Nazis' Sobibor Death Camp Photos May Feature John Demjanjuk, Historians Say

Historians have presented a collection of photos kept by the deputy commander of the Nazis’ Sobibor death camp that they say appears to include images of John Demjanjuk, the retired Ohio auto worker who was tried in Germany for his alleged time as a Sobibor guard.

The collection unveiled Tuesday at Berlin’s Topography of Terror museum comprises 361 photos as well as written documents illustrating Johann Niemann’s career. Niemann was the deputy commander of Sobibor from September 1942 until he was killed on Oct. 14, 1943, in an uprising by Jewish inmates.

Unlike in many other cases, the photos were not destroyed after World War II in fear of legal proceedings, and they remained in the possession of Niemann’s family. The collection is being handed over to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Experts say the collection enhances historians’ knowledge of what Sobibor looked like. So far, they knew of only two photos taken of the camp while it existed. The Niemann collection adds another 49.