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Holocaust Museum Boxcar arrives in Fort Myers

By Staff | Apr 6, 2009

Southwest Florida Museum of History will host the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida’s Boxcar from April 4 April 14.

After a four-year international search, the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida acquired an authentic World War II Boxcar. This 10-ton freight boxcar came to the museum from the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands on May 16, 2007 and has undergone careful restoration.

A rare artifact, this boxcar is an invaluable and mobile educational tool to support the museum’s mission of “promoting tolerance and understanding by teaching the history and lessons of the Holocaust,” said museum officials.

The boxcar will be on display at Southwest Florida Museum of History to enhance visitor understanding of the Holocaust. A panel display about deportation during the Holocaust, as well as genocides in other locations, will accompany the boxcar. Students will have the opportunity to hear the personal story of a Holocaust survivor and to walk inside the boxcar.

There are only a handful of boxcars on display in the United States. However, in all locations, the boxcar is a stationary artifact. The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida is the only museum using it as a traveling educational tool.

The boxcar is now part of a unique education program traveling to area schools to assist students in their study of the Holocaust. During the 2008-09 school year, it will travel to 15 schools in Lee and Collier County, including FGCU, Edison and now the Southwest Florida Museum of History.

It is expected to reach more than 15,000 students and even more visitors through this program.

Quick Facts

The boxcar is a 10-ton freight car.

It measures 8.5 feet in width, 25.5 feet in length.

It is of the type of boxcar that was used to transport victims to the Nazi concentration camps.

Each boxcar contained between 70 – 120 men, women and children.

14 schools visited this school year: eight Collier County and six Lee County.

Three Library locations visited: one Collier County and two Lee County.

Five more Lee County schools scheduled this year.

Holocaust Museum Boxcar arrives in Fort Myers

By Staff | Apr 6, 2009

Southwest Florida Museum of History will host the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida’s Boxcar from April 4 April 14.

After a four-year international search, the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida acquired an authentic World War II Boxcar. This 10-ton freight boxcar came to the museum from the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands on May 16, 2007 and has undergone careful restoration.

A rare artifact, this boxcar is an invaluable and mobile educational tool to support the museum’s mission of “promoting tolerance and understanding by teaching the history and lessons of the Holocaust,” said museum officials.

The boxcar will be on display at Southwest Florida Museum of History to enhance visitor understanding of the Holocaust. A panel display about deportation during the Holocaust, as well as genocides in other locations, will accompany the boxcar. Students will have the opportunity to hear the personal story of a Holocaust survivor and to walk inside the boxcar.

There are only a handful of boxcars on display in the United States. However, in all locations, the boxcar is a stationary artifact. The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida is the only museum using it as a traveling educational tool.

The boxcar is now part of a unique education program traveling to area schools to assist students in their study of the Holocaust. During the 2008-09 school year, it will travel to 15 schools in Lee and Collier County, including FGCU, Edison and now the Southwest Florida Museum of History.

It is expected to reach more than 15,000 students and even more visitors through this program.

Quick Facts

The boxcar is a 10-ton freight car.

It measures 8.5 feet in width, 25.5 feet in length.

It is of the type of boxcar that was used to transport victims to the Nazi concentration camps.

Each boxcar contained between 70 – 120 men, women and children.

14 schools visited this school year: eight Collier County and six Lee County.

Three Library locations visited: one Collier County and two Lee County.

Five more Lee County schools scheduled this year.