One of the Last Heroes of Sobibor uprising: Arkady Wajspapir
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Arkady Wajspapir was one of the last surviving participants of the Sobibor uprising, one of the most remarkable acts of resistance during the Second World War.
Captured after Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet soldier was sent through German captivity before arriving at Sobibor extermination camp in 1943. There, he was selected for forced labour while countless others were sent directly to the gas chambers.
When prisoners secretly prepared a revolt under the leadership of Alexander Pechersky, Wajspapir took part in the plan. During the uprising on 14 October 1943, he helped kill camp personnel before hundreds of prisoners attempted a desperate escape through fences, minefields, and machine-gun fire.
Though many were hunted down and murdered, Wajspapir survived, rejoined the Red Army, and lived long enough to become one of the final witnesses to the events at Sobibor.
He died in 2018 at the age of 96, remembered as one of the last heroes of Sobibor.
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