An Afternoon with Olga Polakova

Vlastimil Artur Polak - Avalos. Writer of prose and poetry, born in Usov in 1914. He was one of the few Usov Jews who survived Nazi persecution. His brother and sisters died during the holocaust. Polak survived in Terezin until the end of the war and was decorated for his anti-fascist activities. Polak wrote his humanist works in German. Besides extensive poetic creations, he also collected and wrote down old Jewish fables from Usov, published under the title "White Lady of the Ghetto".

These ancient fables were recounted to him before the war by his aunt, Fanni Hussova, and his father, JUDr. Julius Pollak. After the war V. A. Polak lived and worked in Olomouc. The totalitarian regime took a very negative attitude towards his literary activities. A substantial part of his poetry was translated into Czech by his wife, Olga Polakova. In 2005 a commemorative plaque was unveiled on the Polak family home near Usov synagogue.

In a Saturday afternoon in December 2009, the production team of cine4net met Polak's widowed wife Olga. We listen to her memories of her husband and his work, his poetry, their common life.