World War II · Film · 1987
Escape from Sobibor
Jewish prisoners kept alive to serve a death camp plan to kill their SS guards one by one and walk out of Sobibor, with the help of newly arrived Soviet Jewish POWs.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 1 places.
Stop 1: Sobibor extermination camp
Key location
Feldhendler and Pechersky lure SS officers into workshops one at a time, then the prisoners rush the fences and the minefield.
What really happened
Sobibor, in eastern Poland, was one of the three Operation Reinhard extermination camps; around 170,000–250,000 Jews were murdered there between May 1942 and October 1943. A small group of prisoners was kept alive to sort the victims' belongings and serve the SS.
On 14 October 1943, prisoners led by Leon Feldhendler and Soviet POW Alexander Pechersky killed eleven SS men and several guards and about 300 broke out; roughly 50–60 survived the war. The SS closed the camp soon after and planted trees over it. The TV film is based on Richard Rashke's book and interviews with survivors.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Escape from Sobibor
- Directed by
- Jack Gold
- Countries
- United Kingdom, Serbia
- Languages
- English
- Released
- 1987
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Eastern Front
- Themes
- Holocaust
- Prisoners of war
- Resistance
- True story
