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Sobibor

| Displaying results 21-30 of 148 for "Sobibor" |

  • Selma (Wijnberg) Engel describes deportation to Sobibor

    Oral History

    Selma was the youngest of four children born to Jewish parents. When she was 7, Selma and her family moved to the town of Zwolle where her parents ran a small hotel. When the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940, they confiscated the hotel. The family had to live in a poor Jewish section of the town. Selma went into hiding but was betrayed and then sent to the Westerbork camp. In April 1943 she was deported to Sobibor, where she worked in the clothes sorting area. There, the prisoners tried to pocket…

    Selma (Wijnberg) Engel describes deportation to Sobibor
  • Esther Raab describes planning for the uprising in Sobibor

    Oral History

    Esther was born to a middle-class Jewish family in Chelm, Poland. In December 1942, she was deported from a work camp to the Sobibor killing center in occupied Poland. Upon arrival at Sobibor, Esther was selected to work in a sorting shed. She sorted clothing and the possessions of the people killed at the camp. During the summer and fall of 1943, Esther was among a group of prisoners in the Sobibor camp who planned an uprising and escape. Leon Feldhendler and Aleksandr (Sasha) Pechersky were the leaders…

    Esther Raab describes planning for the uprising in Sobibor
  • Chaim Engel describes plans for the Sobibor uprising

    Oral History

    The Germans captured Chaim, a soldier in the Polish army, as they invaded Poland in 1939. They first sent Chaim to Germany for forced labor, but as a Jewish prisoner of war, he was returned to Poland. Ultimately, Chaim was deported to the Sobibor camp, where the rest of his family died. In the 1943 Sobibor uprising, Chaim killed a guard. He escaped with his girlfriend, Selma, whom he later married. A farmer hid them until liberation in June 1944. In this clip, Chaim refers to [Gustav] Wagner, Sobibor's…

    Chaim Engel describes plans for the Sobibor uprising
  • Chaim Engel describes his role in the Sobibor uprising

    Oral History

    In 1939, as Chaim's tour in the Polish army was nearing its scheduled end, Germany invaded Poland. The Germans captured Chaim and sent him to Germany for forced labor. As a Jewish prisoner of war, Chaim later was returned to Poland. Ultimately, he was deported to the Sobibor camp, where the rest of his family died. In the 1943 Sobibor uprising, Chaim killed a guard. He escaped with his girlfriend, Selma, whom he later married. A farmer hid them until liberation by Soviet forces in June 1944.

    Chaim Engel describes his role in the Sobibor uprising
  • Chaim Engel recalls the Sobibor uprising and his escape

    Oral History

    In 1939, as Chaim's tour in the Polish army was nearing its scheduled end, Germany invaded Poland. The Germans captured Chaim and sent him to Germany for forced labor. As a Jewish prisoner of war, Chaim later was returned to Poland. Ultimately, he was deported to the Sobibor camp, where the rest of his family died. In the 1943 Sobibor uprising, Chaim killed a guard. He escaped with his girlfriend, Selma, whom he later married. A farmer hid them until liberation by Soviet forces in June 1944.

    Chaim Engel recalls the Sobibor uprising and his escape
  • Selma Engel diary entry about arrival in Sobibor

    Artifact

    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.…

    Selma Engel diary entry about arrival in Sobibor
  • SS personnel at the Sobibor killing center relax on a terrace

    Photo

    Rare photograph showing Sobibor killing center personnel relaxing and posing, all while implementing the mass murder of at least 167,000 innocent Jews.

    SS personnel at the Sobibor killing center relax on a terrace
  • View of the German living quarters at the Sobibor killing center

    Photo

    Rare photograph showing a view of the German personnel living quarters at the entrance to the Sobibor killing center in German-occupied Poland.

    View of the German living quarters at the Sobibor killing center
  • Esther Raab recalls the arrival of transports in Sobibor

    Oral History

    Esther was born to a middle-class Jewish family in Chelm, Poland. In December 1942, she was deported from a work camp to the Sobibor killing center in occupied Poland. Upon arrival at Sobibor, Esther was selected to work in a sorting shed. She sorted clothing and the possessions of the people killed at the camp. During the summer and fall of 1943, Esther was among a group of prisoners in the Sobibor camp who planned an uprising and escape. Leon Feldhendler and Aleksandr (Sasha) Pechersky were the leaders…

    Esther Raab recalls the arrival of transports in Sobibor
  • Tomasz (Toivi) Blatt describes the selection process in the Sobibor killing center

    Oral History

    Tomasz was born to a Jewish family in Izbica. After the war began in September 1939, the Germans established a ghetto in Izbica. Tomasz's work in a garage initially protected him from roundups in the ghetto. In 1942 he tried to escape to Hungary, using false papers. He was caught but managed to return to Izbica. In April 1943 he and his family were deported to Sobibor. Tomasz escaped during the Sobibor uprising. He went into hiding and worked as a courier in the Polish underground.

    Tomasz (Toivi) Blatt describes the selection process in the Sobibor killing center

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