Location
Detailed map of occupied Poland
The Sobibor death camp was located near the Sobibor village, on the eastern part of the Lublin district of Poland. Sobibor was near to the Chelm-Wlodawa railway line. It was 5km away from the Bug River which now forms the border between Poland and the Ukraine. It was a necessity for concentration camps to be located near railroads in order to receive transported victims. They also needed to be located in sparsely populated areas in order for Operation Reinhard (Operation Reinhard being the plan exterminate all Jews) to exist in secrecy. The Jewish victims transported to Sobibor mainly hailed from Lublin, Czechoslavakia, Germany, and Austria. Most of the victims were taken from ghettos in Poland or Theresienstadt. However, in the last months of use, Sobibor was used for the extermination of Jews from the Vilna, Minsk, and Lida ghettos.
Timeline
Location of the "Operation Reinhard" installations in occupied Poland
November 21, 1941- March 1942- Starting November 21, three extermination camps were created to exterminate the surrounding ghettos containing Jewish people. The first camp was Belzec, followed by Sobibor and Treblinka. Hundreds of Jewish workers built the camp along with local Polish workers. They began construction work during March of 1942.
May 1942- In occupied Poland, Sobibor Execution Camp became operational. It was made with three gas chambers using carbon monoxide, but later changed to Zyklon B. Sobibor was the second camp death camp to be constructed as part of the Aktion Reinhard program. In the first phase of killing operations at least 90,000-100,000 Jews perished in Sobibor.
May 1942- In occupied Poland, Sobibor Execution Camp became operational. It was made with three gas chambers using carbon monoxide, but later changed to Zyklon B. Sobibor was the second camp death camp to be constructed as part of the Aktion Reinhard program. In the first phase of killing operations at least 90,000-100,000 Jews perished in Sobibor.
The junction where the railroad spur branched
off into Sobibor
July 1942- deportations to Sobibor death camp temporarily ceased because of construction work on the Lublin-Chelm railway line.
October 13, 1942- This was the intended date of the prisoner revolt. It was pushed back 24 hours due to the unexpected arrival of SS troops from Osowa Labor camp.
April 30. 1943- Uprisings occurred when trains reached their final destinations. Those arriving at the Sobibor death camp attacked the Germans and Ukrainians guarding the railroad platform. Many guards were badly injured before the uprising was controlled and the Jewish rebels killed.
October 13, 1942- This was the intended date of the prisoner revolt. It was pushed back 24 hours due to the unexpected arrival of SS troops from Osowa Labor camp.
April 30. 1943- Uprisings occurred when trains reached their final destinations. Those arriving at the Sobibor death camp attacked the Germans and Ukrainians guarding the railroad platform. Many guards were badly injured before the uprising was controlled and the Jewish rebels killed.
Jewish children
October 14, 1943- There is a mass escape of Jewish prisoners and prisoners of war. Three hundred of the revolt members made it out of the camp and into the woods, however only 50 of them survived.
October 20, 1943- Five cargo wagons left Treblinka death camp to Sobibor with a few dozen Jews and their Kapo to destroy Sobibor camp. These men were involved in the dismantling of Treblinka following the revolt, in August 1943. The dismantling of Sobibor took about a month to complete and the Jewish workers helping to destroy the camp were brutally murdered after finishing their work.
October 20, 1943- Five cargo wagons left Treblinka death camp to Sobibor with a few dozen Jews and their Kapo to destroy Sobibor camp. These men were involved in the dismantling of Treblinka following the revolt, in August 1943. The dismantling of Sobibor took about a month to complete and the Jewish workers helping to destroy the camp were brutally murdered after finishing their work.
Model of Sobibor
November 23, 1943- Gustav Wagner, staff sergeant, announced the final liquidation.
September 6, 1965- The German court in Hagen initiated criminal proceedings against twelve former SS men, accusing them of crimes against humanity.
September 6, 1965- The German court in Hagen initiated criminal proceedings against twelve former SS men, accusing them of crimes against humanity.