When the Sobibór prisoners escaped they were in a dire situation. They could stay in the camp to face certain execution, or revolt. Risking revolt meant they might die, but there would be a slim chance of survival.
Looking for a word that means, "possibly die if you do, or definitely die if you don't." There are many synonyms for dire (as in a dire escape), but none imply a choice with death as a consequence one way and uncertain death the other.
This situation also comes up a lot in (spoiler alert!) movies (especially man vs. nature): if you don't try, you die.
An example usage:
"The Sobibór prisoners faced a ??? escape."
What word can replace ???, as per the implied outcome of death vs. possible death?
For example, the phrase "dilemma of a hopelessly moribund escape" gets close, but is quite wordy and doesn't capture the die/might die context.
Best Answer
Life-and-death is a broadly used adjective:
[Oxford Online Dictionary]
A matter of life and death
[Wiktionary]
Critical could be used:
[Oxford Online Dictionary]