Transport from Wlodawa, Wlodawa, Lublin, Poland to Sobibor, Extermination Camp, Poland on 04/1942

Włodawa is a town in eastern Poland. On the eve of World War II, it was home to 5,650 Jews, who made up the majority of the total population, which stood at 9,293.^[1] According to the testimony of local resident Ephraim Tilip, Włodawa was briefly controlled by the Soviets in mid-September 1939. Some Jews took advantage of this opportunity to cross over into Soviet territory. After the withdrawal of the Red Army, Włodawa was occupied by the Wehrmacht.

The onset of German rule started the period of persecution of the local Jews. Their businesses were looted shortly after the beginning of the occupation, before being expropriated altogether in the spring of 1940. The Jewish community of Włodawa was forced to make contributions to the Nazis, and the Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David on a white armband. In October 1939, a Jewish Council (Judenrat) was established and tasked with registering all the able-bodied Jews in the town, who were to serve as forced labor.^[2]

Włodawa became part of the Chełm County (Kreis) within the Lublin District (Distrikt) of the General Government (Generalgouvernement), a newly established entity administered separately by Nazi Germany, and not annexed to the Reich. The county governor (Kreishauptman) responsible for the mass deportations of the local Jews to the extermination camps in April–November 1942 was Dr. Werner Ansel.^[3] The town had a Border Police post (Grenzpolizeiposten), which, from late 1939, was under the command of SS-Untersturmführer Richard Nitschke and his deputy (from January 15, 1942), SS- Oberscharführer Hubert Schönborn. These men were responsible for the town and the surrounding area, up to the village of Sobibór, 11 kilometers (7 miles) to the south. ...