Video: 'Sobibor'

(Saturday, May 16, 1942; during the The Holocaust, part of World War II) — Sobibór, an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany in the forest near the village of Sobibór in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland for the sole purpose of murdering Jews, became fully operational today (note: some sources say the camp may have become fully operation on Monday, May 18).

Video: 'Gas chambers discovered at Nazi death camp Sobibor'

The vast majority of prisoners were gassed within hours of arrival. Those not killed immediately were forced to assist in the operation of the camp, and few survived more than a few months. In total, some 170,000 to 250,000 people were murdered at Sobibór, making it the fourth-deadliest Nazi camp after Belzec, Treblinka, and Auschwitz.

The camp ceased operations after a prisoner revolt that took place on Oct. 14, 1943.