ABSTRACT
If an escape from an Aussenkommando in the mountains was theoretically possible, an escape from the Hauptlager was a different story, and we have seen that one-man or small-scale attempts seemed doomed to failure. The revolt of Block 20, however, on the night of 2-3 February 1945, showed that large-scale concerted action could succeed, even against a machine as alert and ruthless as the SS. The revolt led to the only mass break-out ever known at Mauthausen Mutterlager, and one of only three ever known in the KZ universe. Of the other two, one was at Sobibor (on 14 October 1943) and the other, as we shall see, was launched from a Mauthausen Nebenlager. The exploit of 2-3 February nevertheless remains a model for all time.
