About this website

"The Long Shadow of Sobibor" is an interview project representing a unique historical document that consists of interviews that can be watched and listened to online. The collection comprises open interviews taken by Professor Selma Leydesdorff with 9 survivors of the Sobibor revolt (1943) and 22 next of kin to persons murdered in Sobibor. These unique testimonials are far more than stories about camp life alone.

Stories of lives
The interviews are the stories of whole lives, in which people tell about the world that died with their relatives in Sobibor, and how they managed to continue with their lives without their loved ones. They recollect what the murder of their dearest ones or relatives did to them. Often they lost one or both of their parents. Those who survived the revolt that took place in Sobibor on October 14, 1943, also go into their lives before and after the extermination camp in their stories.

Great loss
All interviewees bear the marks of Sobibor. Both next of kin and survivors have severely disturbed lives; they all had to build a new existence after the war. Sobibor stands for wounds that never heal and for a world in which the great killing is always present. By giving these interviews and telling the stories of their lives, next of kin and survivors contribute to a better understanding of what it means to have to cope with an enormous loss. Thanks to their outspokenness Sobibor has become better known to the public.

Broad audience
By making the interviews accessible for a broad audience the Sobibor Foundation hopes to help complete the overall picture of the war and the persecution of the Jews.