Henri Polak

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Henri Polak on a painting by Johann Georg van Caspel from 1912

Henri Polak (born February 22, 1868 in Amsterdam , † February 18, 1943 in Laren ) was a Dutch trade unionist and social democratic politician. He is considered to be one of the founders of the modern Dutch trade union movement .

biography

Early years

Polak was born in Amsterdam in 1868 as the son of the Jewish diamond cutter Moses Polak and his wife Marianna Smit. At the age of 13 his father took him from school and forced him to start training as a diamond cutter against his will. Moses Polak was of the opinion that because of the many children - Henri had ten siblings in total - the family would need a second breadwinner. After a serious argument with his father, Polak moved to London at the age of 18 , where he lived in the East End , which was inhabited by many Jewish emigrants . There he made contact with other Dutch people who were active in the British diamond industry and also met his future wife, Emily Nijkerk.

Political career

After returning to his homeland in 1890, Polak joined the Sociaal-Democratische Bond (SDB), which was the first party with a socialist influence in the Netherlands. His motivation for this step, which was unusual for a Jewish worker at the time, remained unclear, as he gave partly contradicting reasons even in later years. What is certain, however, is that during his time in London he regularly heard socialist propaganda speeches in Hyde Park there . As a member of the SDB, he initially dealt primarily with recruiting new members and propaganda activities, in which he proved to be very successful. In addition, in 1893 he was editor of the social democratic weekly De Nieuwe Tijd . In the following year he was one of the twaalf apostelen (in German "twelve apostles") named founding members of the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij (SDAP), the forerunner of today's Partij van de Arbeid . As a long-time member of the party executive committee, Polak was to play a key role in shaping the political course of this party. From 1900 to 1905 he also held the post of party leader. As the first social democrat, Polak was a member of the Amsterdam municipal council from 1902 to 1906. In 1913 - also as the first social democratic politician - he moved into the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, in which he was to remain a member until 1937, with a brief break between 1922 and 1923. From September to November 1913 Polak also had a brief seat in the Lower House of the States General , which functions as the House of Commons . Polak was a member of the executive committee of the Dutch branch of the Zionist organization Keren Hayesod .

Activity as a trade unionist

Polak (seated, right) at an ANDB festival in 1919

Polak achieved great fame as a trade unionist. In 1892 he first joined the Nederlandsche Diamantbewerkers Vereeniging (NDV), where he was appointed union secretary two years later. In the course of a strike by the Amsterdam diamond workers, Polak stood out as a member of the strike committee, where he stood out as a talented speaker and organizer. After the end of the strike in November 1894, the NDV joined forces with other small unions to form the Algemeene Nederlandsche Diamantbewerkersbond (ANDB), of which Polak was elected chairman. Following the example of the English trade unions , the ANDB demanded a financial contribution from its members, which was based on the amount of the respective salary, which had not previously been the case with Dutch trade unions. These contributions were used to finance a strike fund and the salaries of the chairmen, among other things. The union also published a magazine, the Weekblad , of which Polak became the editor-in-chief and regular article writer. The professional organization of the ANDB was very well received by the Amsterdam diamond workers, at its peak the union numbered over 10,000 members. Some of the ANDB's successes under Polak's leadership have included the introduction of the eight-hour day , a week of paid vacation, and higher wages in the diamond industry.

Following the example of the ANDB, Polak soon wanted to organize other parts of the Dutch workforce and founded the umbrella organization Nederlandsch Verbond van Vakvereenigingen (NVV) in 1905 , of which he became the first chairman. In addition to his activities for ANDB and NVV, he also chaired the International Federation of Diamond Cutters. Furthermore, during this time he was increasingly committed to the preservation of endangered cultural and natural assets, for which the University of Amsterdam awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1932 .

Captivity and end of life

In the 1930s, as part of his political and journalistic activities, Polak positioned himself against the emerging National Socialism and repeatedly pointed out the threat that the growing Nationaal-Socialist movement posed to Dutch democracy in his eyes. Without success he campaigned for a ban on this party. Following the occupation of the Netherlands by the German Wehrmacht , Polak was arrested in July 1940 and initially held in an Amsterdam prison for about half a year. This was followed by internment in the house of an NSB doctor in Wassenaar , from which he was surprisingly released in July 1942. Henri Polak died in February 1943, shortly before his imminent deportation to a pneumonia . His wife Emily Nijkerk did not survive the war either and died in May 1943 in Westerbork transit camp .

Works

In addition to newspaper articles, Polak also wrote some longer papers, mostly dealing with the Amsterdam workers and the Dutch trade union movement:

  • Henri Polak: De strijd der Diamantbewerkers . Amsterdam 1896.
  • Henri Polak: De vakvereeniging. Some brightening up over hair doel, inrichting en wijze van werken . Amsterdam 1905.
  • F. Leviticus, Henri Polak: Geillustreerde encyclopaedie der diamantnijverheid . Haarlem 1908.
  • Henri Polak: De vakvereeniging. A knopte Beschouwing van hair is divorced . Amsterdam 1922.
  • Henri Polak: Het wetenschappelijk antisemitisme . Amsterdam 1936.
  • Henri Polak: Amsterdam the great city ... Amsterdam 1936.

literature

  • O. Montagne: Doctor Henri Polak - van het vuur dat in hem brandde . Ed .: Johan Winkler. Kuurstra, Amsterdam 1948.

Web links

Commons : Henri Polak  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Frank van Vree: Polak, Henri (1868-1943). In: huygens.knaw.nl. Huygens Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis, November 12, 2013, accessed on May 23, 2019 (Dutch). ; Originally published in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland , Volume 5, The Hague 2002
  2. ↑ Armin A. Wallas (Ed.): Eugen Hoeflich . Diaries 1915 to 1927 . Vienna: Böhlau, 1999 ISBN 3-205-99137-0 , p. 488
  3. ↑ Archief Algemene Nederlandse Diamantbewerkersbond online. In: metamorfoze.nl. Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, January 29, 2019, accessed on May 21, 2019 (Dutch).
  4. ^ Peter van Dam: Henri Polak. In: uni-muenster.de. NetherlandsNet, August 2008, accessed May 23, 2019 .
  5. ^ A b Salvador Bloemgarten: POLAK, Henri. In: socialhistory.org. July 16, 2017, accessed May 23, 2019 (Dutch). ; Originally published in: Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbewegung in Nederland , Volume 2, 1987, pp. 107-122
personal data
SURNAME Polak, Henri
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch trade unionist and social democratic politician
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1943
Place of death Laren