Sobibor Perpetrator Collection

The Sobibor Perpetrator Collection provides an unprecedented view into the operations of one of the killing centers Nazi Germany established for the sole purpose of murdering Jews. Sobibor was located in German-occupied Poland and in operation from April 1942 until November 1943.

Originally belonging to the camp’s deputy commandant Johann Niemann, this large collection of recently discovered photographs and documents offers new insights into the implementation of the “Final Solution” and confirms what scholars know about Sobibor but could not corroborate with visual evidence.

Niemann was one of 11 German personnel and Trawniki-trained guards killed on October 14, 1943, in the Sobibor uprising. Three hundred prisoners escaped the killing center, although a third of those were later caught. After the uprising, Niemann’s personal effects were returned to his widow. Decades later, his grandson gifted them to German historians who donated the artifacts to the Museum in early 2020.

This collection of photos and documents is now safeguarded at the Museum, which is home to the world’s largest collection of Holocaust evidence and is one of the few institutions that collects evidence generated by perpetrators. It is part of our dedication to furthering Holocaust scholarship and analyzing not only what happened during the Holocaust, but why.

Photos: View of the Sobibor killing center, 1943; SS personnel relax on the patio of the officers’ dining room at Sobibor, 1943; Johann Niemann posing on the arrival ramp at Sobibor, 1943; Auxiliary (Trawniki) guards at Sobibor, 1943; Gate of the Sobibor killing center, 1942–43; Johann Niemann (center) sits with fellow workers responsible for burning bodies of victims as part of the Nazi “euthanasia” program, Brandenburg, Germany, 1940. US Holocaust Memorial Museum