Overview
Selma Engel-Wijnberg (born Saartje "Selme" Wijnberg; 15 May 1922 – 4 December 2018) was a Dutch Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust after escaping from the Sobibor extermination camp. Her survival and later testimony contributed to public knowledge of Sobibor and to postwar efforts to prosecute perpetrators.
Sobibor and escape
Sobibor operated as one of the Nazi extermination camps in occupied Poland. In October 1943 prisoners staged a coordinated uprising; during that revolt a small number of inmates managed to flee the camp. Selma Engel-Wijnberg was among those who escaped and later lived in hiding until the end of the war. Her experience is representative of the rare and dangerous escapes from extermination camps, and of the extreme risks taken by prisoners who sought to resist deportation and murder.
After the war
After surviving the Holocaust, Engel-Wijnberg rebuilt her life. She left the Netherlands and lived for a period in what became the State of Israel before emigrating with her family to the United States in 1957. Her ties to the Netherlands and to the Jewish community informed her later work as a witness and as a participant in remembrance activities. Netherlands and Israel feature in accounts of her postwar movements.
Testimony, remembrance and legacy
In later decades Engel-Wijnberg returned to Europe to give testimony in trials and public hearings concerning Sobibor and its guards. Her statements helped document the functioning of the camp, the uprising, and the fates of many deported Jews. Survivors such as Engel-Wijnberg have played a central role in ensuring that the history of extermination camps is preserved for education and legal accountability.
Key facts
- Born Saartje (Selme) Wijnberg in 1922.
- Escaped from Sobibor during the 1943 prisoner uprising.
- Emigrated from Israel to the United States in 1957.
- Testified in Europe about Sobibor and assisted legal and historical investigations.
- Died in Branford, Connecticut on 4 December 2018 at age 96. Branford, Connecticut