Militaryסמיון רוזנפלד

Simjon Rosenfeld

Simjon Rosenfeld was a Red Army soldier who survived the Sobibor death camp and took part in the 1943 prisoner revolt there.

1922 to 2019The 1943 Sobibor prisoner revoltSurviving the Sobibor death campFighting in the Battle of Berlin

Born: 10 October 1922, Ternivka
Died: 3 June 2019, Rehovot
Occupation: military personnel
Rank: Sergeant
Wars: Eastern Front

Simjon Rosenfeld was born in 1922 in Ternivka

Rosenfeld was born in Ternivka, Ukraine, and studied at a Jewish school that taught in Yiddish. On May 27, 1942, his family was murdered with about 2,300 other Jews and buried in a mass grave near his village.

In 1940 he was drafted into the Red Army and served in an artillery unit. He was wounded and captured by the Germans, who sent him with other Jewish prisoners to a labor camp in Minsk. In September 1943 he was moved to Sobibor in Poland, where he survived by saying he was a carpenter.

He joined Alexander Pechersky in the revolt of October 14, 1943, when about 300 prisoners escaped. He fled with Dov Freiberg, joined the partisan unit of Joseph Serchuk, and later hid until the Red Army arrived.

He rejoined the Red Army, served in the 315th Brigade and fought in the Battle of Berlin. In October 1945 he returned to Ukraine, and in 1973 he hosted the first meeting of revolt survivors at his home.

In 1990 he immigrated to Israel and settled in Tel Aviv. He gave testimony and spoke with students about the revolt, and in 2012 a memorial to Pechersky was built on his initiative. He died on June 3, 2019, and was buried in Bnei Ayish.

Simjon Rosenfeld's life in 9 milestones

1922
Born in Ternivka, Ukraine.
1940
Drafted into the Red Army.
1943
Took part in the Sobibor revolt and escaped.
1945
Fought in the Battle of Berlin.
1973
Hosted the first meeting of Sobibor revolt survivors.
1990
Immigrated to Israel and settled in Tel Aviv.
2012
A memorial to Pechersky was built on his initiative.
2013
Lit a torch at the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta'ot.
2019
Died in Israel.

Simjon Rosenfeld received 12 awards and honours

Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
Medal "Veteran of Labour"
Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"