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Sobibor: Death Camp |
| Sobibor is established
March 1943. There first commander was Franz Stangl. About 700 Jewish
workers temporarily to service that camp. They had 3 gas chambers (later
6). The number of deaths were 250,000 most being Jews. The site measured
about 1,300 by 2,000 feet surrounded by triple line barb wire fence and they
were watched by watchtowers. The gas chambers were 12 feet by 12 feet.
Each gas chamber held 160-180 people. From May 1942- july1942,100,000 Jews
were murdered. The killing process took about 20-30 minutes. Prossing 1 of
a convoy of 26 wagons took about 2-3 hours.
Between August and September 1942, the murdering had stopped killing , so repairs could be made on the main track feeding to Sobibor. The 6 gas chambers enabled SS to kill about 1,200 people at the same time. Then they would burrier them. Now the campus under commander of Franz Reichsleiter. He continued the operations in October 1942 and worked through to spring1943. Over this period ,70-80,000 Galican Jews,145-150,000 Jews from the General-Government, and 25,000 Slovak Jews were murdered. March 1943 the first transport of French Jews arrived. Between March and July1943,19 Dutch transport brought 35,000 Jews were from Holland. The last months of the ,Sobibor was used to murder Jews of the Vilna, Minsk and Lada ghettos. Its estimated that 250,000 were murdered at Sobibor. In July1943, Himmler, who had visited camp in February, he ordered that it be a converted into a concentration camp. This edict effetely served an death notice on the Jewish workers who then organized a resistant movement and worked out an escape plan. It was led by Leon Feldherdler. he was a subsequentassised by Alexander Pechersky, a Jewish officer in a transporter Red Army POW's which arrived in the camp in September 1943. The uprising launched October,14 1943. 300 Jews escaped but dozens of them were killed in the mine field around the camp and dozens more were hunted down over subsequent days. Of all the people who broke out about 50 survived to see the end of the war. The camp was liquid at the end of October 1943 and the site disguised as a farm. 260,000 Jews were killed between June 1942 till the uprising and escape 365 work force prisoners on the 14, October 1943. After the escape the town got down. Only 47 could escape and survive to see the end of the war. The people who arrived were sure to be killed within several hours. The camp was divided into 4 different sections the pre camp was were the Germans were housed. Larger I was the part of the camp and it was were the prisoners lived and were they worked. When they entered the gas chambers they were completely bald. As though in response to an order, several axes had been hidden in coats and were brought down on his head. A few women who were frightened by what they saw and began to scream, some even fainted. Some of the people ran like crazy without thinking and without any propose. That situation there was no question of origination or maintaining order there for I shouted at the top of my voice ''Forward comrades!'' ''Forward.'' someone echoed behind me on the right. '' For the Fatherland for Stalin, Forward!'' Six thousand men cried ''HURRAH!!" for life and freedom. Machine guns were fired and we didn't know whether to go right, left, forward, or backward. We aimed for the forest. We walked for three Kilometers over open canal about 5 or 6 meters wide. ''Sasha, their are some of our people. they found tree trunks by the side of the canal and they are crossing on them to the other side. Kalinmali is leading them. The author, Alexander Peczorski, a Jewish prisoner of the war.
John Shaver 7th Rossville Jr. High Spring 2001 |