In Far East Poland, close to the Russian boarded, there was a concentration camp called Sobibor. During this time Germany occupied all of Poland. Sobibor was a 'death camp' and was only built to kill the Jewish people. It was located far away from major cities and fairly remote from any towns or villages. Sobibor was isolated and very excluded. There were many tress and forests, which acted as a camouflage to hide the surroundings of the camp. Many civilians had little or no knowledge about Sobibor.
The German people (Nazis) blamed the Jews for the downfall of their country. The German people believed that by killing all the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and disabled people that their country had a better chance of becoming powerful. They called this Nazi ideology the 'Final Solution'. After the Final Solution was carried out there was to be no Jews left.
Although Sobibor was fairly remote and isolated there was still a trainline for easy transportation for people and supplies.
Auschwitz concentration camp, arrival of Hungarian...
Jews House Restaurant
Extermination Camp of Sobibor, PolandThe majority of the Jews arrived at Sobibor by train. The Jews were rounded up from the cities and placed together in ghettoes. From the ghettoes they were boarded into trains and transported to Sobibor.
The main people who were in absolute control were the S.S Guards who were Germans. The Ukraine Guards were next in line of control. They patrolled the outer fence surrounding Sobibor to make sure that no one escaped. Kappos was the name given to the Jews who were responsible for the Jews who worked in normal labour. They were given whips to control and make sure that the civilian Jews were kept in line. Down at the bottom of the hierarchy was the normal, everyday Jews. These Jews were the ones spared from the showers to work for the Germans.
The Russian soldiers who were captured and taken to Sobibor were prisoners of war. They were also Jewish and sympathetic towards the other Jews who were kept in Sobibor. This was mainly because Russia was at war with Germany because Germany were trying to capture Russia. The Russian soldiers were brought to Sobibor for the main reason to do all the hard work labour on the camp.
The Russian Soldiers aided the Jewish leader in planning for their escape. They had enough experience and knowledge to plan the escape well. They also had skills in shooting and combat which helped them train the ordinary civilian Jews into being able to kill and protect themselves. The Russian soldiers were the ones who told the Jews to kill the S.S men before escaping and then go on to kill all the other Germans. They played a very big roll in making the escape a lot more successful.
The young goldsmith was terribly shocked after his visit to the forbidden area of the camp because he had no idea what had happened to his family, or what had happened to the other prisoners. When he arrived there he saw all the women, children and men being stripped of their clothes and hearing screaming and loud cries from the showers. He then realised that his family had been killed and were dead. The showers were in fact gas chambers and that anybody who entered, did not come out alive.
Most prisoners earned their living by; a dressmaker, tailors, sorters, goldsmiths, cooks and slaves for the Germans. It was all forced labour and if any Jew refused the work they were killed.
I think that within comparison, the first thirteen men who tried to escape all got caught and a further twenty-six were ordered to die, that three-hundred out of six-hundred Jews were kept in prisoned in Sobibor survived were extremely lucky and successful to be alive.
Gare de Sobibór
Sobibór "Himmelstrasse"
Sobibór - Mémorial sur le site du camp.