In May 2018, the premiere of the military drama "Sobibor" about a great feat and courage took place. Konstantin Khabensky acted not only as the director of the film, but also as the leading actor. A Soviet lieutenant who was in a Polish concentration camp managed to organize an international uprising, as a result of which hundreds of prisoners gained their long-awaited freedom. The name of the hero is Alexander Pechersky.
Childhood and youth
Alexander Aronovich was born in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchug in 1909. His father, who is Jewish, was a lawyer. A few years later, the family moved to Rostov-on-Don, which became a hometown for the boy. Sasha graduated from two schools at once: general education and music. After serving in the army, he worked as an electrician at a factory, repaired steam locomotives. The young man received his higher education at the Rostov State University and in 1936 he went to work as an inspector of the economic unit at the Rostov Institute of Finance and Economics. He devoted all his free time to amateur performances.
The beginning of the war
Already on the first day of the war, Alexander Pechersky was called to the front. Three months later, he passed certification for the rank of intendant and continued his service in the 19th Army. In the fall of 1941, the lieutenant, like thousands of Soviet soldiers, was surrounded by Vyazma. Without waiting for support, then almost half a million people died. Alexander tried to carry the wounded commander on him, but he was running out of strength and ammunition. The wounded Pechersky was taken prisoner. A few months later, he and his comrades made the first attempt to escape, but the body, which had just suffered typhus, was weakened and the result was not crowned with success. The punishment for disobedience was sending to the Belarusian penal camp, then to the SS labor camp. The lieutenant's appearance did not betray his national roots. The truth became known in the Minsk camp and soon Alexander was sent to Poland, to the notorious "Sobibor".
The organizer of the uprising
No one returned from this death camp alive. The Nazis purposefully went to their goal - the complete destruction of the Jewish population. Hundreds of people were added to the prison population every day. The weak were immediately sent to the gas chamber, the stronger were left for various jobs.
Alexander immediately realized that the only chance to survive would be an uprising, which he organized in a record short time - about 3 weeks. The idea was to lure the guards one at a time to the sewing workshops where the officers' uniforms were sewn. Then kill them one by one and grab a weapon. On October 14, 1943, a daringly planned operation began. 12 SS men were killed, but the survivors opened fire on the prisoners, the warehouse with weapons could not be captured. People who felt freedom broke free from the gates of the hated captivity and fell into a minefield. Of the 550 prisoners in the camp, some refused to participate in the uprising due to fear or weakness, many died during the escape. But those who survived, together with Pechersky went to Belarus and joined the ranks of the partisan detachments.
The fascists could not survive the shame. This was the first time in history that the prisoners of the camp broke free, destroying the guards. The Nazis destroyed Sobibor, wiping it off the face of the earth, right after the sad events. They remembered him only at the Nuremberg trials, where Pechersky was supposed to act as a witness.
Postwar years
Everyone who was in captivity was subjected to a thorough check of counterintelligence. At the end of the war, Alexander was sent to the penal battalion. After being seriously wounded by shrapnel, the fighter spent four months in the hospital. With the receipt of a disability, the war ended for him. He did not return home alone. Olga Kotova, whom Pechersky met during treatment, soon became his wife. The couple lived in Rostov-on-Don for the remaining years. They had a daughter, later a granddaughter.
Memory
Alexander Aronovich lived to old age and died at 80 years old. His biography and feat remained in the shadows for a long time in his homeland. The book of memoirs written by him was seen only by a narrow circle of Jewish readers. Only in recent years has the history of the Polish Sobibor concentration camp emerged from oblivion. In 2014, the name of the hero of Pechersky was entered in school history textbooks. He always dreamed of a feature film about the prisoners of German camps and the heroes of the resistance. This happened quite recently.
