Temple to host Holocaust boxcar

A stark reminder of the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust will be in Sarasota this week.

Temple Beth Sholom will host a German boxcar used to transport victims to concentration and death camps March 16 through 22. The campus will hold an opening reception at 1 p.m. March 16, at the temple, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave.

Linda Schwartz, the religious studies teacher at Temple Beth Sholom, was contacted back in August 2011 by Orna Nissan, director of Holocaust Education and Israel Programs from the Sarasota Manatee Jewish Federation. Nissan was calling to see if Schwartz and Temple Beth Sholom campus would be interested in hosting the Holocaust railway boxcar from the Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida.

“I told Orna that I would love to have this historical artifact on the Temple Beth Sholom campus to educate our students, students from neighborhood schools and the community,” she said. “By teaching the history and lessons of the Holocaust, we can explore the dangers of remaining silent, apathetic and indifferent in the face of others’ oppression.”

The museum received the 10-ton boxcar from Europe in 2007. Since then, it has undergone restoration and now is used as a mobile educational tool to teach the community about the Holocaust.

Since put into use in 2008, the boxcar has traveled to more than 60 locations in six different counties and has been viewed by more than 45,000 people.

IF YOU GO
Holocaust Boxcar Opening Reception
WHEN: 1 p.m. March 16. Boxcar will be on campus through March 22.
WHERE: Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave.
INFORMATION: To reserve a time slot, email Linda Schwartz, [email protected].