Film/Discussion: "Steal a Pencil for Me"

FINDING LOVE AMID THE HORRORS OF THE HOLOCAUST

“I’m a very special Holocaust survivor. I was in the camps with my wife and my girlfriend, and believe me, it wasn’t easy.” —Jack Polak, STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME  

Jack Polak, the chairman emeritus of the Anne Frank Center USA whose work advancing human rights has been honored by the United Nations General Assembly, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the United Jewish Appeal and Hofstra University among others, appears at Congregation Tifereth Israel (CTI) on Sunday, May 20 at 12 noon. His appearance includes a screening of Steal a Pencil for Me, a greatly-lauded documentary produced in 2007 by Michele Obayon which recounts how Jack and his wife, Ina, found love behind the barbed wire of the deportation camp Westerbork and later the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen while Jack was married to his first wife, Mania.

At CTI, Jack and Ina Polak discuss the film and the book of the same name which trace their experiences in the Holocaust, their post-war reunion, their marriage and their move to the United States in 1951. The showing of the film and the discussion is free; refreshments will be served. The public is invited to attend; reservations are not needed. For further information, call (516) 676-5080 or log onto ctionline.org.

CTI, the oldest continuing Jewish congregation on Long Island, has been providing Jewish programming and education to the Long Island community since 1897. The synagogue is located at 40 Hill Street in Glen Cove, at the intersection of Hill Street and Landing Road.