Steal a Pencil for Me

This documentary accompanies a book by the same name, which tells the true story of Jaap and Ina Polak, two married Holocaust survivors.

At the beginning of the war, Jaap was married to another woman, Manja. They had drifted apart in their affection for one another; they mutually decided to stay married until the end of the war.

Ina met Jaap and his wife Manja before the war at a dinner party. Ina could tell that theirs was a loveless marriage, and pined for Jaap from afar.

At the beginning of the war, Jaap was an accountant who helped Jewish families hide their fortunes from the Nazis.

When the Nazis began to collect all of the Jews, Jaap and his wife Manja were taken to the Westerbork concentration camp. Ironically, so was Ina. While in the camp, Jaap was the principal of a make-shift school. At this point, he began to write Ina letters. They corresponded together for months if not years, sometimes with the knowledge of his wife Manja.

Sometime later, Jaap and Manja were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Ina was placed on the Auschwitz transfer list; however, in a second stroke of fate, she too went to Bergen-Belsen. Jaap and Ina’s love affair began anew, constantly writing letters to one another.

What happened to Jaap and Manja and Ina after the war? How did Jaap and Ina find one another, and end up a married couple?

To find out how their story ends, watch “Steal a Pencil for Me”, now streaming on Netflix, 3 stars.