Escape from Sobibor is a 1987 British television film directed by Jack Gold, based on the true story of the largest successful escape from a Nazi extermination camp during the Holocaust. The film is adapted from Richard Rashke’s 1982 book Escape from Sobibor and chronicles the events leading up to the 1943 uprising at the Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland.

Sobibor was one of the Nazi death camps established during World War II as part of Operation Reinhard, designed specifically for mass extermination. The camp’s prisoners, mostly Jewish, faced horrific conditions and almost certain death. However, in the fall of 1943, the camp became the site of a daring revolt, led by prisoners who refused to submit to their fate.

The film stars Alan Arkin as Leon Feldhendler, one of the key figures in organizing the escape, and Rutger Hauer as Alexander Pechersky, a Soviet Jewish POW who becomes a central leader in the rebellion. Together, they unite the prisoners in a plan to overcome their Nazi captors and flee to freedom. The film follows the meticulous planning of the escape, in which the prisoners systematically kill their guards and attempt to break through the camp’s fences.

The climax of the film captures the harrowing escape attempt, as over 300 prisoners rush to freedom under fire. Many were killed during the escape or recaptured later, but approximately 50 to 60 escapees survived the war. The film not only portrays the bravery and resilience of the prisoners but also highlights the brutal realities of the Holocaust and the difficult choices people had to make to survive.

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