“Aktion Reinhard” an intercultural journey to Lublin
Every year, the Sobibor Foundation organizes a study trip to the former transit ghettos and extermination camps of Aktion Reinhard. The journey includes excursions to Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Trawniki, and Majdanek, as well as the former Jewish shtetls Izbica, Wlodawa, and Piaski.
If you are interested in the in-depth journey from September 14th to September 21st, 2024, please send an email to info@sobibor.org.
The 2023 journey took place from September 16th to September 23rd.
Aktion Reinhard
Under the codename Aktion Reinhard, the Nazis murdered nearly two million Jews, including almost 35,000 Dutch Jews, between March 1942 and October 1943 in the General Government (Eastern Poland). Most of the victims perished in one of the gas chambers of the extermination camps Belzec, Sobibor, or Treblinka. Aktion Reinhard was thus one of the largest and most gruesome non-military operations of World War II.
Organization
This in-depth journey is organized by the Sobibor Foundation. The language used is Dutch.
Participants
Every year, around 20 people take part in the journey. The backgrounds of the participants vary greatly, including relatives, students, teachers, policymakers, journalists, museum and memorial center staff, or simply interested individuals. This journey is particularly interesting for teachers, and special conditions apply to them, as outlined in the teachers’ program.
Program
During the study trip, the Holocaust is explored at historical sites, from the perspective of both the victims and the perpetrators and bystanders. Visits are made to the former extermination camps Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, as well as the concentration/extermination camp Majdanek and Trawniki. Furthermore, we travel to Izbica, Wlodawa, and Piaski, places where so-called transit ghettos were established during the period of Aktion Reinhard. We also visit the former work camp Alter Flughafen in Lublin, the Jewish ghettos, and the neighborhood where the perpetrators lived and worked.
A second theme of the journey is the handling of Jewish cultural heritage after 1945. In this context, we visit several Jewish cemeteries and a synagogue. Throughout the week, we also focus on what preceded Aktion Reinhard and provide introductions and discussion evenings where we try to connect the past and the present.
A few weeks before departure, there is a meet-and-greet day.
Dutch participants will visit Polin, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, in Warsaw on the Saturday of their outbound journey. A week later, on the return day, there will be a guided tour of the old town and parts of the former ghetto in Warsaw.
Travel Information
- Departure and arrival in 2024: September 14th to September 21st, 2024. Round-trip air travel (Amsterdam – Warsaw – Amsterdam), with bus travel between Warsaw and Lublin. We are exploring the possibility of traveling to Warsaw from Amsterdam by train in 2024.
- The base is Lublin, where participants will stay in a hotel. Registration is based on double occupancy rooms. Single travelers, who make up the majority of participants in practice, will be assigned a roommate.
- The cost is 995 euros. Reduced rates of 700 euros apply to Dutch HBO and WO students. The mentioned amount includes travel and accommodation costs in the hotel, bus transportation to and from all locations, and morning and evening meals at the hotel.
- Every year, the Sobibor Foundation invites a number of high school teachers to join us on this eight-day journey. These teachers are asked to contribute only a small fee of 295 euros.
- It is possible to book a single room at an additional cost of 125 euros.
- Participants must arrange their own travel and cancellation insurance.
- A meet-and-greet session will be held prior to the journey.
- A follow-up day will take place a few months after the journey.
For additional information or registration: info@sobibor.org.
If you would like to be personally informed about the 2024 study trip, please contact us.