Escape from Treblinka: The Joseph Polonski Story

This documentary film details the Holocaust experience of Joseph Polonski, one of two known individuals to escape from the Treblinka death camp. The film profiles Polonski's life before, during, and after the Holocaust. It includes original narration, excerpts from an interview with Joseph Polonski, as well as archival photographs and film.
Narrator: Michael Berenbaum
Producer: Michael Berenbaum
Contributor: Joseph Polonski
Subject: Joseph Polonski
Director: Ken Winikur

[@harryshriver6223]

Truly, an amazing story of survival and courage by one man who was determined not to be a victim. I am always moved and in awe all the stories of surviving the Holocaust. Thank you for bringing this story to life and for preserving his memory, shalom.

[@ruthgallagher9584]

I appreciate your comment. Please support Remembrance 2025, Armenian Holocaust, 110 Yeas at the federally funded US Holocaust Museum in DC by requesting this exhibit. 1.5 of 2 million were lost in the Armenian Holocaust

[@pamabernathy8728]

A true hero. Blessed memory. And what a legacy he left.

[@shobhas.v5558]

An amazing and a terrific story of survival. But it is very very sad that millions went through horrific situations. God bless all their souls. Shame and only shame... endlessly on those who subjected human beings to such conditions!

[@metanoian965]

it happens now. What you doing about it ?

[@ajeansmith5478]

An inspirational story. Joseph was very intelligent and lucky. Your documentary was so well done! Thank you

[@MM-yi9zn]

Endless shame on the perpetrators

[@junehitchcock170]

Look closely at the EU tyrants. It can happen again.

[@carolecarr5210]

Thank you Michael for showing a really great man who persevered & thrived beyond the real unimaginable horrors. I am writing this thru my tears with cold chills.

[@isobelmetcalfe8479]

Such an amazing story of bravery and determination! God bless Israel and precious Jewish people! Shalom.

[@melanieleach1980]

How could this happen... did they not see we are all human beings. I am so sorry Sir you had to go through this awful time in your life, made of steel strong 💪 so very strong kindness pays ...always God bless you ❤

[@johnathanlamey8777]

Human beings? Nazis and especially NEO-NAZIS don't think that some of us are HUMAN beings. Please think hard about it.

[@hillarybillary21]

Please use your brain. Psychopaths and sociopaths lack empathy and see others as objects. I hope you are smarter than you seem to be.

[@WillyEckaslike]

it didnt happen.. hes recounting 3rd hand roomours and half a century of Jmedia properG

[@wynwillams2960]

How can you say that. .. million s suffered and we're murdered by nazi.s

[@melanieleach1980]

I was not talking about the the horrible people's ŵho did war crimes.​@johnathanlamey8777

[@susanherron9180]

God Bless Israel and God Bless the Jewish people!

[@carolgregorblomquist4888]

The world watched from afar while these atrocities were perpetrated. When will we learn to respect each other and stop all the hate.

[@lesmoody4427]

Most of Europe didn’t know it was happening until 1945 as for the world much of it still doesn’t know. It’s just not part of the history.

[@honved1]

There was a large effort to beat Nazi Germany going on at the time, i dont think "The world watched on" passively. It wasnt widely known either

[@roberthicks4923]

It's absolutely incredible that anyone could have survived taht evil and insanity. From everything I've read, there's no set of rules you could live by, no certainty that if you didn't do "x", you'd survive.

[@johnathanlamey8777]

Racism Lie is the root of so many evils!

[@adamchaifetz5876]

Thank you for this presentation. Peace and never forget this

[@mapleext]

Yes, never forget

[@daanodinot]

It’s amazing that so few people survived, and he escaped two times. Wow.

[@annabelleb.8096]

Only 100 people survived Treblinka! So sorry he lost his mother and sister there. You never get used to hearing what went on in those horrible places.

[@WillyEckaslike]

i have seen plenty of WT from people who were transited thru this camp which de bun ks the narrative of the controllers

[@jameshay2866]

Even less than that disgustingly, 86

[@user-vh3fr3lb8w]

​@@WillyEckaslikeyou are just a holocaust denier. Shame on you evil sympathiser

[@seemarajderkar3019]

Joseph's story of struggle to survive, is touching, yet, amazing too !! Thank God he survived to tell his story.

[@user-cg8rg3tl7e]

Touched my heart ❤️ God bless Joseph. Thank you Mr Birenbaum for an outstanding video.

[@donnalayton6876]

Thank GOD we have survivors, otherwise these horrors would be so horrible they would be unbelievable. Dear GOD please never allow the Holocaust happen again. My husband liberated a camp, he said the smells were sickening and the sights of the detainees, more apt, the skeletons were horrifying. my husband had nightmares for several years. GOD bless all who managed to survive, and may those who perished be part of our Blessed memory.

[@jfournerat1274]

What about the 50 to 60 people who successfully escaped from Treblinka and lived to tell the tale of what happened there.

[@cheshirecat1212]

What about them?

[@jfournerat1274]

@@cheshirecat1212 They forgot to mention that he wasn’t the only person to successfully escape from Treblinka as there were approximately 50 to 60 other people who successfully managed to escape from Treblinka with some of the most prominent escapees being Janikel Wiernik, Samuel Willenburg, Abraham Bomba, Josef Czarny, Richard Galazar, Chil Rajchman, Samuel Rajzman, Eli Rosenberg, Lazar Sharson, and Kalman Teigman.

[@danielem0007]

Incredible story, such a horrible time in history... thank you for sharing his story....

[@natacha8197]

God bless you....

[@siobhanjohnson8088]

What an amazing life❤

[@utpalbanerjee382]

Is the audio too low?

[@amandagarbett9085]

bless this man a hero truly shocking what he went through can see it was very hard for him to bring it to life its some thing what he and many others like him suffered at this dreadful time in history its also some thing we must never forget thank you for sharing it with all of us god bless you as with the many others that survived and may the others that didnt R.I.P god bless

[@helenh493]

A story of great courage and some luck, of a young man who had to grow up fast, live by his wits, and of taking dangerous chances to survive. Joseph lived through the years of starvation, work and death camps and the Holocaust years pretty much alone, who came out of all of this and created a new life for himself and for his wife and family. Bless Josephs soul, and his family of generations. He did well in his life, I'm sure hes at peace among his family members who passed away before him. RIP Joseph.

[@mariahmunnis6315]

Thank you.🙏

[@marydawnpafford9969]

I love the Jewish people, their traditions, food, how they celebrate, their honesty and love. I was fortunate to work for a wonderful Jewish dentist, everyone loved him and his skills. We had many survivors, a couple of liberators. We listened to everything shared.Never forget!

[@MrPickledede]

Thank you so much.....now is a very scary time for the Jewish people the world is a scary place Jews are being harassed hounded and attacked in universities throughout the west including the United States and the UK and France we are once again having to accept being attacked on the street while the police stand by and do nothing. Calls for the killing of every Jew and for our gassing in gas chambers is being ignored. This is almost a carbon copy of the beginning of Nazi persecution of the Jews. Only now we have friends like you who are wonderful big-hearted people who would never stand by and do nothing. God bless you. I am mindful that if my great grandfather didn't take my grandfather out of Poland in 1920 I may not have ever been born. I am thankful to God.

[@aaronanderson4533]

God bless his soul, I wish we could have saved them all

[@rileyfox4001]

Excellent analysis.

[@michaweir6146]

What an amazing human being ❤

[@elainemarock5840]

Bless

[@mirfir]

Wow!!

[@alexrodgers9247]

They don’t make em like this anymore! Goodonya and Shalom!

[@linrogers4326]

Poor man, how do you live after going through this? Hope there is a hell for the perpetrators.

[@gj-po9oy]

It was a bit harder than it sounded. The luck was that there were some engineers among the workers who knew how to cut the electricity to the barbed wire and cut it.

[@wolfbenson]

The story, the man and the telling is great. But...the music greatly distracts as I could not understand what he said often because of the loud background music which was not at all necessary.

[@cklg88]

One of the Partisan's, amazing. A very strong man.

[@maavien5373]

I would love to be able to see this because it's so important but as a person with ADD it's impossible to focus with the too loud and consistent background music throughout the whole video 😔

[@jameshay2866]

I have ADHD too and it is not difficult, and im of a severe level stop playing on it so much overthinking it forget you have it and show some respect. Turn music down out subtitles on and read it

[@liatl8228]

I’m sure this must be family of ours. My great grandfather was Joseph Polonetski, but this surname has been changed many times and is now Polon. He looks just like my great grandfather. Also from Poland.

[@janetpattison8474]

Wow! Amazing story. Read the true account of counseling sessions in “Return From The Ashes”, written by a Rabbi about people who, like me didn’t survive the Sho’ah, and have many memories of being in the holocaust in our last life. Soul is eternal, and life always follows death. I’m so grateful to all the survivors who have recorded their stories of living through the holocaust, while most often losing everyone they love.

[@delsouzapinto934]

hou Deus e duro e tramatico al princípio 🤔. + com certeza a luta foi grande. e dolorora. e crito de. liberdade aliviou a alma 👏 guerreiro. 💥⭐🌜💡👍✌️🤞💚♥️ 🤝 👉💋🇧🇷. 🎯🚀

[@kingcobra7565]

Bendiciones

[@mariaritaaraujodesouza3670]

🇧🇷Oh meu Deus! Que história mais triste e ao mesmo tempo, vitoriosa! Obrigada por nos mostrar mais um retalho da imensa colcha Holocausto. Descendo de judeus, e tenho muito orgulho!

[@helenburnett1592]

😢 I cry. Just because they were Chosen. That's the only reason I can come up, different. God help us.

[@sistagalsistagal8136]

The Jews are a very well functioning and productive society, thats why they are very successful people. Nothing that evil facicist leader did could take that away from them. He desrves everything good that came his way. 🙏

[@jfkcamelot]

That Joseph Polonski is one of only two known individuals to escape from the Treblinka death camp is not true. A large group of prisoners escaped from the camp during the uprising that broke out on August 2, 1943. About 500 of the 800 prisoners in the camp at that time escaped. Less than 100 survived the war. Among them were Richard Glazar, Abraham Bpmba, Samuel Willenberg, Szmul Goldstein and TANCHUM GRINBERG, to name a few.

[@harmony3279]

He was saved because God saved him.

[@jameshay2866]

He saved himself, if a god was real and of a kind nature he would never ever ever let anything like this happen and dont you dare try and tell me otherwise.

[@user-vh3fr3lb8w]

​@@jameshay2866I understand the pain of this horror bro. Alot of people ask alot of questions sure.

[@gicugigel3790]

​@@jameshay2866read the Bible, repent and make His will. You cant fight with God, dont be foolish.

[@4june9140]

So many beautiful people murdered for nothing at all. At times the human race makes me sick

[@childofgodblessed5984]

As a black man, I am not really able to completely encompass what my Jewish brethren endured!! Even knowing what my kinsman endured as slaves, I don't think it pales in comparison to what the remnants of Father Abrahams children went through, at the hands of then Germany. I stand with Israel, GODS FIRST-BORN!!!

[@aqeel3274]

Joseph is a true hero ❤

[@jannakutkina7594]

ЗЕМЛЯ ПОДЫМАЛАСЬ ТРИ ДНЯ И ЛЮДИ .БЫЛИ ЕЩЕ ЖИВЫ.

[@luigitorsello2933]

🤚👋

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

That probably was an angel of God that saved Joseph.

[@elaneradim6117]

the musik disturbs it is impossible to listen pity

[@shaqashaqahimself1866]

These atrocities were perpetrated by Europeans on Europeans between 1939 to 1945. Can one begin to imagine what they did in Africa, in Asia and America?

[@johnathanlamey8777]

When will true justice come to the earth? The cycle of prejudice, racial, social, political and religious hatred is crippling the goodness that should be present on all humans... lest we forget... some people even think that some others are NOT HUMAN...OMG!

[@margaretcoyle4224]

Sweet Jesus love these poor people ❤

[@rabbigluck7082]

So? After such a miracle how come he didn't keep Judaism?

[@luigitorsello2933]

🙏🤍🕊️🇮🇱

[@Storytime2023x]

The map they show at 7:25 is jacked up. Majdankek west of Warsaw, Treblinka north of Warsaw instead of northeast. It is all out of whack. Bad job, folks.

[@metanoian965]

Ashkenazi who lived in Poland changed their German names to Polish sounding names. Usually the name of the town they were in: Warsawski, Krakowski, etc. "Polonski', or variants = 80%? ID of a Zydisher. They lived in the host country. They did not speak Polish, had their own Talmud rules, self segregated with their rabbi, sin a gog educated, different Khazar dress, behavior, Self serving eternal victim training.

[@jannakutkina7594]

ЗЕМЛЮ ГРУЗИЛИ ВАГОНАМИ И ОТПРАВЛЯЛИ В ГЕРМАНИЮ. А. ТАКЖЕ МОЛОДЕЖЬ УКРАИНЦЕВ ОТПРАВЛЯЛИ НА. РАБОТУ В ГЕРМАНИЮ.

[@ruthfischer4177]

BLess this family. Some one send this to Mel Gibson who should know better as a Catholic

[@ChairmanPaulieD]

During the pandemic I NEVER wore a face mask 😷 and even going inside stores I didn’t do the 6ft social distancing policy that were in Walmart or Publix grocery stores or even small “Mom n’ Pop” stores and one person asked “why I wasn’t wearing a mask 😷” and I told her “this is NOT Nazi Germany or the General Government of Poland and I’m not a Jew” and she just looked at me with her eyes wide as cueballs

[@rachelmorris9296]

How inappropriate to compare that to the holocaust. Shame on you.

[@johnathanlamey8777]

So sad that a simple act to prevent a virus from spreading is violated and could cause the demise death and maiming of other human beings is compared with the Nazi perpetrated procedures and deaths of Jews and others prior to and during WW2. Give me a break!

[@janedelaney4327]

Aren’t you impressive 🙄. Sounds more like a nazi - making your own rules at the detriment of good society.

[@EA00000]

This people are unbreakable ! Never Again ! 😢

[@celestryalcelestryal6690]

God Bless him. Thank you so much for sharing.