Esther Raab

 Sobibor Death Camp Survivor

Selected Extracts from USHMM Interview  Interview held on the 18 February 1992   

 (Photo's added to enhance the text)

Can you describe for me the transport to Sobibor and your arrival there, and what is was like and what happened? I didn’t come by train, I came by horse and wagon because I came from a small working camp. We were like 800 young girls and men and we rode the whole day to Sobibor and the month it was December 1942, December 22 1943, 42, I’m sorry.

And after riding the whole day in the mud and the wagons got stuck in the mud and we had to go down and pull them out, and on the way the farmers were outside, and they said there’s no way your going, they’re going to kill you and they’re going to burn you.

As much as we knew before and as much we heard, we didn’t believe. It was very hard to comprehend, to believe. Why take innocent people and just kill them with no reason at all, and as the day came to an end, was only 20km’s but it took a whole day.

Everybody of us, from us, was so disgusted that we wanted to get it over with. If that’s what they’re going to do to us, let’s do it fast, so we, wont have to suffer.

I mean not physically, we didn’t but mentally. You know it was very hard to sit there and think I have 4 hours or 3 and a half hours or 3 hours. And as we came close to Sobibor, the whole day naturally without food, without water, but that really didn’t bother, we were used to it.

The the SS came out with dogs and started barking, I mean they never talked they barked. You could never make out what they are saying. Although I spoke very well in German, I had it in school and I picked it up more experience during the time, and they started barking.

The SS told us to assemble on the platform, the railroad platform, and we all assembled there and I stood in every way, that and, and you felt already the smell there from the burning bodies and you saw the fire, but you, you didn’t believe it.

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