Jules Schelvis


Jules Schelvis was a Dutch historian, writer, printer, Holocaust survivor, and Nazi hunter. He was the sole survivor of the 3,005 passengers on the 14th transport from Westerbork to Sobibor Extermination Camp. His wife and most of his family were among those murdered. Schelvis was a plaintiff and expert witness during the trials of Karl Frenzel, John Demjanjuk, among other Holocaust perpetrators. He is the founder of Stichting Sobibor as well as the author of several memoirs and historical studies about Sobibor.
Schelvis was rounded up in Amsterdam along with his family on 26 May 1943 during the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany. He was deported to Westerbork and after 6 days boarded the Holocaust train to Sobibor. The journey lasted for 4 days. At the ramp, Schelvis was separated from his family and selected to join the work unit sent to Lublin Reservation labour camp in Dorohucza to build latifundia of Generalplan Ost. The Poles and Dutchmen, covered in lice, received one litre of soup per day, and sometimes dog meat. From there he was sent to the Radom Ghetto, to work in the weapons factory, where he witnessed the ghetto liquidation action on 8 November 1943. He was sent on a death march to Tomaszów Mazowiecki. From there he eventually reached Vaihingen near Stuttgart, where he was liberated by the French army on 8 April 1945.

Notable works