Today in Labor History August 2, 1943: Jewish prisoners revolted at Treblinka, one of the deadliest of the Nazi death camps, where approximately 900,000 persons were murdered in less than 18 months. In early 1943, an underground Jewish resistance formed at Treblinka. One of the organizers, Dr. Julian Chorążycki, killed himself with poison when he was caught prior to the uprising, so the Nazis couldn’t torture the plot details out of him. The conspirators raided the arsenal, stealing rifles, grenades and pistols. They set buildings on fire, attacked the main gate and tried to climb the fence. German and Ukrainian guards opened fire with machine guns, resulting in near-total slaughter. About 200 Jews escaped, but half of them were caught and killed.

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