Sobibor extermination camp
The prisoner population included many labourers with specialized skills, such as goldsmithing, painting, gardening, or tailoring. The Nazis thought these prisoners were especially valuable, so they often let them live and gave them special privileges. Officially, these prisoners were allowed to live so they could do jobs that were needed in the camps. In reality, SS officers often used the prisoners' labor to benefit themselves. For example, they let Dutch Jewish painter Max van Dam live and said he would work as a sign painter. However, the SS also forced him to paint landscapes, portraits, and hagiographic images of Hitler. Similarly, Shlomo Szmajzner was placed in charge of the machine shop in order to conceal his work making gold jewelry for SS officers.