Sobibor Interviews 1983-1984, interview 11, Chaskiel Menche

Interview with Chaskiel Menche (Kolo 7 January 1910). Menche arrived in Sobibor in the summer of 1942 and he was briefly put to work in the sorting barracks. He was then appointed to shine shoes and make caps. Together with others he prepared a plan to murder Himmler during a visit to the camp. His desire for revenge was fulfilled when he stabbed a guard during the uprising: "My heart is lighter now for I stood in his blood". He grew up in a closed Jewish community and spoke mainly Yiddish. In 1937 he married Hella Podchlebnik. His wife and child were killed in Sobibor. During his escape the Germans shot him in the leg. Chaskiel Menche settled in Melbourne where he died in 1984.