Lodewijk Max Polak was unmarried. He lived in Amsterdam, where he was deputy manager at the Van Embden bankers' office. As a member of the underground, he helped Jews, in part by bringing their property and money to safety and sending food to Camp Westerbork. He distributed underground newspapers as well.

Lodewijk Max Polak was caught in Amsterdam on 8 February 1944 and deported to Bergen-Belsen via Westerbork and subsequently to Buchenwald.