About Sobibor Record
Sobibor Record is an independent educational magazine devoted to the history of the Sobibor extermination camp, the people imprisoned and killed there, the resistance that challenged the camp system, and the work of remembrance that continues today. Our purpose is to help readers approach a difficult subject with accurate information, careful language, and respect for victims and survivors. We publish explanatory articles, source guides, teaching notes, and research summaries for students, educators, families, journalists, memorial visitors, and anyone seeking a clear starting point.
Our editorial approach
We begin with evidence. Articles draw on survivor testimonies, postwar investigations, trial records, transport documentation, archaeological research, site plans, photographs, and peer-reviewed historical scholarship. Because no single source answers every question, we compare accounts and explain where evidence is strong, limited, incomplete, or contested. Dates, names, and figures are checked across multiple references before publication. When historians disagree, we describe the disagreement rather than presenting one interpretation as certain. When a detail cannot be verified, we say so plainly.
Language matters as much as facts. We avoid euphemism, spectacle, and graphic detail that would reduce individual people to statistics. Victims are described as people with families, communities, occupations, hopes, and rights that were destroyed. We distinguish the experiences of Jewish deportees from those of other prisoner groups without creating a hierarchy of suffering. We also explain the roles of perpetrators, bystanders, collaborators, liberators, investigators, and witnesses with precision, so that responsibility is neither blurred nor exaggerated.
Learning with care
Difficult history can cause distress, especially for younger readers and for people connected to the Holocaust. Our guides therefore recommend age-appropriate context, advance preparation, and breaks during classroom discussions. Teachers can use our source-checking checklists to evaluate claims before sharing them. Readers are encouraged to examine original materials critically, to note where a source was created and by whom, and to ask what a document can and cannot prove. Emotional responses are valid, but they should be paired with evidence and thoughtful interpretation.
Corrections and participation
Historical understanding develops as new documents are found and existing records are re-examined. We welcome corrections, citations, and constructive feedback from researchers, survivors’ families, teachers, and memorial institutions. Substantive corrections are reviewed and documented so that readers can see how an article changed. We do not accept anonymous claims without supporting evidence, and we never use uncertainty as an excuse to repeat rumors.
Sobibor Record is not a government archive, a legal authority, or a substitute for professional historical training. It is an educational gateway: a place to begin, verify, question, and continue learning. By keeping sources visible and language humane, we hope to honor the memory of those murdered at Sobibor and support responsible public understanding of the Holocaust.