In a small village called Sobibór in eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine, lies the site of one of the most notorious Nazi extermination camps of World War II. Between April 1942 and October 1943, it‘s estimated that at least 170,000 Jews, possibly as many as 250,000, were murdered in the gas chambers of Sobibor as part of Operation Reinhard – the Nazi plan to systematically eradicate Polish Jewry.
For decades after the war, the site of the former death camp was neglected and largely forgotten. But in recent years, the Sobibor Museum (Muzeum Byłego Hitlerowskiego Obozu Zagłady w Sobiborze) was established to honor the memory of the victims and educate visitors about this dark chapter of history. Larger than the museums at the other Operation Reinhard camps of Belzec and Treblinka, it opened to the public in 2020.
Upon entering the museum‘s exhibition space, one is confronted with haunting photographs, documents, and artifacts that tell the story of Sobibor and its prisoners. The exhibits are divided into 16 thematic sections that cover topics like the construction of the camp, the process of mass extermination, and the courageous prisoner uprising that took place there on October 14, 1943.
This revolt, led by Jewish prisoners including Leon Feldhendler and Alexander Pechersky, a Soviet-Jewish POW, represented the most successful uprising and mass escape from any Nazi camp during the Holocaust. The rebels killed 11 SS officers and freed around 300 prisoners, though tragically many were recaptured and killed. After the revolt, the Nazis dismantled the camp and planted trees to hide evidence of their crimes. But thanks to archaeological excavations in the early 2000s, burial pits and the foundations of the gas chambers were uncovered.
As you walk through the museum and out onto the grounds, memorial plaques, sculptures and a towering stone obelisk engraved with a menorah pay tribute to the victims. Marble stones now cover the field where the mass graves were located. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer a somber view of the landscape that was the last sight for so many innocent people.
While it can be an emotionally overwhelming experience, a visit to the Sobibor Museum is an important act of remembrance and a powerful reminder of the lives cut short by hatred and genocide. Getting there requires a 3 hour drive or train ride from Warsaw to the nearby town of Włodawa. The museum is open to the public Tuesday-Sunday from 9am to 5pm (4pm in winter). Guided tours in English can be arranged in advance.
As the Holocaust recedes further into the past and the last survivors pass away, memorials like the Sobibor Museum will only become more vital to ensuring the world never forgets what happened there. By bearing witness to one of history‘s darkest moments, we can strive to build a future of greater tolerance, empathy and "never again".
