Photo
View of the Sobibor killing center
A view of the Sobibor killing center, taken in spring 1943 from the German personnel living quarters. To the left of the high fire-alarm tower (center) was the camp bakery. The arm of the excavator, which removed the bodies from the mass graves, is visible over the roof. The barrack on the right-hand side of the picture served as lodging for the Trawniki men. From the watchtower on the left, they monitored the deportees on their way to the gas chambers.
This photo comes from a collection donated by the descendants of Sobibor deputy camp commandant 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.
Tags
- US Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Bildungswerk Stanislaw-Hantz