Unearthing the Past: Archaeological Research, Discovery, and Commemoration at the Sobibor Extermination Camp

To attend this in-person event RSVP to admin@holocaust.org.za.

Following the prisoner revolt in October 1943, the Sobibor extermination camp a key site of Operation Reinhard was systematically dismantled and erased by the Nazis in an attempt to conceal their crimes. For decades, the physical layout of the camp remained a historical and spatial enigma, its soil concealing the remnants of the murder machinery.

This lecture traces the evolution of historical and archaeological research at Sobibor, focusing on the systematic excavations conducted at the site in recent years. Key findings yielded by the excavations will be presented, most notably the foundations of the gas chambers, the path known as “The Road to Heaven” (Himmelfahrtstraße), and thousands of personal belongings of the victims that give an intimate, human face to the tragedy.mThe final section examines the establishment of the new visitor center and museum at the site: analyzing how an archaeological excavation is transformed into a modern commemorative space, and asking whether this approach effectively preserves the unique narrative of the Sobibor camp and the memory of its victims.

Dr. Yoram Haimi is an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, where he has worked for approximately 25 years, including 20 years as archaeologist for the Southern Negev Region. Between 2007 and 2020, he co-directed the archaeological excavation project at the Sobibór extermination camp in Poland, uncovering the camp’s structural layout, the foundations of the gas chambers, and numerous personal artifacts that contributed to reconstructing its physical design and historical narrative. He holds a Ph.D. in Archaeology from Tel Aviv University and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.