Transport from Ruda Opalin, Chelm, Lublin, Poland to Sobibor, Extermination Camp, Poland on 09/1942

The village formerly known as Ruda Opalin, and also referred to as Ruda B.,^[1] was located in the western part of the present-day village of Ruda Huta, some 14 kilometers northeast of Chełm. Nowadays, the village of Ruda Opalin is located elsewhere, just north of Ruda Huta. Before the war, it was home to 236 Jews.^[2] At the time of World War II, Ruda Opalin was part of the Świerże Gmina in the Chełm County, Lublin District.^[3]

The Wehrmacht occupied the area in September 1939, after a brief interlude of Soviet rule. Some Jews left with the Red Army, crossing over into the USSR.^[4] Shortly after the onset of the German occupation, a Judenrat was established in the nearby village of Sawin, some 14 kilometers northwest, and its jurisdiction also included Ruda Opalin (Ruda B.).^[5]

The first transport from Ruda Opalin to Sobibor was carried out by the Germans in May 1942.^[6]...