Treblinka Death Camp Revolt
Treblinka II was a Nazi death camp, in operation from July 1942 to October 1943. As part of the Final Solution, the camp, built during Operation Reinhard, was responsible for the deaths of some 700,000 to 900,000 Jews in the 14 months it was in operation. Unlike some camps, Treblinka II was not a labor camp—it maintained only a small group of forced laborers to handle body disposal, called the Sonderkommandos.
By 1943, the Germans were suffering increasing losses, and Jewish workers at Treblinka began to organize, forming the Organizing Committee. While they suffered some significant losses, including the capture and suicide of one of their leader, by August they had a copy of the key to the weapons room at Treblinka, and had learned of the revolt in the Warsaw ghetto. They believed the camp was likely to be liquidated in the near future, so the brave revolt offered a sole chance for survival.
The revolt at Treblinka took place on August 2, 1943. In total, some 300 men were involved in the revolt at Treblinka. With the key to the weapons room, the prisoners had access to weapons. They were able to kill some members of the SS in private workshops at the camp, before seizing machine guns and beginning a massive assault on the German and Ukranian camp guards. Some buildings were set on fire, and they continued the fight to allow as many prisoners as possible to escape. Three hundred men got away from the camp in the revolt.
The SS immediately began hunting the escaped prisoners. Of the 300 that escaped, around 100 men survived Treblinka. These are the only survivors of the Treblinka death camp. The recaptured prisoners were forced to aid in the dismantling of the camp, then shot. The survivors of Treblinka provided key evidence about the camp, particularly Jankiel Wiernik, who took shelter with a Pole and later published his account of the revolt.