The Sobibor Uprising was a revolt initiated by Jewish prisoners in the Sobibor killing center.
Occurred on October 14, 1943.
Prisoners killed 11 members of the camp's SS staff, including deputy commandant Johann Niemann.
Key Participants
Chaim Engel
Soldier in the Polish army captured during Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939.
Deported to Sobibor camp, where his family perished.
Participated in the 1943 uprising, during which he killed a guard and escaped with his girlfriend, Selma.
They hid until liberation in June 1944.
Tomasz (Toivi) Blatt
Born in Izbica, Tomasz initially avoided deportations due to work in a garage.
Caught on an escape attempt to Hungary; returned to Izbica.
Deported to Sobibor in April 1943, escaped during the uprising, and later worked as a courier for the Polish underground.
Esther Raab
Born in Chelm, Poland, and deported to Sobibor in December 1942.
Worked in a sorting shed in the camp.
Part of the planning group for the uprising, led by Leon Feldhendler and Aleksandr Pechersky.
Escaped during the revolt, surviving despite the guards opening fire.
Kurt Thomas
Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia; later moved to Boskovice.
Deported to Theresienstadt, then Piaski ghetto, and finally Sobibor.
Escaped during the Sobibor uprising and hid on a farm until liberation.
Immigrated to the U.S. in February 1948.
Uprising Details
The revolt was planned by a group of prisoners including Esther Raab.
Leon Feldhendler and Aleksandr (Sasha) Pechersky were leaders.
Prisoners attacked guards and tried to escape the camp.
Approximately 300 prisoners escaped, but over 100 were recaptured and shot.
Wider Context
Between 1941 and 1943, Jewish resistance movements developed in about 100 ghettos in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe.
Aimed to organize uprisings, escape ghettos, and join partisan units.
Successful uprisings also occurred in Treblinka, Sobibor, and Auschwitz camps.
Despite knowing limited chances of success, Jews chose to resist under adverse conditions, exemplified by camp uprisings and escapes to join partisans.