Diaries reveal some of the most intimate, heart-wrenching accounts of the Holocaust. They record in real time the feelings of loss, fear, and, sometimes, hope of those facing extraordinary peril.
Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel met and fell in love in the Sobibor killing center. After the young couple made a daring escape during the camp uprising and fled into hiding, Selma began a diary to record their experiences. The diary was written in 1943-1944 while Selma was in hiding in German-occupied Poland.
This page recounts Selma and Chaim's escape from the camp.
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![A group portrait of some of the participants in the uprising at the Sobibor killing center. [LCID: 10625]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/aa0189cc-81e0-45c3-a1a1-eb70ad9f1bee.jpg)