Alexander Pechersky by Anthony Leveque

Who is Alexander Pechersky?

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 02:33:30 UTC

Alexander Pechersky is a Soviet Jew that was a prisoner that led a successful riot in the death camp Sobibor. Alexander also being a officer in the Soviet army, which happened because of the Germans attacking the Soviet Union in June of 1941. He also had story of extraordinary courage for the millions of Soviet Jews that lived and died in a country that didn't want to acknowledge it's fate.

The Uprising on Sobibor.

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 02:50:22 UTC

On October 14, 1943 a armed uprising took place on Sobibor with hundreds of prisoners escaping. The prisoners were killed or recaptured, and there was about two hundred prisoners left in the camp afterwards with fifty surviving after World War 2. Also, as this happened ten or more SS officers were killed during the revolt.

Sobibor Photo

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 02:53:37 UTC

Photo of Sobibor from a report of Lieutenant Colonel Semion Velsky, August 1944.

Alexander Pechersky

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 02:55:29 UTC

Photo of Alexander ( Sasha ) Pechersky.

Alexander Pechersky Quote

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 04:43:33 UTC

Alexanders had said "What for? To free us all? The partisans have their hands full already. Nobody will do our job for us."

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 04:54:57 UTC

Sobibor Photo

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 04:57:35 UTC

Sobibor from another point before being demolished.

What was Sobibor?

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 16:37:10 UTC

For the Nazi to carry out the killing of European Jews, the SS established killing centers. Sobibor was one of them, and was used primarily used for the destruction of humans in gas chambers. The killing centers was a plan of SS to kill about two million Jews, meaning any that occupied anywhere near Germany and Poland.

Event after Sobibor Uprising.

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 16:47:48 UTC

After the uprising in Sobibor the rest of the officers capturing the two hundred left escapees some more prisoners came from extermination camp Treblinka. When these prisoner came they and the others dismantled the camp. The rest of this camp was closed.

What is left of Sobibor.

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 16:52:44 UTC

To further erase any evidence of the camp’s existence, and a pine forest was planted over the former camp. With a memorial of the camp is there now. And with that over 180,000 people were murder in Sobibor as it existed.

Pechersky Story Told

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 17:07:48 UTC

Pechersky never had it told to anyone till 1960 when he published a book about that no matter how terrible the prospect of being taken prisoner by the Germans seemed. He did it even with not wanting to linger over the thoughts of what happened there. He wrote it because he also wanted to show who him and his comrades fought off unfaceable odds.

Alexander Imprisoning.

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 17:29:39 UTC

When Alexander was taken prisoner October 1941 he became on the millions of Red Army that would face fate. With this about 5.7 million surrendered and became prisoners, and 3.3 million dying by the end of the war. While captured he did everything to not seem like a Jew, but the only thing that would've gave him away was his patronymic, Aronovich, and that he was circumcised.

The Area Today of Sobibor.

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 17:32:16 UTC

Pechersky's Objective

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 17:36:41 UTC

Pechersky’s objective was to cross the Bug and link up with Soviet partisans. On the first day after the revolt, he found himself leading a group of some 60 people, a mix of his Red Army POWs and Jewish prisoners from different countries. But it was clear to him, as it was to some others, that it would be difficult if not impossible for such a large group to avoid detection. Further, the Polish Jews knew the language and the territory and could fend for themselves, whereas he and his men were Red Army soldiers who wished to return to their country and resume the fight against the fascists.

Sources

anthonyleveque — 2025-03-12 17:53:35 UTC

Bezmozgis, David. “The Afterlife.” Tablet, ARTS & LETTERS, October 14, 2020, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/article/sasha-perchersky-sobibor-russian-jews-david-bezmozgis . Accessed 4 March 2025.

“Case Study: Sobibór.” The Holocaust Explained, The Wiener Holocaust Library, https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-camps/case-study-sobibor/the-sobibor-uprising. Accessed 4 March 2025.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,Washington DC “Sobibor” Holocaust Encyclopedia, October 2, 2020, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/sobibor. Accessed 4 March 2025.