Operation Reinhard: How We Know about the Operation Reinhard Death Camps

How do we know about the Operation Reinhard death camps of Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor?

Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor during the war:

Within a month of the opening of Belzec (November 1941), the first extermination camp constructed, reports from the Polish underground began to appear. Most importantly, these reports noted that large numbers of Jews were entering the camp and not coming out. Similar reports on Treblinka and Sobibor emerged quickly after the Nazis opened these extermination camps. The information made its way into the Jewish ghettos and, in 1942, Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski delivered information on the extermination camps to the Western Allies. Rumors abounded about the method of murder. Wartime publications outside Nazi-occupied Europe reprinted some of the reports. Since many wartime reports lacked authoritative information, false or unsubstantiated rumors circulated widely. Precise information about the death camps was unpredictable due to Nazi efforts to cover up their crimes. Similarly, passing clandestine information during the war was quite dangerous.

Post-War trials:

In contrast to the other camps, the staff of Aktion Reinhard (Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor) was slowly apprehended and brought to justice. When the Nazis closed the camps in 1943, the staff was dispersed and assigned to other duties. Some died before the end of the war; others assumed false identities and fled to other countries. In 1948-1950, some of the SS officers who had served in the camps were arrested and put on trial. Some of the Ukrainian guards had also been apprehended and interrogated in 1944 and 1945, but their testimonies were not available in the West until decades later.

In the 1960’s, West Germany began a series of investigations on the Operation Reinhard camps. West Germany arrested and tried a number of SS and Ukrainian guards who had served at one of the three camps. The trial of Adolf Eichmann in Israel in the early 1960’s brought considerable attention to the Operation Reinhard death camps. Several survivors of Treblinka and Sobibor testified at the Eichmann trial. Public interest in these camps has not faded and ongoing efforts to prosecute guards and staff continues to this day. For instance, Ivan Demjanjuk, who had immigrated to the United States, was accused of being “Ivan the Terrible” in 1986. “Ivan the Terrible” was a Ukrainian guard of extreme cruelty at the Treblinka camp. Demjanjuk was deported to Israel where he was prosecuted in 1987. The Israeli court convicted him and sentenced him to death, but the sentence was overturned on appeal after new evidence showed that Demjanjuk had been at Sobibor, not Treblinka. In 2010, he was put on trial again for his role at Sobibor. He was convicted in May of 2011.

Investigations since:

There have been a series of official investigations into all three Operation Reinhard death camps. They are as follows: 

Belzec 

From 1997 to 1999, Andrzej Kola, an archaeologist, conducted a thorough examination of the Belzec grounds. By drilling cores every 25 feet, he discovered the exact the locations of the mass graves. Kola’s intention was not to excavate the graves themselves, but to chart their locations and dimensions so authorities could avoid them when building a new memorial to the victims. Kola also did some excavation of camp buildings.