Kings Harbor Waterfront Village • 1660 W. Lake Houston Parkway Kingwood, Texas 77345
Now Open to the Public
Explore Alex’s vision to advance Holocaust education by raising awareness of the dangers of antisemitism through distinctive outdoor exhibits designed specifically for children.
Baruch Dayan HaEmet, ברוך דיין האמת
A Man For All Seasons
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Alexander Pollak Z”L, loving husband of Mary Pollak. The burial took place on Sunday, September 6th, 2020 at Beth Jacob Cemetery in Houston, Texas. In keeping with public health protocols and rabbinic guidance, the levaya and shiva were private. May his memory be for a blessing, and may the family be comforted with the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Alex’s yahrzeit is lovingly memorialized in three Greater Houston Jewish communities that became part of his life and legacy: United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston, his home synagogue for more than 50 years, where he also celebrated his second bar mitzvah; Temple Beth Torah in Humble, near his family home, where he publicly shared his experiences and Holocaust testimony; and Chabad of The Woodlands, where he visited and had the meaningful opportunity to recite the Shema and lay tefillin.
Alex and Mary are also permanently remembered at Holocaust Museum Houston, where their names are inscribed on the Survivors’ Wall in the Moral Choices Hall. Fashioned from Jerusalem stone, the wall bears the names of nearly 1,000 Holocaust survivors who made Houston their home after the war, placing Alex and Mary within the enduring record of the survivor community that helped shape Greater Houston.
Alex’s memory is further honored at the Holocaust Garden of Hope in Kingwood, where a personalized memorial paver bearing his name rests in the Founder’s Court and will be joined by a memorial boulder. Together, these synagogues, sacred spaces, and places of remembrance preserve Alex’s memory—and the shared legacy of Alex and Mary—within the Jewish and wider Greater Houston community. Through them, their names, their testimony, and the lessons of their lives will continue to be remembered and transmitted l’dor v’dor—from generation to generation.
Denise Joris
In September 1943, after Italy surrendered to the Allies and the Germans entered this zone, the Germans captured Alexander’s mother and she was never heard from again. Denise Joris, who was in constant contact with the family, arrived where they were staying in order to help them. She took Alexander to hide in a monastery and remained in contact with him. There was another Jewish boy, Reuven Kraus, in the monastery. The two boys were safe in the monastery whereas Alexander's sister remained alone. Denise Joris took her to her home in Zagreb, and she remained with Denise until the end of the war. On October 30, 2005, Yad Vashem recognized Denise Joris as Righteous Among the Nations.
