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Death Camp Escapee Thomas Blatt

Thomas Blatt
Thomas Blatt (vintage photo)

Sixty-eight years ago today, Thomas Blatt (AKA "Toivi") and some 300 otherwise-doomed Jews broke free from the Nazis during a revolt at Sobibor extermination camp which led soon after to the camp's demolition.   Terry Ward speaks with Thomas about the problem-solving involved with the escape --and about the biggest leap of imagination:  the realization that there really could be a way to break out.  About 50 escapees evaded recapture and survived the war.   Thomas eventually testified against one of the Nazi guards and also privately interviewed the man  --likely the only time in history a World War Two death camp prisoner interviewed one of his own Gestapo guards.
 

Thomas  is one of the few remaining survivors the Sobibor extermination  camp.
In this report, for clarity Thomas's voice is dubbed-over by Dave Baker.

Thomas in Wikipedia.

Actor Jason Norman portrayed Toivi in the Alan Arkin / Rutger Hauer movie "Escape from Sobibor" (watchable on the OpenFlix YouTube channel). 

Terry Ward was a WMRA producer and announcer from 1997 to 2016.