In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

112 10 Escape from Sobibór The day arrives cloudy and cold. I have never been so nervous or excited in all of my seventeen years. This may be the last day of my life and the end of my suffering. Or I will live. Only two things are certain: today we will take vengeance, and everything will change. I eat breakfast and go to work in the sorting shed as usual. I begin counting the hours until the revolt will begin. At around 10:30 a.m., however, my heart sinks: I spot dozens of German soldiers arriving in trucks! Much as I want to deny it, I know that in all probability there is only one reason why the Germans would call in reinforcements, and that is to help with killing all the prisoners. Perhaps the Germans have found out about our escape plot. Or they have decided to close the camp, and they expect us to resist the liquidation . In either case we can never stage the revolt in the presence of so much extra manpower. I can’t believe that we have come so close only to be so disappointed in the end. What if we had been able to stage the revolt just one day earlier? Then maybe we could have made it out alive! As I work in the sorting shed, I receive a message from another conspirator: “Postponed, pass it on.” I try not to worry. I remind myself that we don’t know for certain why the German soldiers are here. And Leon and Sasha have only “postponed,” not canceled, the revolt. After the evening roll call, however, my hopes revive. Prisoners spread the news that they have seen the troops drinking together and carousing with women. More importantly, the soldiers have already left the camp. It appears that the German soldiers have merely come to Sobibór for some socializing. Symcha tells me the good news: the revolt will take place tomorrow, October 14. One of Judaism’s most important festivals, Sukkot, has already begun at sundown and will continue into tomorrow.1 But regardless of the need for the most religious Jews among us to observe the holiday, the rabbi’s son, Leon, must have agreed with Sasha that the revolt cannot wait any longer. We fear that, any day now, the Germans will suddenly kill everyone in the camp. Delaying even one more day will risk everyone’s lives. Having always wanted to be a doctor, I know what Leon knows: that the obligation to save lives takes precedence over observance of holidays.2 Furthermore , the risk of the conspiracy being compromised has increased greatly now that so many people have been let in on the secret. The group of conspirators has also heard that Wagner is due back from vacation the day after tomorrow, on October 15. I inform Rosa of what has transpired. I still have hope and confidence that we will succeed, but deep inside I wonder if this will be the last night of our lives together. After spending the entire evening in the women’s barracks with Rosa, I tell her how much I love her and kiss her goodnight. I pray it will not be our final kiss. Back in the men’s barracks, I take a long time to fall asleep. I am over- flowing with excitement, looking forward to finally taking vengeance and escaping. But knowing that this might also be the last time I ever lie down to sleep, I also allow myself to look back on my life. Could I have done anything differently to escape my fate? Would I have never ended up in these barracks if I had somehow fled to Palestine before the war or accompanied Jakub to the Soviet Union during the war’s early days? No, I cannot blame myself—I had done everything I could do to save my life and my family members’ lives. Then I become terribly sad thinking of all the things I still want to do: marry Rosa, have children with her, and live a happy, productive life in Palestine. All of this could have been, and none of this will be. I should accept that I may die without knowing the joys of standing under the marriage canopy, raising children, and seeing the Holy Land. But I refuse to despair. As I have learned how to do from my most impoverished neighbors in Izbica, I stay optimistic...

Share