Figure 1.--The Sobibor death camp was run by SS officers using Ukranian guards. Here is a scene as the transports have just arrived at Sobibor. The Ukranian guards are driving the Jews just off the transports into orderly lines on the train platform. They are separating the men and women (who kept the children).

'Escape From Sobibor' is the true story of a mass escape from the Sobibor death camp. In the film, lne of the craftsmen allowed to live was a young goldsmith by the name of Stanislaw 'Shlomo' Szmajzner (Simon Gregor) and his younger brother Moses (Eli Nathenson). In one scene Moses is sent to another part of the camp, which in fact is where the gas chambers are to collect some gold for his brother to work on. It is when he reaches this part of the camp and sees the naked men, women and children going to be gassed then he realises the full horror of what has happened to his own parents. When he returns to the main camp he tells his brother who swears vengeance. The actual escape involved the killing of both German and Ukrainian guards. A huge undertaking with around 600 prisoners involved. The big revolt should happen on October 13th 1943, but the unexpected arrival of an SS troop from the labour camp at Ossowa, caused a delay for 24 hours. On October 14th 1943 commander Reichleitner, Gustav Wagner and Hubert Gomerski were on leave. The absence of Wagner and Gomerski, two of the cruellest SS men in Sobibor, seriously weakened the guard garrison. At about 4 p.m. deputy commander Johann Niemann visited the tailor shop to try on a new uniform. There he was killed by Yehuda Lerner with a blow from an axe. The revolt had begun, there was no turning back.

Created: 7:03 PM 11/30/2011
Last updated: 7:03 PM 11/30/2011