Children…

The death camp revolts
Of all the attempts made to resist during the Holocaust,
those in death camps were both the bravest and
the most futile. The Jewish prisoners knew they were
destined to die and that death could come any moment.
Every attempted escape led to intensive manhunts. In
spite of such obstacles, revolts took place: in Treblinka
August 1943, Sobibor October 1943, and Auschwitz-
Birkenau October 1944.
The revolt in Treblinka began the afternoon of 2
August. Some prisoners obtained weapons, and others
attacked the guards with axes, shovels and their bare
hands. Camp buildings were set on fire and in the ensuing
chaos, many of the 700 prisoners escaped. Most
were quickly recaptured and killed. Fewer than 100
survived both the revolt and the war. Treblinka’s gas
chambers remained active for two weeks afterwards.
The revolt in Sobibor on 14 October was the best
organised. A number of SS soldiers and their Ukrainian
auxiliaries were killed. Of the 550 prisoners in the camp
that day, some 320 escaped, though 170 were quickly
recaptured and killed. All in all, 48 prisoners managed
to survive through to war’s end. After the revolt, the
camp was closed down.
By autumn of 1944, the mass murder at Birkenau
had diminished. Surviving Sonderkommando members
knew their days were numbered. On 7 October, they
blew up Crematorium 4, using explosives smuggled in
by some female prisoners. As far as is known, no one
survived this revolt. Soon afterwards, Himmler ordered
the remaining gas chambers dismantled and destroyed.
“Exactly at four in the afternoon, emissaries are sent
to the groups with the order to come immediately to
the garage to receive weapons. Rodak from Płock is
in charge of distributing them. Everyone who comes
to receive a weapon is obliged to state the password:
“Death!” To which comes the answer: ‘Life!’ ‘Death –
life,’ ‘death – life’ – the ardent messages are repeated
in quick succession and hands are stretched out to
grasp the much longed-for rifles, pistols and hand
grenades. At the same time, the chief murderers in
the camp are being attacked. (…) Captain Zelomir
attacks two SS guards with an axe and breaks
through to us. He takes over command. By the garage
stands a German armoured car whose engine Rodak
has immobilised in good time. Now the car serves
him as shelter, from which he fires at the Germans.
His shots fell Sturmführer Kurt Meidlar and several
of Hitler’s hounds. The armoury is captured by
Sodovitz’s group. The weapons are divided up among
the comrades. We have two hundred armed men. The
remainder attack the Germans with axes, spades and
pickaxes. (…) Most of our warriors fall, but the Germans
fall as well. Few of us are left.”
STANISLAW KON, SURVIVING PARTICIPANT OF THE TREBLINKA REVOLT
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