The underground in the exterminarion area came into being after Zelo
Bloch and Adolf Friedman, who had been among the leaders of the
underground in area A, were transferred to the extermination area at
the end of March or beginning of April. Both of them were made
leaders of work groups that were cremating bodies. Their adjustment
to the new situation and the men took some time, and, consequently,
the organization of the underground and the preparations for the
uprising began only toward the end of May/beginning of June 1943.
The members of the underground were formed into groups of five with
each unit assigned different tasks. As weapons they had to use the
work implements they used for opening up the pits and burning the
bodies--shovels, pitchforks, and axes. (Rajgrodzki, op. cit., pp.
113-114; testimony of Rosenberg, op. cit., p. 12.)
Contact between the two undergrounds was carried out by Jacob
Wiernik, a carpenter who was kept in the extermination area, but,
because of his professional expertise, was brought to work in the
other part of the camp as well. As he moved between the two parts of
the camp, he was able to transmit information and instructions
between the two groups. (Wiernik, op. cit., p. 45.)
As the underground in Camp A was larger and had more of a chance to
obtain weapons, the members of the underground in the extermination
area understood that the chance their activity would succeed depended
on cooperation with the larger underground and, accordingly, they
accepted its authority.
In July 1943 the work of burning the bodies was nearing completion.
In that period a few transports arrived with about 2,000 Gypsies and
about 1,000 Jews, but they did not alter the decisive fact--the
function of the place as an extermination camp was coming to an end.
The SS even had a party to celebrate the completion of their mission.
All that reinforced the feeling that the time for the uprising must
be moved up. In the second half of July the prisoners in the
extermination area relayed repeated demands to the leaders of the
underground in area A that they start the revolt without any further
delay. But all they received in response were assuasive assurances.
At this point the people in the extermination area decided to pass on
an ultimatum, accompanied by a threat, that if the Underground in
Camp A would not fix an immediate date for the revolt, the
extermination area underground would launch the rebellion on its own.
(Rajgrodzki, op. cit., p. 114; Wiernik, op. cit., pp. 51-52;
testimony of Tajgman, op. cit., p. 19; testimony of Abraham
Goldfarb, YVA, 0-3/1846)
The Revolt Plan
Pressed by the extermination area underground, the "organizing
committee" in Camp A decided to carry out the uprising on August 2,
1943. Word to that effect was transmitted to the extermination area
underground by Wiernik. (Wiernik, op. cit., pp. 56-58)
At that time there were about 850 Jews in Treblinka, one-third in the
extermination area. Several factors were considered in fixing the
precise hour for beginning the revolt. The uprising plan, which was
based on obtaining arms from the camp arms store, had to take place
during the daytime, when the SS people were not in their quarters.
The distribution of the arms to the various groups and deployment
near the targets of attack could be done more easily during the
daytime under the guise of routine work in the camp. On the other
hand, it was important to begin the uprising near dusk, so that
escape could take place under cover of darkness, thus hampering the
German pursuers. Another factor was the time it would take to
organize the escape of all the prisoners in the camp--in addition to
the fighters--for it was certain that in reprisal, the Germans would
murder all the remaining prisoners. All of these considerations
resulted in 16:30 being set as the hour for the insurrection. The
plan for the revolt was as follows:
Stage A |
From 14:00 to 16:30 -- Acquisition of Arms and Deployment |
1 |
Removal of the arms from the arms store and their transfer to the combat groups' assembly points. |
2 |
Deployment of the combat groups near the targets of attack--the camp headquarters, the quarters of the SS and of the Ukrainians, the guard towers.
|
3 |
Quiet elimination of Germans entering workshops and work sites. |
Stage B | Beginning at 16.30--Seizing Control of the Camp and Destroying It |
1 |
Attack the camp headquarters and SS people in various places. |
2 |
Cut telephone lines and open fire on the guard towers, forcing the guards to abandon their positions. |
3 |
Break into the Ukrainians' quarters,
seize their weapons and lock them up under guard in the barracks.
|
4 | Set the camp afire and destroy it. |
5 |
Arm with additional weapons
taken from the SS and the Ukrainians. |
6 |
Link up with the
extermination area people. |
The signal for beginning Stage B was to
be a grenade explosion.
The plan for the extermination area
contained the following stages:
1 |
Prisoners leave the barracks
where they were kept in the afternoon hours after work. |
2 |
Attack
the SS men and Ukrainian guards near the barracks and seize their
weapons. |
3 |
Prisoners burst into the guard room and seize the
guards' weapons. |
4 |
Take over the guard tower where a Ukrainian
guard armed with a machine gun was stationed. |
5 |
Take control of
the entire extermination area, destroy it and link up with the people
of the lower camp for a joint escape. |
Stage C |
Organized Departure
to the Forests by All Prisoners. |
On Sunday, August 1, in the late
hours of the evening, the "organizing committee" in Camp A held its
final meeting. At the meeting it was decided that the uprising would
definitely take place on the following day. (Shmuel Rajzman,
"Hitkomemut be-Mahane ha-Hashmada Treblinka," 'Kehillat
Wengrow--Sefer Zikkaron', 1961, pp. 66-68)
The Insurrection -- August 2, 1943
The final decision on the uprising was conveyed to the other members
of the underground on the eve of the revolt and in the early hours of
the morning. The underground members who worked in rhe workshops
prepared weapons--knives, axes and the like. Until noon work went on
as usual. In spite of the secrecy, however, word of the revolt had
reached other prisoners. The men prepared extra clothing and money
and valuables that would be useful once they were outside the camp.
As it happened, on the afternoon of that same day a group of four SS
men and sixteen Ukrainians, headed by Kurt Franz, left the camp to go
bathing in the Bug River, which was just a few kilometers away. This
coincidence helped weaken the force guarding the carnp. At 13:00
hours the "camp elder," as usual, inspected the noon roll-call, after
which the men dispersed to their places of work, but this time with
certain changes--the combat groups and commanders went to work places
in accord with the tasks assigned them for the insurrection. The
mission of the group in the potato storage, which worked near the SS
headquarters, was to attack the headquarters with grenades. (Marian
Platkiewicz, "Mered ba-Gehnom -- Parshiyot Zeva'a u-Gevura be-Mahane
ha-Hashmada Treblinka," 'Plock -- Toledot Kehilla Atikat Yomin
be-Polin', Tel Aviv, 1967, p. 549. Testimony of Tajgman, op. cit.,
p. 14; testimony of Wolf Schneidmann, YVA, 0-3/560, p. 4)
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