A documentary about the incredible story of Shlomo Szmajzner, a survivor of the Sobibor death camp, clarifies the question of whether he was responsible for the death of SS man Gustav Wagner.
from
Aurelie von Blazekovic
There are scenes, soberly captured on camera, that are so unbelievable that you can’t believe how a couple of journalists could just stand around, do their job, take notes and record them. The camera was that of a Brazilian television station in 1978, and the events took place at a police station in São Paulo. Gustav Wagner, chief supervisor of the Sobibor extermination camp, had turned himself in, but he acted as if he knew nothing about the mass murder. At the police station there is also Shlomo Szmajzner, one of the few survivors from the camp. He recognizes the man immediately, “that’s Oberscharführer Wagner,” he says, and then turns away from the reporter. He speaks in Portuguese to Wagner, who comes towards him from the other end of the room: “Do you know what that means to me? Have you thought about it? Do you really not have the courage to say what you did? Be it a person and tell the truth, today after 36 years. Be a man and explain yourself, be ashamed and tell the truth.” Wagner is now standing across from Szmajzner, he is wearing a shirt with a wide open collar, he is puffing on his cigarette. And he grins.