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Treblinka, which was built between the two Polish cities Siedelce and Malkinia, was one of the most important extermination-camps during the war. It was Jewish and Polish slave workers who built the camp under SS supervision. The construction started late May 1942 and was finished as early as July the same year. The killing process was very similar to the ones in Belzec and Sobibor. The prisoner arrived by train and were told they were taken to other work camps, but first they had to take a shower. They were told to get undressed and to get in the shower. When everyone was inside the doors were locked from the outside and out of the showerheads came fumes from a diesel-engine. They all died within a short period of time. In September 1942 there were built several of new and bigger gas-chambers to increase the effectiveness. The prisoners in Treblinka was well guarded. It was a total of 150 Ukrainian guards and 40 SS-officers in the camp. Despite the odds Sonderkomando (special work assignment group) managed, on August 2nd 1943, to go through with a rebellion where several of Ukrainian guards and one SS-officer was killed and more than 200 prisoners managed to escape. Most of these was hunted down and killed, but even if the escape wasnÕt a success it helped on the prisoners courage. The situation got, after some time, so tense that the camp was shot down a great deal of time before it was intended. All in all more then 700 000 Jews was killed in Treblinka.
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