Anna "Ans" Dresden-Polak (née Anna Polak) (24 November 1906 – 23 July 1943) was a Jewish

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. She won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

as a member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

, in her native Amsterdam. She was one of five Jewish members of the team, which included Stella Blits-Agsteribbe (who was murdered in Auschwitz),

Lea Kloot-Nordheim Helena "Lea" Nordheim (1 August 1903 – 2 July 1943) was a Dutch gymnast. She won the gold medal as a member of the Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Summer Olympics in her native Amsterdam. With her team, she was inducted into the International ...

(who was murdered in Sobibor), and Judikje Themans-Simons (who was murdered in Sobibor). Their coach,

Gerrit Kleerekoper Gerrit Kleerekoper (15 February 1897 – 2 July 1943) was a Jewish-Dutch gymnastics coach. He was married with two children and worked as a diamond cutter. He led the Dutch women gymnastics team to win the gold medal at the 1928 Olympic Games in ...

, was murdered in Sobibor as well. She was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and was murdered in

Sobibor extermination camp Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland. As ...

. From

Westerbork concentration camp Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, ...

, she had been deported to Sobibór, where she was murdered on 23 July 1943, together with her six-year-old daughter Eva. Her husband, Barend Dresden was murdered a few months later in 1944 in

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. She was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1997.

References

External links

profile

Anna Dresden-Polak
commemoration,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dresden-Polak, Anna 1906 births 1943 deaths Dutch female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1928 Summer Olympics Jewish gymnasts Jewish Dutch sportspeople Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic gymnasts of the Netherlands Gymnasts from Amsterdam Dutch people who died in Sobibor extermination camp Dutch civilians killed in World War II Dutch Jews who died in the Holocaust International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in gymnastics 20th-century Dutch women

See also

References

Further reading

External links