Volodin says world should remember Nazi death camp

The whole world should remember the tragedy of Nazi death camp Sobibor so that such crimes never happen again, Speaker of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said on Sunday on occasion of the 75th anniversary of the revolt.

"On October 14, 1943 in the Nazi death camp Sobibor the only successful revolt of inmates during World War II occurred. It was led by Soviet officer Alexander Pechersky, who was able to unite people for a fight against the enemy," Volodin said, according to the State Duma’s press service.

This page of history was not well known for the broad public, Volodin noted. "This year the biography and memoirs of Alexander Pechersky were filmed by Konstantin Khabensky," he said. The movie was submitted to compete for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

"This means that many people in various countries will find out about the exploit of a Soviet officer and think about it," Volodin said. "The whole world should remember the tragedy so that similar crimes never happen again," he stressed.

Sobibor was in operation from May 1942 through to October 1943. Various sources indicate that the Nazis annihilated from 150,000 to 250,000 Jewish people from Poland and other European countries. The Nazi command closed the camp down right after the rebellion led by Pechersky and razed its compound to the ground.