Steal a Pencil for Me: Love Letters from Camp Bergen-Belsen and Westerbork

by Jaap Polak and Ina Soep

Book Overview

"She is the Girl I should have married," Jaap Polak remembers thinking when he first saw Ina Soep in 1943 at a party in Amsterdam, Holland. Ina Soep saw Jaap Polak accompanied by his wife of four... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874603951
• ISBN13: 9780874603958
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Lion Books
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A moving account of true soulmates caught up in the horrors of the Holocaust

"Steal a Pencil for me" is not a conventional Holocaust story though the people featured in it were Holocaust victims. I say this because the story is mainly an exploration of the relationship between two individuals who fell in love despite the odds being against them. Jack (Jaap) Polak, and Ina Soep met in Amsterdam before the war, when Jack was married to another woman. The pair are instantly attracted to each other despite their very different backgrounds - Jack comes from an average financial background, whereas Ina comes from a wealthy family (her father was in the diamond polishing industry). When WW II breaks out, the pair (together with Jack's wife) end up in the Westerbork transit camp and later get moved to Bergen-Belsen. Throughout their internment, Jack and Ina maintain contact, exchanging letters in secret at a time when paper and pencil were prized commodities (hence the title which was also a phrase written by Jack in one of his letters to Ina). The story centers around these love letters between two people whose love for each other strengthened them at a time when the most horrific acts were being committed against humanity by the Third Reich. A moving and engrossing read, and a unique addition to Holocaust literature.

Geat movie

A first rate movie about a Dutch couple in nazi occupied Holland and the concentation camps. A story about resilience, love amidst hatred, and a view on Dutch Jewry that has never been told as well as this documentary. Life full of its complexity and the strenght to persevere. Beautiful cinematography and well researched. Bravo Ms. Ohayon.

different viewpoint of the holocaust

this was a great book! the letter format made it an easy reader although the information is of great importance. an out of the ordinary holocaust account! A+

A very moving account

This was an amazing book. Jaap and Ina displayed such courage and love through such a horrible experience. There strength and absolute will for life should be a lesson to us all. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an account of the daily experiences in the concentration camps.

it is one of my faverite books

Jaap polak came to my school,and the name of my school is Bay Ridge Prep.And allso he did do a marvlise job i realy like him.