Boxcar

After a four-year international search, the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida acquired an authentic World War II — era railway boxcar.  This 10-ton boxcar came to the Museum from Europe 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.

The search and acquisition of the boxcar was undertaken by Jack Nortman, a board member and Past President of the Museum.  Mr. Nortman’s family was caught in the web of the Nazis in Eastern Europe.  Both of his parents survived and he was born in Landsberg, a displaced persons camp in Germany.

The Boxcar Transportation and Education Project, a world’s first, ensures that an important piece of history will visit students right on their school campus.  The boxcar serves as a traveling exhibit, the centerpiece in learning about the Holocaust.