This is a list of survivors of the Sobibor extermination camp. The list is divided into two groups. The first comprises the 58 known survivors of those selected to perform forced labour for the camp's daily operation. The second comprises those deported to Sobibor but selected there for forced labor in other camps.
Survivors among Sobibor's forced labourers This list is as complete as current records allow. There were 58 known Sobibor survivors: 48 male and 10 female. Except where noted, the survivors were , inmates who performed slave-labour for the daily operation of the camp, who escaped during the camp-wide revolt on .
The vast majority of the people taken to Sobibor did not survive but were shot or gassed immediately upon arrival. Of the forced to work as in , the camp's extermination area where the gas chambers and most of the mass graves were located, no one survived.
Name Birth Death Age at Death From Ethnicity Arrival Other names/spellings Notes83Chełm, PolandJewish (approximately)Worked as a carpenter, and served on the . Emigrated to Rehovot, Israel.75Płock, Poland, from ZamośćChanged name from Moshe Szklarek.Worked in provisions barracks, in the , and as a barber. Emigrated to Israel, where he wrote a testimony for the Ghetto Fighter's House and testified at the Eichmann Trial. (approximately)50Lemberg, Poland from Drancy, France.Later settled in Belgium.Izbica, Poland or Surname also "Białowicz". First name sometimes "Fishel" or "Fiszel".Brother of Symcha Bialowitz. Worked in sorting barracks and provisions barracks, and as a barber and member. Emigrated to the US and co-authored the memoir A Promise At Sobibor with his son Joseph.101Brother of Philip Bialowitz. Worked in the and in the camp pharmacy. Participated in the revolt. Married a survivor from Zamość and settled in Israel.76Hrubieszów, Poland or Was unloading a truck full of vodka for SS Erich Bauer when the revolt began. Hid in Camp IV and escaped that night. Joined the Parczew partisansSobibor Interviews: Survivors of the revolt and later settled in Israel, where he gave testimony in the Eichmann trial.Izbica, PolandName also rendered as Toivi Blatt and Tomasz Blatt. Used the Polish name Bolesław Stankiewicz for a short period after the war.Escaped over the fence in the . Witness in post-war trials. Wrote Sobibor memoir From the Ashes of Sobibor and history Sobibor: The Forgotten Revolt. Worked as an assistant to Richard Rashke in writing Escape from Sobibor and acted as a consultant on the movie adaptation. Interviewed Karl Frenzel.Kurów, PolandHershel Zuckerman, including in Escape from Sobibor.Father of Josef Cukierman. Arrived with wife and daughters who were gassed on arrival. Worked as a gardener before the war, but told the SS that he was a cook in order to be selected for work. Had an excellent memory which helped him identify SS officers in postwar trials. from Opole Lubelski GhettoJoseph ZuckermanSon of Herschel Cukierman. Worked with his father in the kitchens. After the war, lived in Stuttgart before moving to Karlsruhe.Josef DuniecRówno, PolandSent to Sobibor from Drancy, having emigrated to France in 1932 in order to study chemistry. Moved to Israel after the war, where he died of a heart attack the day before he was expected to testify at the Sobibor trial.73Chełm, PolandSpring Leon SzymielStayed in Poland after war. Testimony available at ushmm.orgBrudzew, PolandKilled Rudolf Beckmann during the revolt. Escaped with Selma Wijnberg-Engel and survived the rest of the war in hiding. The two later married and moved to Connecticut.Zwolle, NetherlandsSaartje Engel, Selma Engel, Saartje Wijnberg, Selma Wijnberg, Selma WynbergWorked in the sorting barracks and . Escaped with Chaim Engel during the revolt. They survived the rest of the war in hiding together. The two later married.34 or 35Żółkiewka, Polandearly First name sometimes Lejb or Lejba. Surname sometimes Felhendler.One of the co-organizers of the revolt. After fighting as a partisan, made his way back to Lublin, where he was murdered under disputed circumstances.80Warsaw, PolandFirst name also Berek.Deported to Sobibor from Krasnystaw, where he had been sent from the Warsaw Ghetto. After the revolt, hid with Simeon Rosenfeld after the revolt. Gave testimony at the Eichmann trial. Author of memoir "To Survive Sobibor".Catharina Gokkes in Digital Monument to the Jewish Community in the NetherlandsMiriam Novitch, Sobibor: Martyrdom and Revolt (Paperback 1980), pages 86, 88Loe de Jong, The Kingdom of the Netherlands During World War II, Part 8b, page 883NetherlandsFirst name also Kitty, Katty, Kathy.Was shot in the leg by Karl Frenzel during the escape. Joined Parczew partisans but was killed before liberation.Piaski, PolandFirst name also Moshe.Worked as a sign painter in Sobibor. Joined the Parczew partisans after the revolt and later settled in Israel.80Żółkiewka, PolandWorked in the sorting barracks. Later moved to Israel. Gave testimony at war crime trails.jewishgen.org Moshe Hochman, Eyewitness Testimony of Moshe Hochman Worked as the foreman in the tailor's shop. He hid Niemann's body after getting him to try on a new jacket.79Kiev, UkraineEscaped from the camp twice. Taken to Sobibor in November 1942 from Gorzków near Izbica, he escaped by crawling under a fence. Was captured and sent back in April 1943, where he worked in the kitchen and in the forest brigade. Escaped from the forest brigade and joined the Parczew partisans.Łódź, PolandAbraham Kohn Worked in the kitchens, the sorting barracks, and forest brigade. Later moved to Australia. or 1945Biłgoraj, PolandAllegedly escaped by killing a Ukrainian guard on while on duties outside of the camp in the nearby village of Zlobek; did not survive World War II.79Izbica, PolandWorked in the forest brigade. Unclear whether he escaped with the forest brigade or in the ultimate revolt. Later moved to Italy, then Brazil.unknownPolishTestimony available.From Chelm to Sobibor . . . statement by Chaim Powroznik, in Chelm on January 10, 1944, referenced by USHMMUnknownŻółkiewka, PolandLajstLittle is known about him except that he worked in Sobibor as a gardener and that he settled in Israel after the war.93SzmuelWorked in the stables and later in the Erbhof, taking care of chickens and ducks. During the revolt, he escaped with Ester Raab and hid with a friend of her family. In 1949, he and Raab encountered Sobibor "gasmeister" Hermann Erich Bauer in Berlin, leading to his arrest. Moved to New York City and became a cab driver.81 yearsWarsaw, PolandJehuda Lerner, sometimes went by "Leon"He and Arkady Wajspapir killed two guards, Siegfried Graetschus and Volksdeutscher Ivan Klatt during the revolt. Joined the Parczew partisans and later settled in Israel. Interviewed extensively in the documentary Sobibor, October 14, 1943, 4 p.m.78 Jarosław, PolandEda Fisher, Eda LichtmanWorked in the laundry and as a knitress, where she was regarded as a "surrogate mother" to other prisoners. Joined the Parczew partisans. Moved to Israel, married another survivor, and gave testimony at the Eichmann trial.83 or 84Żółkiewka, PolandItzhak LichtmanJoined the Parczew partisans. Married Ada Lichtman (Fischer).71SovietRed Army soldier in Pechersky's group. Was a participant of the uprising and subsequently rejoined the Red Army.62 or 63Żyrardów, Polandlate Worked in the Bahnhofskommando, as well as kitchens and sorting barracks. Joined the Parczew partisans with Hela Felenbaum-Weiss, then emigrated to Israel, where he worked as a printer. 73 or 74Koło, PolandWorked in sorting barracks then as a shoe shiner and hat maker. Emigrated to Australia after the war.86PolishWorked with Felhendler to plan revolt.54 or 55Siedliszcze, PolandZelda KelbermannCousin of Regina Zielinski. Worked as a knitress and in the laundry. Went to Lviv after the escape, where pretended to be Catholic and worked as a nanny. Emigrated to the US in 1946.UkrainianChief organizer and leader of the revolt. Red Army soldier who joined the Parczew partisans.unknownBelarusianSurname also listed as Plotnikow;Lived in Pinsk, Belarus after the war.Shlomo Podchlebnik66 PolishHe and Josef Kopp escaped by killing a Ukrainian guard on while on duties outside of the camp in the nearby village of Zlobek.29GermanLuka, LoekaIdentified by Jules Schelvis as likely identity of "Luka". Presumed dead following mass escape.Gertrud Poppert, née Schönborn in the German Federal Archives Memorial BookToivi Blatt interviews Sasha Pechersky about "Luka" in 1980; retrieved on 8 May 2009.92Polish Née Terner, she became known as Esther Raab after her 1946 marriage to Irving Raab. She identified gas chamber executioner Erich Bauer after the war in Berlin, leading to his arrest.Last survivor of Sobibor death camp dies aged 96; retrieved on 3 June 2019.96SovietSemion Rosenfeld, Semyon Rosenfeld, Semion Rozenfeld.Red Army soldier under Pechersky's command. Was separated from the other Russians and survived in hiding. Rejoined the Red Army and fought in the Battle of Berlin, where he carved the name "Sobibor" into the wall of the Reich Chancellery. Returned to the Soviet Union, but eventually emigrated to Israel.69PolishJoined the Parczew partisans. Murdered in 1994 in Israel by two Palestinian terrorists.74Surname also spelled Serczuk.Brothers Joseph and David Serchuk escaped the day after arriving when on forest duty.BelarusianOften referred to in accounts by the nickname "Kali Mali".Red Army soldier. Killed deputy commandant Johann Niemann with an axe to his head. Joined the Parczew partisans after escaping the camp, but was killed.Arad, Yitzhak. Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka: The Operation Reinhard Death Camps. Indiana University Press. 1987.57GermanChanged her name to Ilana Safran after the war.Joined the Parczew partisans. Witness at Hagen trial.PolishShlomo Smajzner, Szlomo SmajznerGoldsmith and machinist in Sobibor. Made the knives used in the revolt, and also stole rifles. Shot a guard in one of the guard towers. After escaping, joined the Parczew partisans and eventually emigrated to Brazil where he worked as an executive in a paper factory. Testified against Franz Stangl, and identified Gustav Wagner at a police station in Goiana.Belarusian Job was to cut the barbed wire fence as a backup exit.CzechKurt ThomasWorked as a nurse in Sobibor. After the war, he brought charges against SS officers Hubert Gomerski and Johann Klier.PolishShrulkeCamp bricklayer and train station worker. After the war moved to Israel.Ukrainianautumn Worked in sorting room.BBC History of World War II. Auschwitz; Inside the Nazi State. Part 4, Corruption.96RussianHe and Jehuda Lerner killed two guards with axe blows, Siegfried Graetschus and Volksdeutscher Ivan Klatt, during the revolt. A Red Army soldier, he joined the Parczew partisans.57PolishEscaped on , along with four other prisoners.Hela Felenbaum-Weiss63Joined the Parczew partisans; later joined the Red Army.UnknownJoined partisans after the revolt.Née FeldmanWorked as a knitter in Sobibor. After the war, married a Polish Catholic army officer and settled in Australia. Her son wrote a book "Conversations with Regina" which recounts her experiences as well as his own later-in-life discovery of his Jewish origins and his mother's status as a Holocaust survivor.Żółkiewka, PolandArrived on one of the first transports. After the war, he moved to Venezuela and then to Israel, where he worked in electronics.
Survivors among those selected at Sobibor for forced labour in other camps