There were many prisoners and few guards. Why not just charge them all down?
In the concentration camps, numbers did not mean much.
Many of the victims came confused and exhausted from the torturous journey by train. In the death camps, families were quickly processed and instructed to enter showers. The doors were already locked, and guards waited outside once they knew they entered a gas chamber.
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Those selected for forced labor would be broken down more slowly. They were fed soup and bits of bread while working, which would leave them weakened. A starved prisoner who can hardly walk would have little chance of overpowering a guard with a gun.
The guards had guns, automatic weapons, dogs, fences, and full control over practically everything. Prisoners had practically NOTHING.
Fear was one of the other tools used. One attempted escape could mean the punishment of innocent prisoners, leading people to consider how many others might die because of them. Differing languages, informants, and constant observation made organizing a secret uprising extremely difficult.
Yet, there were uprisings.
Prisoners revolted at Sobibor and Treblinka, and some managed to ESCAPE.
That is what makes these rebellions remarkable: the camps were designed not only to imprison people, but also to strip them of any chance at rebelling.
Writer: Faisal Azam
