Footsteps of WWII · Poland
Treblinka Museum and memorial
Camp memorial · 23 Jul 1942 – Oct 1943
The story
Treblinka II was a death camp of Operation Reinhard, the German plan to murder the Jews of the General Government. It opened on 23 July 1942, the day after the Warsaw deportations began, and trains brought Jews mainly from Warsaw and central Poland, as well as from abroad. Most were gassed within hours of arrival. On 2 August 1943 prisoners revolted and set fire to the camp; about 200 escaped and roughly 70 survived the war. The Germans dismantled the camp in autumn 1943 and planted a farm over it. Two kilometres away, the Treblinka I penal labour camp held over 20,000 prisoners, about half of whom died.
What to look for
Concrete sleepers mark the line of the railway spur. In the clearing where the gas chambers stood, a stone memorial rises from a field of thousands of jagged granite stones, many bearing the names of towns and villages. Paths lead to the Treblinka I gravel pit and the execution site.
Plan your visit
Grounds of Treblinka II, Treblinka I and the execution site open 9:00–18:30 (April–October); 10 PLN, free Mondays. The museum building is being rebuilt and its exhibition is closed until further notice (2026). Closed Easter, 24–26 Dec and 1 Jan. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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