HUDSON – A German rail car from 1913 that was used to transport Holocaust victims sits on display at the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, showing a dark chapter of human history.
“Well, it’s important people that understand what the Holocaust is all about. I mean it was the ultimate discrimination when six million Jews were put to death. And worth living and understanding and having a real artifact that people can relate to,” President of the American Heritage Museum, Rob Collings said.
The 30 foot long two axle rail car was imported to the U.S. by the museum from Nuremberg, Germany last year and has undergone a six month restoration.
” It’s 110-years-old, going on 111. The wood was fairly deteriorated. The metal was in good shape,” Collings said.
During WWII Nazi Germany’s national railway system played a critical role in orchestrating the Holocaust and genocide of the Jewish people.
“And most of them were transported in rail cars just exactly like this,” he said.