Selma Engel-Wijnberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Selma Engel-Wijnberg
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Engel-Wijnberg in 2010
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| Born |
Saartje (Selme) Wijnberg
15 May 1922 Groningen, Netherlands
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| Died | 4 December 2018 (aged 96) |
| Spouse(s) |
Chaim Engel
(m. 1945; |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau |
Selma Engel-Wijnberg (born Saartje "Selme" Wijnberg; 15 May 1922 – 4 December 2018) was a brave Dutch Jewish woman. She was one of only two people from the Netherlands who survived the terrible Sobibor extermination camp during the Holocaust. She managed to escape during a big uprising in 1943. After escaping, she hid in Poland and survived the war.
Later, in 1957, Selma and her family moved from Israel to the United States. They made their home in Branford, Connecticut. She only went back to Europe to speak in court against the people who committed crimes at Sobibor. In 2010, she received a special award from the Dutch government, becoming a Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau.
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Early Life in the Netherlands
Selma Wijnberg was born into a Jewish family in Groningen, Netherlands. She grew up in a town called Zwolle. Her parents owned and ran a hotel there, called Hotel Wijnberg. Selma went to local schools in Zwolle.
Just five days before her 18th birthday, on May 10, 1940, German forces invaded the Netherlands. Soon after, they began to persecute Jewish people. In September 1942, Selma first hid in Utrecht. Later, she moved to hide in De Bilt.
Surviving the Holocaust
While she was hiding, Selma used a different name: "Greetje van den Berg." But on December 18, 1942, Nazi forces found her. Two months later, she was sent to Camp Vught. Then she went to the Camp Westerbork.
Finally, on April 9, 1943, she was sent to the Sobibor extermination camp. She arrived with 2,019 other Jewish people, including men, women, and children. When they arrived, the Nazis "selected" people. Selma was chosen to live and work, not to be killed immediately.
She was put in a group called Arbeitshäftlinge in Lager II. Her job was to sort the clothes of people who had been killed. These clothes were then sent to German civilians, pretending to be charity donations. When the guards weren't looking, Selma would secretly cut up nice clothes. She did this so they couldn't be used by the Germans.
Meeting Chaim Engel
In the sorting barracks, Selma met her future husband, Chaim Engel. He was a Polish Jew from Brudzew. Chaim was six years older than Selma. They could talk to each other in German.
Chaim helped Selma survive the terrible conditions. For example, when she got very sick with typhus, he carried her to the bathrooms. He also helped her rest when the guards weren't watching.
Escape from Sobibor
On October 14, 1943, there was an uprising at Sobibor. Selma and Chaim escaped together during this revolt. Selma gave Chaim a knife. He used it to stab a Nazi guard. The couple then ran through the main gate, even while guns were firing. They escaped into the forest.
They found shelter with two Polish farmers, a married couple named Adam and Stefka. Selma and Chaim paid them to hide them. They lived for nine months in a barn's hayloft. They stayed there until July 1944. This was when Nazi Germany retreated from occupied Poland during a big Soviet attack called Operation Bagration. By this time, Selma was pregnant.
Journey to Freedom
After escaping, Selma and Chaim got married. They traveled through Poland, passing through towns like Chełm and Parczew. Their son, Emiel, was born in Parczew. Then they went to Lublin.
They crossed Ukraine by train to Chernivtsi and then to Odessa. From there, they left by boat for Marseille, France. Chaim had to be smuggled onto the ship because Polish people were not allowed to go to France. Selma was very worried about this. Because of her stress, she couldn't produce breastmilk for her baby, Emiel. She asked for milk in the kitchen and was given very rich, creamy milk. She fed it to Emiel, but it made him sick, and he sadly died within 24 hours. His body was buried at sea near Naxos.
From Marseille, the couple traveled north by train. They returned to Zwolle in the Netherlands. They went back to Selma's parents' home, Hotel Wijnberg.
Life After the War
In the Netherlands, Chaim and Selma got married again on September 18, 1945. However, the police in Zwolle said that Selma had lost her Dutch citizenship by marrying Chaim, who was Polish. They said she was now a Polish citizen. But the Polish government would not take back Polish citizens who had been forced out of other countries.
Officials decided not to send the Engels to a displaced persons camp for foreigners. This was because the camp was full, and Selma was Dutch by birth.
While living in Zwolle, Selma Engel-Wijnberg had two more children, a son and a daughter. They opened a store that sold velvet fabric and fashion. In an interview in 2015, Selma said she and Chaim were very unhappy with how the Netherlands treated them after the war. They felt the country tried to take away her nationality and deport them.
In 1951, the family moved to Israel (this is called aliyah). They moved several times within Israel. But Chaim didn't feel comfortable there. So, in 1957, they decided to move to the United States. They settled in Branford, Connecticut. They only returned to Europe to give their testimony against the war criminals from Sobibor.
On April 12, 2010, a Dutch minister named Ab Klink apologized to Selma Engel-Wijnberg. He apologized on behalf of the Dutch government for how she was treated after the war. This happened during a ceremony at the Westerbork Camp. Even though Selma did not accept the apology, she did accept the government's honor of Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. This was the first time she had returned to the Netherlands since leaving in 1951.
Chaim Engel passed away in Branford, Connecticut, in 2003. Selma Engel-Wijnberg died in Branford, Connecticut, on December 4, 2018, at the age of 96.
Selma's Story in Media
Selma Engel-Wijnberg's incredible story has been shared in different ways:
- In the 1987 movie, Escape from Sobibor, an actress named Ellis van Maarseveen played Selma's character.
- Ad van Liempt wrote a book about Selma in 2010. It was called Selma: De vrouw die Sobibor overleefde (Selma: The Woman Who Survived Sobibor).
- Van Liempt also made a documentary with the same title about Selma. It was shown on Dutch television in 2010 by the NOS.
