Emil Farkas was born in 1929 in Zilina, Czechoslovakia (today Slovakia). The youngest of five siblings, Emil, like his brothers, excelled at sports from a young age, especially at gymnastics. When deportations of Slovak Jewry began in 1942, two of Emil's brothers, his sister, his brother in law and niece were sent to extermination camps in Poland. Emil, brother Dežo and his parents where sent to the Novacky concentration camp. Following the outbreak of the Slovak uprising and the entry of the Germans into the country in 1944, the family members were separated and Emil was sent to Sachsenhausen. From there, he was sent to Bergen-Belsen and then to Dachau. He was liberated in a village near the camp. In 1949, he immigrated to Israel and volunteered in the Air Force. In Israel, he continued pursing gymnastics, was a member of Israel's national gymnastics team, and coordinated the physical education program at the Haifa Technion's Bosmat school. Emil lives in Haifa. He married Eva, and they have two children and grandchildren.