Samuel Willenberg

Life & Legacy

Samuel Willenberg, nom de guerre Igo (16 February 1923 – 19 February 2016), was a Polish-born Jewish Holocaust survivor, artist, and writer. He was a Sonderkommando at the Treblinka extermination camp and participated in the unit's planned revolt in August 1943. While 300 escaped, about 79 were known to survive the war. Willenberg reached Warsaw where, before war's end, he took part in the Warsaw Uprising. At his death, Willenberg was the last survivor of the August 1943 Treblinka prisoners' revolt.
Like many other survivors, Willenberg emigrated to Israel. He received Poland's highest orders, including the Virtuti Militari and the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit, awarded by President Lech Kaczyński.
His memoir, Revolt in Treblinka, was published between 1986 and 1991 in Hebrew, Polish, and English. He was a sculptor and painter.