The Sobibor Remembrance Project: S.S. Men
Sobibor, one of the most deadly of the concentration camps, was set up to enact Hitler's "Final Solution" to the "Jewish Problem".
Below is a list of the S.S. men (Lista SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor) at the Sobibor Death Camp. Additional information about them can be found here. Those who died prior to 1950 have a notation after their name with their cause of death. Those without any comment below survived without receiving any significant punishment for their crimes.
Those followed by a double asterisk (**) are still missing today.
Please contact us if you have any added information.
Editor's Note: After reading about these S.S. men, it is important to point out the worst of the below group according to eyewitness testimony. All of these men were very bad and most were sadists. A few went above and beyond in brutality, cruelty, inhumanity, and sadism. They were: Christian Wirth, Richard Thomalla, Franz Stangl, Franz Reichleitner, Erich Bauer, Kurt Bolender, Paul Bredow, Karl Frenzel, Hubert Gomerski, Paul Groth (pronounced "Grott"), Lorenz Hackenholt, Erwin Lambert, Hermann Michel Gottfried Schwartz, Gustav Wagner, and Otto Weiss. Bolender and Groth both used dogs to attack the prisoners. The escaped prisoners remember Groth's dog, Barry (Bari), who would bite into Jews on the command "Jude!". After they were attacked by the dog, Groth would taunt and torture them. Groth was also raping Jewish women at Sobibor. Hermann Michel wore white gloves and made a speech to all Jews exiting the trains, explaining gently and persuasively that they would be entering a shower to clean them from a lice infestation. (Of course, the "shower" was the gas chambers.) Lambert and Hackenholt were responsible for the gas chamber construction and execution, and thus responsible for a combined 750,000+ deaths at Sobibor and Belzec. Paul Bredow, who may be the same person as S.S. man Poul discussed in Richard Rashke's book "Escape from Sobibor", enjoyed torturing the prisoners along with Erich Bauer, Gottfried Schwartz, Otto Weiss, and Kurt Bolender. Schwartz, Hackenholt, and Michel were mostly stationed at Belzec. The brains of the Sobibor operation were Gustav Wagner and Hubert Gomerski, both cruel sadists who took pleasure in beating up Jewish men, women, and children alike. Both were on vacation on the day of the Sobibor revolt.
Nazis at Sobibor
Those in BOLD were stationed at the camp for a period of more than one year. Little to no information is known about those in ITALICS.
1. Christian Wirth (1885-1944) - killed by Jewish partisans
2. Wolfgang Richard Thomalla - executed by Russian Secret Service
....Architect of the camp.
3. Georg Michalsen - 12 years imprisonment
.... Involved in the early days of the camp.
4. Bruno Otto Weiss**
.... Contact us if you know anything about Weiss, who was a senior official at the camp in its early days.
5. Franz Stangl (1908-1971)
.... Involved in the early days of the camp. Transferred to Treblinka Extermination Camp.
6. Franz Reichleitner (1906-1944) - killed in Italy
.... Replaced Stangl.
7. Gustav Franz Wagner (1911-1980)
.... Second in command at the camp, after Reichleitner. Brutal, unrelenting murderer.
8. Karl Frenzel (1911-1996)
.... High-ranking official at the camp who supervised the Jewish slave laborers.
9. Johann Niemann (1913-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... High-ranking official at the camp who was killed during the uprising.
10. Dietrich Allers - 12 years imprisonment
11. Heinrich Barbl**
.... A plumber who installed the gas pipes at the camp.
12. Ernst Bauch (1911-1942) - committed suicide
13. Hermann Erich Bauer (1900-1980) - life imprisonment
.... The operator of the gas chambers at Sobibor.
14. Werner Becher**
.... Supervisor of the sorting barracks in Lager II.
15. Kurt Rudolf Beckmann (1922-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... Supervisor of the sorting barracks in Lager II.
16. Max Beulich or Max Bielas
17. Dr. Kurt Gunter Blaurock**
.... A chemist at the camp whose actual name was Helmut Kallmayer.
18. Heinz Kurt Bolender (1912-1966) - committed suicide
.... Supervisor of the Jewish working command. Drew a map of the camp after the war.
19. Gerhardt Borner
20. unknown Boscher (Boetscher)
21. Paul Bredow (1902-1945) - killed in 1945
.... Had a personal goal of murdering 50 Jews per day with his pistol. Also served at Treblinka.
22. Max Bree - killed in Sobibor uprising
....Served primarily at Treblinka.
23. Arthur Dachsel (Daxel) (1890-1958)
.... Came to Sobibor after serving at Belzec. Supervised the construction of Lager IV.
24. Erich Dietze**
25. Werner Dubois (1913-1971)
.... Supervised the Waldkommando. Injured in the uprising.
26. Irmfried Eberl - committed suicide
27. Jakob Engelhard (Jakow Engelhardt)**
.... Supervised a unit of Trawnikis at the camp in early 1942.
28. Josef Falkner - killed in Sobibor uprising
29. Erich Fettke**
.... A courier for Odilo Globocnik.
30. Herbert Floss (1912-1943) - killed by Vasil Hetmaniec at Zawadowka
....Also served at Belzec and Treblinka. Involved in gas chamber execution.
31. Alfred Forker**
....Also served at Belzec and Treblinka Extermination Camps.
32. Erich Fritz Erhard Fuchs - 4 years imprisonment
....Also served at Belzec. Involved in gas chamber construction and execution.
33. Friedrich Gaulstich - killed in Sobibor uprising
34. Adolf Gentz**
....Also served at Treblinka. Involved in checking to make sure all victims were out of cattle cars.
35. Anton Getzinger (1910-1943) - killed by accident
.... A guard in Lager III, the gas chamber area.
36. Hans Girtzig
37. Hubert Gomerski (1911-1999) - life imprisonment
.... Involved in day-to-day operation of the camp, especially torturing Jews.
38. Hans Gottinger - killed in the Sobibor uprising
39. Siegfried Graetschus (1916-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... Supervised the Ukrainian murderers at the camp.
40. Josef Ferdinand Gromer (Grimer)**
.... Supervised the Ukrainian guards. Also oversaw the Waldkommando.
41. Paul Johannes Groth (Grott)** ##
.... Supervised Lager II clothing sorting, but was known for his torture and rape of Jews and enjoyed operating the gas chambers.
42. Emil Hackel
43. Lorenz Hackenholt**
.... Constructed the gas chambers.
44. Willi Hanler (Hoeffler?)
45. Josef Hirtreiter - life imprisonment
.... Transferred to Treblinka Extermination Camp.
46. Franz Hodl**
....Operated the gas chambers' diesel engine. Drew a map of the camp after the war.
47. Otto Horn
....Primarily served at Treblinka Extermination Camp.
48. Alfred Ittner (1907-1976) - 4 years imprisonment
....Involved in collecting valuables from those who were gassed in Lager III.
49. Robert Juhrs
.... Primarily served at Belzec. Ordered to Sobibor in fall 1943 to dismantle the camp.
50. Rudolf Kamm**
.... Also served at Belzec Extermination Camp.
51. Johann Klier (1901-1955)
....Chief of the bakery and supervisor at the sorting barrack where the victims' shoes were kept.
52. Fritz Konrad (1914-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
....Supervised workers in the sorting barracks.
53. Erich Lachmann (1909-1973)
.... Supervised the Ukrainian murderers at the camp.
54. Erwin Hermann Lambert (1909-1976) - 7 years imprisonment
.... Constructed the gas chambers (with Hackenholt).
55. Rudi Lindner
56. Karl Emil Ludwig
.... Accosted new arrivals on the ramp. Also served at Treblinka.
57. unknown Malinowski (Malinowsky)
58. Heinrich Arthur Matthes - life imprisonment
.... Also served at Treblinka.
59. Willy Matzig**
.... Also served at Treblinka.
60. Werner Mauersberger
61. unknown Mayerhoefer (Meierhofer)
.... (Note: Most likely, Max Maierhofer.)
62. Willy Mentz (1904-1978) - life imprisonment
.... Also served at Treblinka.
63. Hermann Michel**
.... Led prisoners to the gas chambers.
[NOTE: S.S. Oberscharfuhrer Hermann Michel was born in 1906 or 1909, possibly in Westerkappeln. He served as head nurse in the T4 extermination program at Grafeneck and Hartheim. He became friends with Stangl, who appointed Hermann Michel as his deputy at Sobibor in April 1942. After the Sobibor revolt, he was posted to Trieste, Italy, to conduct Nazi security warfare against alleged partisans. Stangl believed that Michel found his way to Egypt and lived there after the war. There is an entirely different individual who served as Majdanek called S.S. Hauptsturmfuhrer Hermann Michl -- born 23.4.1912 in Passau, Lower Bavaria; joined NSDAP on Feb. 1, 1931; was on staff at KL Buchenwald starting in 1939; transferred to Sachsenhausen camp in Jan. 1940; then KL Niederhagen-Wewelsburg on Nov. 1, 1941; then KL Riga in late Feb. 1944; then KL Lublin and Majdanek in June of 1944. He was killed on July 21, 1944 in Lublin.]
64. Adolf Karl Muller - died in 1949
.... Oversaw the Waldkommando.
65. Anton Julius Novak (1907-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... Oversaw the barracks where the women undressed and sorted clothing.
66. Walter Novak** (born 1921)
.... A guard in Lager III, the gas chamber area.
[NOTE: There were two Novaks at the camp, Anton and Walter. S.S Hauptscharfuhrer Anton Nowak was born 1907 in Janow. According to www.dws-xip.pl/reich/biografie/numery/numer27.html, he was killed Feb. 7, 1944 in Lublin. Most other sources indicate that he was killed in the uprising at Sobibor, however no specifics of who killed him or how he died are given. He joined the NSDAP in 1930 as number 287060. In 1939 he served at Breslau; in fall, 1939 he served in Einsatzruppe III during the invasion of Poland; in
1941-1942 and supposedly again in 1944, he served as S.S. police leader in Lublin, Department of Operation Reinhard IV. In 1942-1943, he served as Sobibor. While at Sobibor, Anton Nowak supervised the barber's barracks near the gas chambers and was involved in sorting clothing. Starting in the winter of 1942, at this locale, women were made to undress and had their hair cut off. S.S. Scharfuhrer Walter Nowak was born in Desden. He worked at the T4 Pirna/Sonnenstein as a male nurse. During the euthanasia trials in Dresden in 1947, his service in Sobibor was not included in the indictment. A search of his wife's house in Pirna in 1946 revealed "a hoard of valuable items from a camp in Poland where Jews from many lands had been burned." After his release in 1947 he was pursued by the authorities but without success. Survivor Esther Raab often saw him going into Lager III and said he stank of dead bodies. One of the two Novaks was occasionally in charge of supervising the Waldkommando at Sobibor.]
67. Josef Oberhauser - 4 years imprisonment
.... Transferred to Belzec Extermination Camp. See Belzec listing.
68. unknown Poul##
.... Likely the name for cruel sadist S.S. man Paul Bredow.
69. Philipp Post **
.... A courier for Odilo Globocnik.
70. Karl Potzinger - killed in Italy
.... Primarily served at Treblinka.
71. Ferdinand Radtke - killed shortly before the Sobibor uprising
72. Wenzel Fritz Rewald (Rehwald)**
.... Oversaw the barracks where the women undressed.
73. Kurt Richter - killed by partisans
.... Served at Treblinka.
74. Walter Rose **
75. Paul Rost (1904-1984)
.... Also served at Treblinka.
76. Franz Rudel**
....(Note: Another Lublin area S.S. man was Horst Riedel. Could it be the same person?)
77. Albert Franz Rum (1890-1970) - 3 years imprisonment
.... Primarily served at Treblinka.
78. Walter Ryba (Walter Hochberg) (1900-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
79. Walter Schafer**
80. Herbert Scharfe or Schafer**
.... Primarily served at Treblinka. Collected valuables from the victims.
81. Franz Ernst Schemmel - died in 1943
.... Also served at Trawniki and Treblinka.
82. Karl Schiffner **
.... Primarily served at Treblinka. Dispatched to Belzec to hide the crimes.
83. Fritz Schmidt**
84. Erich Schulz**
.... In charge of the penal commando. Killed all slave laborers who could not work at a rapid pace.
85. Hans Heinz Schutt
.... Supervised the accounting at the camp.
86. Ernst Schumacher
87. Gottfried Schwartz - killed in Italy in 1944
.... Transferred to Belzec Extermination Camp. See Belzec listing.
88. Kurt Seidel**
.... Also served at Treblinka.
89. Rudolf Siefert **
90. Erich Sporleder
....Dispatched to Sobibor to cover up the crimes after the uprising. Served at Belzec and Treblinka as well.
91. Thomas Steffel (Steffl) - killed in Sobibor uprising
....Supervised workers in the sorting barracks.
92. Erwin Ernst Stengelin (1911-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... Also served at Treblinka.
93. Karl Steubl (Stoibl) (1910-1945) - committed suicide
.... Supervised the accounting at the camp. Involved in covering up the crimes after the uprising.
94. Franz Suchomel (1907-1979) - 6 years imprisonment
.... Primarily served at Treblinka. Dispatched to Sobibor to cover up the crimes after the uprising.
95. Franz Hermann Sydow**
.... Also served at Treblinka.
96. Friedrich Tauscher - committed suicide in 1965
....Came to the camp for 14 days in 1943 to clean it up and hide the evidence.
97. Martin Thomas**
98. Henry Heinrich Unverhau
.... Supervised the cleaning up of the undressing area in Lager II. Also served at Belzec.
99. Josef Erich Vallaster (Fallaster) (1910-1943) - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... Supervised the gassings, burials and burning of the bodies. Helped construct Belzec Extermination Camp.
100. Kurt Vey - killed
101. Arthur Walther
102. Wilhelm Wendland
.... Supervised the sorting barracks.
103. Kurt Werner
104. Franz Wolf - 8 years imprisonment
.... Supervised the sorting barracks. Also posted to the barracks where women's hair was cut.
105. Josef Wolf - killed in Sobibor uprising
.... Involved in sorting material goods at the sorting barracks.
106. Hans Zaenker (Zanker)**
.... Also served at Treblinka.
107. Emil Fritz Zaspel
108. Ernst Zierke (Zirke) (1905-1972)
.... Primarily served at Belzec. Ordered to Sobibor in fall 1943 to dismantle the camp.
109. Josef Buckstagg**
## Groth and Poul, per eyewitness testimony, raped Jewish women at the camp.
Ukrainian Guards
Sobibor survivors testify that the Ukrainian guards were just as brutal as the Nazis. Many more were probably killed in the uprising. The below listing is very incomplete as there were around 300 Ukrainian guards at Sobibor. A photo exists for one of the Ukrainians, Kaiser. Among the Ukrainians, Ivan Klatt had the most contact with the Jewish slave laborers from the camp. In April 1963, at a court in Kiev convicted ten of the guards and executed. Another guard was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In June 1965, a trial took place in Kiev in which three former Ukrainian guards from Sobibor and Belzec were found guilty and executed.
1. Pyotr Ananeiv
2. Vasil Vasily Antonov
3. Ilya Badin (Baidin)
4. Sabit Barandtimov
5. Aglam Batarinov
6. Michail Belyi
7. Jan Bialowas
8. Ivan Bilik
9. B. Bielakow - executed by USSR
10. unknown Bodessa (or Podessa)
11. Dimitri Bogunov
12. Felix Brandecki
13. Prokofij Businnij
14. Achmed Chaibulin (Chabibulin)
15. unknown Cichavin
16. Chariton Chromenko
17. Heinrich Dalke
18. Ignat Danylchenko
19. Ivan "John" Demjaniuk
20. Vasilii Deptyarev
21. Konstantin Dimida
22. Jakub Domeratzki
23. Wlodzimierz Duda
24. Michal Dudko
25. Karl Dzirkal
26. Ivan Federenko
27. Miron Flunt
28. Gennadii Genardi Frolov
29. Anatoli Goncharenko
30. Pyotr Efim Goncharov
31. Nikolai Gordienko
32. Fedor Gorlov
33. Vasil Hetmaniec (Hermaniac) - killed
34. Ivan Homenko
35. Jan Hotorovitz (Hotowrowicz)
36. Ivan Indyukov
37. Alexsei Isaenko
38. Piotr Ivashenko
39. Ivan Ivchenko
40. Ivan Jaryniuk (Yaryniuk)
41. Fiodor Javorov (Jaworow)
42. Iosef Jechal (Yechal/Yechai)
43. Ivan Jermoldayev
44. Nikolai Judin (Yudin)
45. Nurgail Kabriov
46. Aleksander Aleksy "Albert" Kaiser - killed in the Sobibor uprising
47. Ivan Kakorach (Karakach) - deserted the camp - 20 years imprisonment
48. Pavel Karas
49. Fetich Karimov
50. Alexander Karpenko
51. Viktor Kisilov (Kisilew) - killed in 1942 or 1943
52. Ivan Klatt - killed in the Sobibor Uprising
53. Jakov Jakob Koschemykin
54. Emil Kostenko
... Helped SS Oberscharfuher Bauer service the combustion engine that produced fumes for the gas chambers
54. Volodia Koszewardzki - deserted the camp (after stealing money from the prisoners)
55. Piotr Kozaczuk (Koschekuk)
56. Ivan Kozlowski - 25 years imprisonment
57. Filip Kravchenko
58. Nikolaii Krupinevich
59. Pavel Kudin
60. Leonard Kurckov (Kurakov)
61. Michail Kusevanov
62. Friedrich Lorenz
63. Gregoril Lyachov
64. Pavel Makarenko (Markarenko)
65. Nikolai Martinov (Martynov)
66. Terentij Martynov (Martyov)
67. Andrei Mashenko
68. unknown Mauer
[NOTE: Probably a civilian engineer called Rolf Mauser or Rolf Mauer, who was involved in camp construction.]
69. M. Matwijenko - executed by USSR
70. Nikolai Medeviev (Medvedev)
71. Pavel Mordvinichev
72. Bari Nabiyev
73. Andre Nagornyi
74. Wasily Nijko
75. Ivan Nikiforow (Nikoforov) - executed by USSR
76. Anatoli Olexenko
77. Ivan Panashuk
78. Vasilly Anatoly Pankov
79. Nikolai Antonewicz Pavli
80. Dimitrii Picherov (Pickerov)
81. W. Podienko - executed by USSR
82. Mikhail Razgonayev
83. Michail Reschetnikov
84. Igor Rezverchy
85. Tadas Rimkus
86. Pyotr Rodenko (Rudenko)
87. Vasili Ryschkov
88. Chares Sabirov
89. Petr Sbesnikov
90. Dimitrii Schevchenko
91. Kamil Schirpev
92. Klaus Schreiber - killed in the Sobibor Uprising
93. Emanuel Schultz (Szulc) - executed by USSR
94. Ernst Schumacher
95. Nikolai Seleznev
96. Gregoriy Sergienko
97. Dimitriy Serik
98. Pavel Shichavin (Shicavin)
99. Ivan Shukov (Iwan Shukow)
100. Maxim Sirenko
101. Vladimir Sirotenko
102. Semion Sokorev
103. Kuzma Sokur
104. Heinrich Szpilny
105. Fiodor Tichonowski - executed by USSR
106. Iwan Tieriechow - 15 years imprisonment
107. Ivan Tischenko
108. Jakub Urnan
109. Ivan Ustinnokov
110. Ivan Vakutenko
111. Kuzma Vaskin
112. Efim Volynieytz
113. Libodenko Wartownick
114. Yakob Wasem
115. Fiodor Wedenko
116. Ivan Werdenik
117. Dimitry Yarosh
118. Aleksander Yasko
119. Vasily Yefimov (Jefimov)
120. Ivan Yermoldayev
121. Konstantin Zabertnev
122. Iwan Zajcew - executed by USSR
123. Emil Zischer - killed in 1942 or 1943
S.S. Involved in Murdering Escapees from the Camp
The S.S. in Chelm and Wlodawa, among other places, were involved in murdering escapees from the Sobibor camp after the escape in October of 1943. Some of them are listed here. In addition, the following individuals or units were involved in murdering the Sobibor revolt escapees/Jewish partisans:
1. 25th SS Polizei Regiment -- commanded by Willy Suchanek
2. I/SS Polizei Regiment 25 Chelm
3. SS Untersturmfuehrer Adalbert Benda
... Benda and his 6 men got there first, followed by Major Eggert of the Security Police and Captain Erich Wullbrandt, an officer in the
… Security Police. By Oct. 16th, 1943, the 2nd and 3rd mounted S.S. squadrons arrived to help the 6 men under Benda, and added to
… them were 150 Ukrainians and 100 regular German Army troops in the area. Benda's men included: Hermann Benzler,
… Ludwig Pruckner, Adolf Reinert, Erich Scholz, Konrad Schlogl, and Rudolf Theiner. Regular Army units included:
4. General Hilmar Moser (born 1880 in Langenorla, 7 years in prison, died 1968)
5. Major Hans Wagner, commander of the 689 Werhmacht Security Battalion in Chelm
... In November 1943, in Poland, participated in murdering the prisoners of the Sobibor death camp,
... who had participated in the rebellion. His trial was in 1944 in Lublin, but the outcome is not known.
6. S.S. leaders Jakob Sporrenberg, Hermann Hofle, Georg Michalsen, and Dietrich Allers
7. A 20 person Security Police unit from Lublin with specially trained dogs
8. Three spotter airplanes
Other Miscellaneous
1. Franz Holzheimer, engineer in charge of Water Management Inspector office in Chelm district.
2. Ivan Terekhov - 15 years imprisonment
3. Fyodor Ryabek
4. Mikhail Andreyenko
5. Ivan Zaitsev
Kapos
1. Abram Bajrach (Beirach) - age 17, from Kalisz
2. Szlomo Bleitman
3. Josef Dunietz - Uprising survivor who supervised the laborers
4. Naftaniel Herbert (aka Berliner)
5. Bunyo Benjamin Katz - age 26, from Rejowiec
6. Chaskiel Menche - Uprising survivor who supervised the hatters
7. Shlomo Podchlebnik - Uprising survivor who supervised the Polish Waldkommando
8. Walter Poppert - German Jew from Netherlands who supervised the Dutch Waldkommando
9. Hersh Porzyczki (Pozycki) ^ - from Warsaw
10. Simon Porzyczki (Pozycki) ^ - 20s, tall, from Warsaw
11. unknown Schmidt
12. unknown Spitz - age 40, German Jew from Netherlands
13. unknown Szepek (Czepik)
14. Shlomo Szmajzner - Uprising survivor who supervised the maintenance commando
15. Moshe Moses Szturm (aka Gouverneur) - age 22, from Hrubieszow
16. Zygmund Tuchman - age 17, from Izbica
17. Herbert Ziegel (Siegal) - from Hrubieszow
18. Moniek unknown - also directed the camp choir
19. Franz unknown
^ The correct spelling of Porzyczki is not known. Variations include Porzyczki, Pozycki, Positska, and similar spellings. Simon Porczyczki and Szepak (Czepik) were involved in planning the Sobibor Uprising. Szturm and Bunio developed their own plan to escape from the camp, but Berliner revealed it to the S.S. and they were murdered.
