with her husband, Bettje was deported to Auschwitz on 25 January 1944 where she was killed immediately upon arrival there on 28 January 1944. Herman Isidor lost his life some months later, on 31 May 1944.
Bettje had another brother Simon and two sisters, the twin Bep and Lineke. Her brother Simon was killed in the Battle of the Grebbeberg, on 13 May 1940; her sister Betsy Aaltje (Bep) was killed in Auschwitz; her twinsister Carolina Bertha (Lineke) passed away on 19 February 1930, 12 years old.)
Website www.wiewaswie.nl; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council of Amsterdam, cards of Bettje de Lieme Polak and Herman Isidor Polak.