Selma Engel-Wijnberg

Selma Engel-Wijnberg (born Saartje "Selme" Wijnberg; 15 May 1922 – 4 December 2018) was one of only two Dutch Jewish Holocaust survivors of the Sobibor extermination camp. She escaped during the 1943 uprising, hid in Poland, and survived the war. Engel-Wijnberg emigrated to the United States from Israel with her family in 1957, settling in Branford, Connecticut. She returned to Europe again only to testify against the war criminals of Sobibor. In 2010 she was in the Netherlands to receive the governmental honour of Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau.

Early life Wijnberg was born into a Jewish family in Groningen, Netherlands. She was raised in Zwolle, where her parents owned and managed the Hotel Wijnberg. There she attended local schools. Five days before Wijnberg turned 18, the Germans invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940.

Holocaust years While hiding she used the name "Greetje van den Berg". She was rounded up by Nazi forces on 18 December 1942. Two months later she was transferred to Camp Vught, then to the transit Camp Westerbork, and finally deported to Sobibor extermination camp on 6 April 1943, along with 2,019 other Jewish men, women and children. who was six years her senior. They were able to communicate in German. He helped her survive; for instance, when she contracted typhus and was weakened, he carried her to the latrines and helped her rest when the guards weren't looking. They crossed Ukraine by train to Chernivtsi and to Odessa (Odesa), and soon left by boat for Marseille, France. Chaim had to be smuggled aboard the ship, because Poles were not allowed to go to France. Because of this, Selma was nervous, and couldn't give any breastmilk to her son Emiel. She went to the kitchen, and asked for milk. She was given 'very heavy creamy milk', which she fed to her son. Because of this, the child got ill, and died within 24 hours. His body was buried at sea near Naxos. The police of Zwolle decided that Selma, by marrying Engel, a Pole, had lost her citizenship and become a Polish citizen. The couple could not be returned to Poland because the latter's government no longer accepted the return of Polish citizens expelled from foreign countries. Officials decided against interning the Engels in a displaced persons camp for foreigners near Valkenswaard because the holding center was full, and Wijnberg was a Dutch native.

While they lived in Zwolle, Engel-Wijnberg gave birth to two more children, a son and a daughter. The family immigrated to Israel in 1951, where they relocated several times. However, Engel did not feel comfortable there, so in 1957 they decided to emigrate to the United States. They settled in Branford, Connecticut. Despite rejecting the apology, Engel-Wijnberg accepted the government's honour of Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Chaim Engel died in Branford, Connecticut in 2003. Engel-Wijnberg died in Westport, Connecticut, on 4 December 2018 at the age of 96.

Representation in other media In the 1987 movie, Escape from Sobibor, her character was played by Ellis van Maarseveen. Ad van Liempt wrote a 2010 biography about Engel-Wijnberg entitled Selma: De vrouw die Sobibor overleefde (Selma: The Woman Who Survived Sobibor); Van Liempt also made a documentary of the same title about Engel-Wijnberg, which was aired by the NOS on Dutch television in 2010.