Retrospective Sobibor: Resistance and Hope. Tunnel and the captain.
At the end of the session, Ivar Schute, the Dutch Holocaust archaeologist, raised his hand and asked, “Was there a connection between the escape tunnel and the murder of the captain?” This question was the culmination of the entire meeting.
Opening
On the afternoon of October 27, Liesbeth van der Horst opened the gathering. As the director of the Dutch Resistance Museum, she introduced the new title of the annual event: Sobibor: Resistance and Hope. She also proudly announced that the museum had expanded its permanent exhibition to include a focus on World War II in the colonies and the subsequent struggle for independence.
Christine Gispen, chairperson of the Sobibor Foundation, emphasized the theme of hope — hope for a better world order. She then seamlessly introduced the two upcoming speakers, connecting their contributions with finesse.
The captain
Jozeph Jacobs,the Dutch captain of The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, was the focus of journalist Rosanne Kropman’s presentation. Thanks to social media, we now know who this courageous little man was and even have photos of Jacobs. In one of the chapters of her book The Darkest Darkness, she talks about the Dutch preparator of the infamous uprising on October 14, 1943. Jacobs had only recently arrived at the camp and was known among the so-called work Jews as someone actively seeking information about escape opportunities. Meanwhile, he didn’t know that the work Jews in the strictly segregated Lager III were secretly digging an escape tunnel.
Archeology
This tunnel was uncovered by archaeologists in modern-day Sobibor. About these excavations Erik Schumacher of the NIOD wrote Traces of Sobibor. In it and in his presentation, he makes the connection between individual objects from Sobibor with the victims and with their lives before the Holocaust. Tens of thousands of objects have been excavated from the soil. And only a few can be traced back to individuals. Yet Schumacher argues that every nameless object, every brooch, toothbrush, lipstick or mug speaks of individuality. The hope to remain human and stubbornly cling to it. That too is resistance and, I add myself, hope.
In the end, the tunnel was betrayed. And because the Dutch Jews in Lager III were blamed, the SS decided to force the Dutch troublemaker Jacobs to name co-perpetrators. He held his jaws together. Along with all the Dutch men, some 70, from Lager II were murdered. This kept hope and resistance alive and was even fueled among the remaining Polish and Russian Jews. On October 14, at the end of the workday, the first SS was killed and the resistance began.
Jules Schelvis Scholar Award 2024: survivors of the uprising
Thanks to the uprisers who managed to survive World War II, Sobibor has become known worldwide. About two (Selma Engel-Wijnberg and Toivi Blatt) of them Tess and Sophie of the Sint-Maartenscollege in Voorburg wrote their award winning high school profile paper (in Dutch).
Hope and resistance
After the conversation led by Petra van den Boomgaard with Kropman and Schumacher, the question came up, “Was there a connection between the escape tunnel and the murder of the captain? Actually, the answer does not matter. What matters is that this afternoon knowledge will be shared about Dutchmen in the camp and the results of archaeological excavations. Also important are the young people taking an interest in people who kept hope under the most difficult circumstances. Kept hope for a better future until the very last moment. Hope to make the horrors of Sobibor known to the world. That is resistance.
