The Sobibor revolt, which took place on October 14, 1943, stands as one of the most remarkable acts of resistance against Nazi oppression during the Holocaust. This uprising occurred in Sobibor, one of the Nazi extermination camps located in German-occupied Poland, and was organized by a group of Jewish prisoners determined to escape their imminent death and to strike back against their captors. This revolt is significant not only because of its audacity and the number of lives saved but also because it symbolized the resilience of the human spirit, even in the most dire of circumstances.
Background: Sobibor Extermination Camp
Sobibor was one of the three camps constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, a Nazi plan to exterminate Polish Jewry. It was located near the village of Sobibór in eastern Poland, close to the Ukrainian border. Sobibor operated between May 1942 and October 1943, during which time approximately 250,000 Jews were systematically murdered, primarily in its gas chambers. The camp was designed exclusively for mass murder, not as a concentration or labor camp. Its sole purpose was to kill as many Jews as efficiently as possible.
The camp was divided into several sections:
- Camp I housed the prisoners who worked for the Nazis, including tailors, shoemakers, and cleaners.
- Camp II served as the reception area, where new arrivals were processed, undressed, and sent to their deaths.
- Camp III contained the gas chambers and mass graves.
Those spared from immediate execution were forced into hard labor, processing the belongings of murdered Jews or working in maintenance jobs necessary for the camp’s operation.
Life in the Camp and Conditions for Revolt
Prisoners at Sobibor were subjected to unspeakable cruelty, torture, and constant fear of death. The overwhelming majority of arrivals at Sobibor were killed within hours of disembarkation from the trains. A few hundred were selected for work, but their survival was temporary as they could be killed at any moment.
By mid-1943, it had become clear to many prisoners that the Nazis intended to exterminate everyone, including those currently being kept alive for labor. This realization galvanized a group of Jewish prisoners to begin planning an escape and revolt. A sense of urgency was heightened by the news that another Operation Reinhard camp, Treblinka, had seen the revolt of its prisoners earlier that year. There was also evidence that Sobibor itself might soon be dismantled, as the Nazis sought to destroy evidence of their crimes.
Planning the Revolt
In the summer of 1943, a clandestine resistance group formed within the camp, led by prisoners such as Leon Feldhendler, the son of a rabbi, who had been brought to Sobibor earlier that year. Feldhendler and other leaders recognized that without a well-coordinated plan, any attempt to escape would be futile. There had already been a few individual escapes, but these were rare, and those who were caught faced immediate execution, which dissuaded many others from trying.
The key turning point came in September 1943, with the arrival of a group of Soviet Jewish prisoners of war. Among them was Lieutenant Alexander (Sasha) Pechersky, an experienced Jewish Soviet officer. Pechersky, who had a background in military tactics, quickly became a leader in the resistance. Under his guidance, the prisoners formed a more concrete plan for an uprising. The goal was not only to escape but also to kill as many SS guards and collaborators as possible, rendering the camp inoperable.
The Plan
The plan for the revolt was both bold and complex. It was scheduled for October 14, 1943, a day when several of the camp’s key officers were expected to be present. The prisoners intended to lure individual SS officers into various workshops under the pretense of delivering goods, such as new boots or repaired clothing. Once isolated, the officers would be killed silently using makeshift weapons, such as axes and knives. Afterward, the prisoners would seize weapons from the camp’s armory and incite a mass uprising, opening the gates and leading a breakout into the surrounding forests.
It was a high-risk operation. The camp was surrounded by minefields and heavily guarded by both SS soldiers and Ukrainian guards, known as Trawnikis. Any failure to carry out the plan could result in the immediate execution of the prisoners involved, if not a mass slaughter of all remaining inmates.
The Revolt: October 14, 1943
On the afternoon of October 14, 1943, the revolt began as planned. The prisoners, with remarkable courage, lured individual SS officers into workshops and killed them one by one. Among the first to die was SS-Oberscharführer Johann Niemann, the camp’s acting commandant at the time, who was struck down with an axe. In total, 11 SS officers were killed, as well as several Ukrainian guards.
However, the plan did not proceed perfectly. A key element involved seizing the armory to access firearms, but this part of the plan failed when an alarm was triggered prematurely. This meant that the uprising had to escalate faster than planned, and prisoners, now aware that the Germans had been alerted, rushed toward the gates without adequate weapons. The minefields surrounding the camp posed another significant hazard. Some prisoners were killed by the mines as they tried to flee, and others were shot by guards from the watchtowers.
Despite these challenges, of the approximately 600 prisoners in the camp, around 300 managed to escape into the surrounding forests. The remaining prisoners who had not joined the revolt were either killed during the chaos or were later executed by the SS.
Aftermath and Consequences
While roughly 300 prisoners escaped the camp, only 50 to 70 are believed to have survived the war. Many of those who fled were hunted down by Nazi patrols or were betrayed by local civilians who feared Nazi reprisals or sought rewards for turning in Jews. Nevertheless, the revolt dealt a symbolic and practical blow to the Nazi killing machine at Sobibor.
In the immediate aftermath of the uprising, the Nazis shut down Sobibor. Heinrich Himmler, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, ordered the camp to be dismantled and all traces of it erased. The remaining prisoners who had not been involved in the revolt were executed, and the Nazis planted trees over the site to cover up the evidence of the atrocities that had occurred there. Sobibor ceased to function as an extermination camp after October 1943.
The revolt at Sobibor is particularly significant because it directly contributed to the closing of the camp. While the Nazis were attempting to destroy evidence of their crimes across many of their extermination camps, the Sobibor uprising demonstrated the risks of maintaining such a facility as Jewish prisoners, even in the face of certain death, could organize effective resistance.
Legacy and Importance
The Sobibor revolt stands as a testament to the courage and determination of the Jewish prisoners, who, despite being subjected to unimaginable horrors, refused to go to their deaths without a fight. It was one of the few successful uprisings in a Nazi death camp, alongside those at Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
In the postwar years, the survivors of the Sobibor revolt played an important role in bearing witness to the atrocities that had occurred there. Many of the survivors contributed to the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, providing crucial testimony about the functioning of the camp and the identity of those responsible.
The Sobibor uprising has been memorialized in books, documentaries, and films, most notably the 1987 television film “Escape from Sobibor,” which dramatizes the events of the revolt.
Today, a memorial and museum stand at the site of the former camp, honoring the victims and the brave individuals who fought for their freedom.
The Sobibor revolt was a rare and daring act of resistance within the death camps of the Holocaust. Although the majority of Sobibor’s prisoners were ultimately murdered by the Nazis, the uprising serves as a powerful reminder of the human will to resist even in the most desperate of situations. The escape of around 300 prisoners and the closure of the camp in its aftermath represent a small but significant victory against the Nazi regime, symbolizing hope, defiance, and the enduring human spirit amidst the Holocaust’s overwhelming darkness.
Sources
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/sobibor-uprising
https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/14-october-1943-uprising-at-sobibor-extermination-camp
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092978/?ref_=tt_mv_close
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-aftermath-of-the-sobibor-revolt
https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn59535
Donation
Your readership is what makes my site a success, and I am truly passionate about providing you with valuable content. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. Your voluntary donation of $2 or more, if you are able, would be a significant contribution to the continuation of my work. However, I fully understand if you’re not in a position to do so. Your support, in any form, is greatly appreciated. Thank you. To donate, click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more than $2, just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
$2.00
History of Sorts 
Leave a comment