Sobibor Foundation

What Sobibor Foundation does

Sobibor Foundation (Stichting Sobibor) is a Dutch non-profit foundation founded in 1999 by Jules Schelvis, the sole survivor of the 14th transport of Dutch Jews to the Sobibor extermination camp. Headquartered in Amsterdam and operating with approximately 6 staff plus volunteer support, the foundation's mission is to preserve the memory of the 34,313 Dutch Jews deported to Sobibor across 19 transports between 1943 and 1945, of whom only 18 survived the war. Its core activities span memorial trips (Herdenkingsreis, Verdiepingsreis, Scholierenreis) to the Polish memorial site, secondary-school educational packages and a teacher development program, books and publications, a podcast ('De Stilte van Sobibor'), two annual award programs (Rachel Borzykowskipenning and Jules Schelvis Jongerenprijs), and three recurring commemorative events (the October 14 uprising commemoration, the June Kindertransporten remembrance at Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught, and the Amsterdam Vondelpark gathering). The foundation holds cultural ANBI (public benefit organization) status, making donations tax-deductible in the Netherlands.

The foundation's revenue model is donation- and membership-driven, with no disclosed figures. Programming is delivered through a hybrid of community-led engagement and event-driven activities, supported by a multi-channel presence spanning a website, email newsletter, podcast on Spotify, and active accounts on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and Bluesky. Customer-facing segments are the general Dutch public and students (primary), plus survivors and descendants (secondary), with educational and museum institutional partners (Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam, Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught, Museum Majdanek, Bildungswerk Stanislaw Hantz, Province of Gelderland) acting as co-programming collaborators rather than paying customers. The foundation does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its products are analog and human-curated archival, educational, and commemorative outputs. Operating geographies are documented across the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, the United States, France, and Israel, reflecting the cross-border scope of survivor-descendant networks and memorial-site collaborations rather than commercial international expansion.

Name

Sobibor Foundation

Legal name

Stichting Sobibor

Website

https://sobibor.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sobibor Foundation (Stichting Sobibor) is a Dutch non-profit, founded in 1999 by Sobibor survivor Jules Schelvis, that preserves the memory of the 34,313 Dutch Jews murdered at the Sobibor extermination camp through educational trips, school programs, publications, podcasts, annual commemorations, and recognition awards for the Dutch public, students, and descendants of victims.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holocaust Education and Remembrance

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• Holocaust education
• Memorial remembrance services
• Historical documentation
• Educational publishing
• Commemorative events

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The foundation relies on donations from supporters and membership contributions. It has cultural ANBI status, making donations tax-deductible for Dutch donors.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Stichting Sobibor (Sobibor Foundation) is a Dutch non-profit foundation that preserves the memory of the 34,313 Dutch Jews deported to the Sobibor extermination camp during the Holocaust. The foundation delivers educational programs for schools, organizes memorial and educational trips to Poland, publishes books and lesson packages, produces the podcast 'De Stilte van Sobibor', hosts annual commemorations, and runs award programs (the Rachel Borzykowski Award and the Jules Schelvis Youth Prize). Its mission is 'herinneren door informatie en educatie' (remembering through information and education).

Product overview

Stichting Sobibor (Sobibor Foundation) is a memorial and educational organization founded in 1999 by Jules Schelvis, the only survivor of the 14th Dutch transport to Sobibor extermination camp. The foundation operates as a multi-service educational organization offering memorial trips (Herdenkingsreis, Verdiepingsreis, Scholierenreis), educational materials (Lespakketten, Docentenprogramma), media products (Podcast 'De Stilte van Sobibor', publications), award programs (Rachel Borzykowskipenning, Jules Schelvis Jongerenprijs), and annual commemorative events. The foundation's mission is 'herinneren door informatie en educatie' (remembering through information and education), focused on preserving the memory of the 34,313 Dutch Jews murdered in Sobibor and educating younger generations about the Holocaust.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rachel Borzykowskipenning: Annual award given to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to raising awareness about Sobibor extermination camp
• Jules Schelvis Jongerenprijs (Jules Schelvis Youth Prize)

Products and services

• Herdenkingsreis (Memorial Trips) Annual memorial trips to the former Sobibor extermination camp in Poland for groups, students, and individuals seeking remembrance and historical engagement.
• Verdiepingsreis (In-depth Study Trips) Extended educational trips through Eastern Poland visiting former ghettos, extermination camps, and mass execution sites related to Aktion Reinhardt for in-depth historical study.
• Scholierenreis (Student Trips) Educational trips for Dutch secondary school students (VMBO, HAVO, VWO) to Sobibor and related Holocaust memorial sites, often conducted as part of the International Youth Conference.
• Lespakketten (Educational Packages) Ready-to-use teaching materials for Dutch secondary education including lesson plans about Sobibor, the Holocaust, and related historical topics. Includes packages such as 'Joodse kinderen in kamp Vught', 'Er reed een trein naar Sobibor', and 'Nooit voltooid verleden'.
• Docentenprogramma (Teacher Program) Professional development program for Dutch secondary school teachers on Holocaust education and the history of Sobibor extermination camp.
• Jeugdconferentie (Youth Conference) Annual international youth conference organized in cooperation with the Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation and Province of Gelderland, bringing together secondary school students from multiple countries to visit Holocaust memorial sites in Poland.
• Podcast 'De Stilte van Sobibor' (The Silence of Sobibor) A podcast series providing new perspectives on the history of the Sobibor extermination camp, distributed on Spotify and other podcast platforms.
• Publicaties en Boeken (Publications and Books) Books and publications about Sobibor and the Holocaust, including titles such as 'Er reed een trein naar Sobibor', 'Het Niemann Album', 'Nazimoordfabrieken', 'De kern van de Holocaust', and biographical works about survivors. Sold through retail book channels and the foundation's website.
• Jaarlijkse Herdenking Opstand (Annual Commemoration of the Uprising) Annual commemorative event held on October 14 to mark the successful Sobibor prisoner uprising of October 14, 1943, during which approximately 300 prisoners escaped and about 50 survived the war.
• Sobibor Herdenking Amsterdam Annual commemoration held at the Sobibor monument in Vondelpark, Amsterdam, marking the annual remembrance of the victims.
• Rachel Borzykowskipenning (Rachel Borzykowski Award) Annual award given to individuals who have made special contributions to increasing awareness of Sobibor and its history; includes a monetary prize of €500.
• Jules Schelvis Jongerenprijs (Jules Schelvis Youth Prize) Annual prize awarded to Dutch secondary school students (VMBO, HAVO, VWO) who have brought special attention to the former Sobibor extermination camp through projects and research.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 1 million views of the concert 'Er reed een trein naar Sobibor' on NPO2

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nationaal Monument Kamp VughtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual joint commemoration of the Kindertransporten (children's transports) from June 6-7, 1943. The two organizations collaborate on educational programs and remembrance ceremonies at the Vught concentration camp memorial site.
• Verzetsmuseum AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Sobibor commemoration events held at the Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. Collaborative programs include the annual October gathering to remember the 1943 uprising.
• Bildungswerk Stanislaw Hantz (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman partner organization involved in the Sobibor memorial site development. Co-published the Dutch translation of 'Het Niemann Album' and organizes educational trips to Sobibor.
• Province of GelderlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual support for the International Youth Conference and educational trips to Poland, including visits to Sobibor and other Holocaust memorial sites.
• Museum MajdanekminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolish museum that manages the Sobibor memorial site as a branch location. Involved in the design competition for the new permanent exhibition.
• Selma LeydesdorffminorOthersAuthor and emeritus professor at University of Amsterdam who has written multiple books about Sobibor and the uprising, including the biography of Sasha Pechersky.
• Petra van den BoomgaardminorOthersBoard member of Stichting Sobibor and author of the book 'Voor de nazi\'s geen Jood' about how over 2500 Jews evaded deportation through race regulation circumvention.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam: Dutch WWII resistance museum that hosts the annual Sobibor commemoration. Overlaps with the foundation in target audience (Dutch public, schools), educational mission, and event programming.
• NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies: Dutch institute for war, Holocaust, and genocide studies conducting research and education on the same historical period as the Sobibor Foundation. Comparable educational remit and Dutch academic/public audience overlap.
• Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught: Memorial site and museum at Camp Vught, a Dutch concentration camp from which Jewish children were deported to Sobibor. Existing collaboration partner of Stichting Sobibor for the annual Kindertransporten commemoration; comparable scope and audience.
• Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork: Dutch Holocaust memorial and educational center at the Westerbork transit camp, the actual departure point for many of the 19 transports documented by the Sobibor Foundation. Operates with the same remembrance-plus-education model for Dutch audiences.
• Anne Frank Stichting (Anne Frank House): Amsterdam-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving Anne Frank's legacy and Holocaust education. The most prominent Dutch Jewish remembrance and education organization, competing for the same donor, school, and public-engagement audiences.
• Joods Historisch Museum (Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam): Amsterdam museum covering Jewish history in the Netherlands, including Holocaust-period exhibitions. Overlaps with the foundation on Jewish remembrance, school programming, and Dutch cultural-tourism audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Yad Vashem: Israel's official international Holocaust remembrance center with comprehensive archives, educational programs, and research. A much larger incumbent operating in the same remembrance-and-education space globally.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Larger, federally supported US Holocaust memorial and education institution with global outreach. Serves as a broader incumbent in the Holocaust remembrance and education category, with overlapping educational programming.
• Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum: Polish state museum and memorial at the largest Nazi extermination and concentration camp site. Comparable mission of Holocaust memorialization and education at a site that is geographically close to Sobibor and a frequent destination for Sobibor-related trips.

Emerging players

• Foundation for Jewish Heritage: International nonprofit focused on preserving Jewish heritage sites worldwide. Adjacent mission to the Sobibor Foundation's work at the Sobibor memorial site, though operating across many geographies rather than a single camp.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Sticht_Sobibor
• Facebookfacebook.com/stichtingsobibor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichting-sobibor
• Instagraminstagram.com/stichting_sobibor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Sobibor Foundation