Despite being Jewish, she was offered the Iron Cross by Nazi Germany during World War II.

[1] A native of Finland, Poljakoff was studying dentistry before the outbreak of World War II.

[2] During the war, she worked as a nurse for Lotta Svärd, an auxiliary organization associated with the White Guard.

She served in the front lines of combat during World War II alongside German military units.

[1] Poljakoff made quite an impression on her German patients, to the point that she was nominated for the Iron Cross.