Photo
SS personnel at the Sobibor killing center relax on a terrace
Members of the SS sitting on the terrace of the new officers' dining room (known as the "Kasino") in Sobibor, early summer 1943. From left to right: Hubert Gomerski, Erich Schulze, Gustav Wagner, deputy camp commandant Johann Niemann, and an unidentified man.
This photo comes from a collection donated by the descendants of Johann Niemann. The images in the collection provide never-before-seen views of the killing center, including photos of barracks buildings, workshops, and SS and Ukrainian guards. The album complements and re-enforces the testimonies of the few Jewish survivors of this notorious camp. Niemann was killed during the Sobibor prisoner revolt on October 14, 1943, after which the camp was closed and demolished.
Some of the images (like this one) depict Sobibor personnel laughing, relaxing, and posing for vanity shots all while implementing the mass murder of at least 167,000 innocent Jews.
Tags
- US Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Bildungswerk Stanislaw-Hantz