She had not read richard rashkes book detailing the true story of how. Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker, jack shepherd, emil wolk, simon gregor, linal haft, jason. It was the scene of the biggest prison escape of world war ii, yet hardly anyone has heard of sobibor, one of three nazi death camps in eastern poland, where six hundred jews revolted against their guards and broke through the walls. Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer and hartmut becker directed by. I thought i had learned all the basic facts and most of the history about one of the most horrific atrocities ever committed. The script, by reginald rose, was based on richard rashkes 1983 book of the same name, along with a manuscript by thomas blatt, from. Based largely on interviews with 18 survivors of the 1943 prisonrevolt at the sobibor deathcamp in eastern poland. Alexander pechersky was born on the 22 february 1909 in kremenchuk, in the ukraine. Filming escape from sobibor marked paculas first reunion with her.
Escape from sobibor is my first holocaust book in almost 5 years. In the second half of september, soviet jewish prisoners of war were brought to the camp from minsk. In fact, the book was in 1987 made into a television docudrama starring joanna pacula. This gripping, factbased drama chronicles the courage of an inmate who managed the largest escape from such a place. Poignant in its honesty and grim in its details, escape from sobibor offers stunning proof of resistancein this case successfulby victims of the holocaust. Escape from sobibor is a 1987 british television film which aired on itv and cbs. Great memorable quotes and script exchanges from the escape from sobibor. Escape from sobibor, a threehour movie on cbs at 8 oclock tonight, dramatizes a.
Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker, jack shepherd, emil wolk, simon gregor, linal haft, jason norman, robert. It is the story of the mass escape from the german extermination camp at sobibor, the most successful uprising by jewish prisoners of german extermination camps uprisings also took place at auschwitzbirkenau and treblinka. Leon feldhendler, a man in his early thirties who had been chairman of the jewish council in zolkiew, organized an underground organization at sobibor to plan an escape. Sobibor the forgotten revolt from the ashes of sobibor. Escape from sobibor tv movie 1987 joanna pacula as luka. Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker. It tells of the characteristics of the escapers, what happened during. During wwii, sobibor was a notorious nazi death camp. If you have never seen escape from sobibor, you should. It had the most successful prisoner escape in world war ii on october 14, 1943. In his book vernietigingskamp sobibor jules schelvis counts 47, including the five men who escaped from the waldkommando on 27 july 1943. Escape from sobibor by jack gold alan arkin, joanna. In this edition of escape from sobibor, fully updated in 2012, richard rashke tells their stories, based on his interviews with eighteen of the survivors. Escape from sobibor by richard rashke librarything.
Sobibor also was the scene of the wars biggest prisoner escape. This book goes far far beyond what was portrayed in the film escape from sobibor. Alan arkin, joanna pacula, and rutger hauer were the primary stars of the film. It tells of the characteristics of the escapers, what happened during and after the escape and how the people are now. The sobibor prisoners had always realized that they had been allowed to live only in order for them to work, to keep the death process running. Joanna pacula, as a seamstress, volunteers to help. The sobibor revoltjewish retaliation during holocaust. The general assumption is that there are fewer than fifty. The book is wellresearched, and was written with the interviews and cooperation of 18 of the survivors of the escape, including 2 of the leaders. It vividly describes the biggest prisoner escape of world war ii. During the height of world war ii, members of a resistance movement within the sobibor concentration camp attempt a daring. Sobibor was a secret camp in the woods of eastern poland but it is estimated 250,000 or more jews were killed there, and the camp was operational for not even two years, the camp opening in may 1942 and closed after the october 1943 revolt. Thomas blatt is a survivor of sobibor, the nazi extermination camp, where he took part in the most successful revolt and escape from any nazi camp during world war ii.
The inspiring revolt and escape, which took place on october, 1943, eventually caused the nazis to close the death camp. However, with the slowing of the transports, many began to wonder whether the nazis had actually succeeded in their goal. Escape from sobibor is a made for television movie based on an amazing reallife story about the most successful uprising of jewish death camp prisoners in world war ii. Rutger hauer, alan arkin, hartmut becker, joanna pacula. Escape from sobibor 1987 drama, history, war rutger hauer. Polish actress joanna pacula, 28, first seen in this country in gorky park four. Sobibor remains a blank, save to people who read books. Filmed in yugoslavia, escape from sobibor details the largest ever escape of prisoners from a nazi death camp on 14th october, 1943. Escape from sobibor 1987 is an itv television movie based on the book by richard rashke that details the 1943 escape of hundreds of jewish prisoners from a death camp in german occupied poland. The very names of these nazi camps evoke unspeakable cruelty.
Learn about the sobibor concentration camp and the people who escaped in a fraction of the time it takes to read the actual book escape from sobibor builds the personality and heart of the story it contains by firstly focussing on the personality and story of shlomo, a jewish boy sent to the camp who survives as a goldsmith for the nazis. Alan arkin, rutger hauer, and joanna pacula in escape from sobibor 1987. After trying to escape in may 1942, he was taken to borisov, where a medical examination exposed him as being of jewish extraction. A history of a nazi death camp ebook written by jules schelvis. Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker, jack shepherd. Jack gold, rutger hauer, joanna pacula, alan arkin, hartmut becker, jack shepherd. Three hundred of them made it to the woods of sobibor, the forest of the owls. The heroic story of the jews who escaped from a nazi death camp. Sobibor the forgotten revolt, by thomas toivi blatt. I have read many books on the holocaust and this book is probably the best one i have ever read. Richard rashkes interviews with eighteen of those who survived provide the foundation for this volume. The film was directed by jack gold and shot in avala, yugoslavia now serbia. So why is the polish government delaying authorization.
Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker, jack shepherd, emil wolk, simon gregor, linal haft, jason norman, robert gwilym, eli nathenson, kurt raab, jack gold, dennis e. You might also like similar movies to escape from sobibor, like uprising. Alan arkin, rutger hauer, and joanna pacula in escape from sobibor 1987 escape. Because the nazis destroyed all the physical evidence and all but three documents. German death camp in sobibor, poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand jews.
Born in tomaszow lubelski and emigrating to the united states in the early 1980s, she first gained prominence through her modeling work for vogue. Her breakthrough performance in the 1983 film adaptation of martin cruz smiths gorky park earned her a golden globe nomination for new. Alexander pechersky the revolt and escape from sobibor. All music movies tv shows books authors games podcasts. With alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker.
Escape from sobibor 1987 cast and crew during the height of world war ii, members of a resistance movement within the sobibor concentration camp attempt a daring uprising and escape. Based on an actual uprising and escape from a nazi death camp, this. Everything in this riveting story suggests it would make great drama, but i remember the wellmeaning tv movie escape from sobibor from 1987, directed by jack gold. One prisoner, for example, managed to hide in a train loaded with clothing, that was leaving for the west. Alan arkin, joanna pacula, rutger hauer, hartmut becker, jack shepherd, emil wolk. Thomas toivi blatt manuscript from the ashes of sobibor, richard rashke book. Rutger hauer who received a golden globe award for his role, joanna pacula and alan arkin head a terrific cast in this harrowing world war two drama. A lieutenant in the red army, he became a prisoner of war in october 1941. Goodreads members who liked escape from sobibor also liked. Find books like escape from sobibor from the worlds largest community of readers. The other 42 are survivors of the 14 october 1943 uprising. After reading many books over the years on the topic, i decided to stop.
He also draws on books, articles, and diaries to make vivid the camp, the uprising, and the escape. Thomas blatt rutger hauer linal haft escape from sobibor during the height of world war. Buy a cheap copy of escape from sobibor book by richard rashke. Joanna pacula is the author of escape from sobibor 4. Escape from sobibor is the telling of the revolt and escape the largest from any camp, concentration, pow or otherwise by 300 jews. The smallest of the extermination camps operated by nazi germany during world war ii, sobibor was where nowretired auto worker john demjanjuk has been accused of working as a prison guard. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read sobibor. This is a hard to watch, but worth watching movie on the prisoner revolt at sobibor, one of the worst nazi death camps in poland. Escape from sobibor book by richard rashke thriftbooks. Sobibor books and videos last update 30 december 2005.