Treblinka Uprising Was Partially Successful

The Treblinka uprising was a rebellion and mass escape of prisoners that took place on August 2, 1943 at the German Nazi Treblinka II killing center.

The uprising was organized by the camp’s resistance group, which had formed in the early months of 1943. Its goal was to destroy the extermination center (it did not happen) and enable a mass escape of the prisoners (it did).

The conspirators managed to acquire weapons from a German warehouse, but due to the premature start of the uprising, they were unable to eliminate the camp staff or destroy the gas chambers.

Out of approximately 840 prisoners who were in the camp at the time of the uprising (Treblinka II was the death factory, not the forced labor camp), half were killed in the fighting, and nearly 400 managed to escape (so the uprising was partially successful). Fewer than 70 of the escapees survived the war.

From the outset, the Germans planned that all physical labor in the killing centers – especially tasks directly related to the process of murder – would be carried out by Jewish prisoners who were spared immediate death in the gas chambers.

On average, between 700 and 1,500 prisoners worked in the reception and administrative-living areas of the camp. Their tasks included leading victims from the trains, forcing them to undress, sorting looted clothing and belongings, cutting women’s hair, and performing various other duties for the camp and its guards.

As Generaloberst Ludwig Beck eloquently put it, “in a military operation nothing ever happens according to plan”. And Treblinka revolt was no exception. Due to unexpected turn of events, the insurgents were force to prematurely shoot SS-Oberscharf;hrer Kurt K;ttner, commander of the so-called “lower camp”.

Immediately, all Hell broke loose (literally). Chaotic gunfire erupted in various parts of the “lower camp”. Leader of the uprising, who had unfortunately chosen a poor command post, quickly lost control of the battle.

Hundreds of prisoners (both involved and not involved in the uprising) began a chaotic escape. The insurgents set fire to some buildings and took control of the guardhouse, where they found some weapons. Although the central watchtower had been neutralized, the guards in the towers along the fence decimated the escaping prisoners with machine gun fire. Nonetheless, 400 prisoners managed to escape the camp.

However, within the first 24 hours, nearly half of the escapees were captured and murdered. In the following days, approximately 100 more escapees were killed. Only 70 survived the war.