Simjon Rosenfeld[1] (October 1, 1922[2] – June 3, 2019[3]) was a survivor of the Sobibor death camp and a participant in the prisoner revolt which took place in that camp.[4] Born in Baranowicze, Poland (now Belarus), in 1940 he was recruited to the Red Army.[5] In 1941, the Germans captured him and sent him to build a labor camp in Minsk. On 20 September 1943[6] he was transferred to Sobibor.[7] The Germans separated the Jewish and non-Jewish soldiers but refrained from killing the Jews as they had war prisoner status. On October 14, 1943, Rosenfeld participated in the uprising that resulted in his escape.[2] Acting commander SS Untersturmfuehrer Johann Niemann entered the tailor shop in which Rosenfeld worked. While Isaac Lichtman held Niemann's leg tight – seemingly in an effort to pull off his boots – Rosenfeld and Arcady Wajspaper came out of the back room and split his skull with an axe.[8] Rosenfeld escaped together with Dov Freiberg and later they joined Joseph Serchuk's partisan unit. 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. After the war, he moved to Ukraine and then to Israel in the 1980s.[9] Rosenfeld had two sons and five grandchildren at the time of his death.[10] He received a eulogy from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Sobibor Roll of Remembrance". www.deathcamps.org. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ a b "Survivors of the revolt - Sobibor Interviews". www.sobiborinterviews.nl. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ "r/history - Last known survivor of Sobibor Nazi death camp uprising dies at 96". reddit. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ Lebovic, Matt. "With death of last Sobibor survivor, experts feud over site's transformation". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ "Sobibor Remember Me! Us". www.holocaustresearchproject.org. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ "Holocaust Historical Society". www.holocausthistoricalsociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ "Sobibor's last survivor: There was no time to fear, only to live". Ynetnews. 2014-09-18. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ "Sobibor : Topic, pictures and information - Fold3.com". Fold3. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ "Last survivor of Sobibor death camp uprising dies". 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ Winer, Stuart. "Last survivor of Sobibor death camp uprising dies, aged 97". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ Ian. "06/03 Links Pt2: Jeremy Corbyn, a Pro-Terrorist Prime Minister?; TalkRadio Fires Galloway Over Anti-Semitism; Last survivor of Sobibor death camp uprising dies, aged 97". Retrieved 2019-06-12.