Sobibor death camp: Historian unveils rare collection of photos at Berlin Museum

Historians have unveiled a unique collection of photos kept by the Deputy Commander of the Nazis’ Sobibor death camp and said, it appears to include images of John Demjanjuk, the retired US autoworker who was tried in Germany for his alleged time as a Sobibor guard. The collection was displayed on January 28, at Berlin’s Topography of Terror Museum. It reportedly contains  361 photos as well as written documents illustrating Johann Niemann’s career. Niemann served as the Deputy Commander of Sobibor from September 1942 and was killed on October 14, 1943, by Jewish inmates.

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Collection enhances historians' knowledge

The photos were not destroyed after World War II in fear of legal proceedings, and it remained in the possession of Neimann's family. The collection is being given to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. According to the experts, the collection enhances historians' knowledge of what Sibibor looked like.

So far, they were aware of the of only two photos taken of the camp while it existed but the Neimann collection has a total of 49 photos. Anne Lepper, whose grandparents have killed in arrival at Sobibor from the Netherlands in 1943, said that it is a brave work by Niemann’s descendants to release the photos.

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She added that it was a heartwarming experience to see the images after frequently having witnessed the site. The collection also sheds more light on Demjanjuk, who was convicted in 2011 as an accessory to murder on allegations he served as a Sobibor guard. Demjanjuk always refused the accusations and died in 2012 before his appeal against the ruling by a Munich court could be heard making the verdict not legally binding. 

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