Dark Heritage Prospection ‐ Mapping the Treblinka II Extermination Camp Using a Magnetometer Survey and Integrated Archival Sources

The history of Nazi German extermination camps has, until recently, relied primarily on eyewitness testimony. Very few official documents detailing the facilities survived the war due to the special operation ‘Sonderaktion 1005’, dedicated to hiding their existence and extent. This article presents the results from a study that applied an approach designed for investigating places of sensitive heritage. It integrates non‐invasive survey techniques (near‐surface geophysics and remote sensing) with the analysis of diverse archival sources. This descriptive framework, referred to here as ‘Dark Heritage Prospection’, supported the mapping of key facilities and reconstruction of local topography in the south‐western area of the Treblinka II Nazi German extermination camp. This includes identifying anomalies consistent with the reported locations of Sonderkommando barracks, a gas chamber building, a stub track and ramp, burning pits and mass graves, including ‘the Lazaret’—an execution facility presented as an infirmary. In addition to discussing the significance of the results, indicating geophysical anomalies broadly consistent with historical accounts of the location of camp facilities, we also consider the scope and labelling of this integrated framework, including challenges with accessing geographically disparate and sensitive source materials and with establishing the efficacy of magnetometer survey in an environment where it has previously been deemed unsuitable.