A display of historic cattle cars parked in Lakewood has sparked strong reactions from residents, with some contacting police after finding the exhibit offensive or disturbing.
The cattle cars, which are widely recognized as one of the most haunting symbols of the Holocaust, were used by the Nazis to transport millions of Jews and other victims to concentration and extermination camps during World War II.
Ironically, the purpose of the exhibit is the exact opposite of what some critics fear. According to the organization behind the display, the exhibit was brought to the community to educate visitors about the dangers of hatred and indifference.
“We are committed to encouraging people to reflect on the depths of evil while inspiring thoughtful conversations about genocide and indifference as they participate in The Cattle Car exhibit,” the organization states. “We also want to motivate individuals to get involved in preventing hate crimes and maintaining a sense of unity with each other.”
So what do you think? Does the cattle car exhibit serve as an important reminder of where hatred can lead, or is displaying such a powerful symbol in a public setting more harmful than helpful for survivors, their families, and the broader community?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
There are those who say we should forget and move on. I am not one of those.
Comment deleted for anti-Semitism.
By gassing women and children and the aged and the handicapped?
someone is listening to candace owens a bit to much
tried to save europe…..by murdering jews?????
And Catholics, queers, artists, Roma, and cripples of all faiths. I grew up in NJ, in a town largely populated by immigrants, there were few gentile families who weren’t impacted by losing members in the camps.
My public HS used Shirer’s ‘Rise and Fall of the Third Reich as a foundation text for teaching WW2. My teacher in 1967 was a WW2 vet who served in Italy. He had very strong opinions about fascism.
we shouldn’t be depressed, but we should never, ever forget it. you can’t forgive Nazis
In general it serves as an important reminder and education for the public and community.
However, a big however, what was unintentionally overlooked is the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of children (i.e., school age and under 18 years of age).
Lakewood is unique in being a sheltered community providing children with a high form of education.
Introducing emotionally sensitive, even disturbing and traumatic, artifacts can have a negative effect on the educational system.
i learned about the holocaust (including visualy) in 6th grade (12 years old). years later I’m doing fine in life. Maybe sheltering kids is actually not such a good thing???
I think the safest way for Holocaust education is in high school classrooms.
I honestly don’t not know if mesivtas teach an English curriculum.
I learned about the Holocaust in high school. Nevertheless, I do not advocate pretending like it never happened. I feel that the menahalim and mechanchim should weigh the issues. The younger generation is completely different. Different challenges.
My NJ public school used ‘Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’ as a primary text to teach WW2 and the holocaust. There are hundred’s of holocaust curriculum being taught here in the US.
I heard that book is very well documented
Agree with you 💯. I was unfortunately brought up with the details of the horrors of the Holocaust that my grandparents endured. It is damaging to relay this information to children who are too young to comprehend.
Yes, the gedolim have said this – not to say gory details to children not even HS
No Pesach seder in your house, huh?
Or do just skip the parts about the Pharoah ordering the drowning of babies in the Nile?
Do does your kids’ school teach about the ten plagues or the ten little bo-bos?
I guess your holy book orders giving Amalaik a patch-in-punim.
And Mordechai didn’t hang Haman and his sons on a 50 cubits tall gallows, he hung up their shabbos suits in the wrong closet as a punishment.
I can’t imagine how you handle sifrai navi’im.
I wouldn’t call it a high form of education… more like bare minimum
It is important to learn about and understand the Holocaust on some level at various ages. However, the gedolim (great rabbis) said we should not teach the gory details, as that can indeed have a traumatic effect – even on HS age – as you said. Such a a traumatic effect doesm’t help – it just essentaily continues the Holocaust.
Lock them up. Those are the ones who don’t know how to live with themselves or are either one of the same.
How is this even a debate, those people that freak out from seeing a piece of history might as well advocate for the demolition of aushwitz.
What’s wrong? This should be living mussar to the tocehcha and should remind everyone what they are doing in this world.
What is “the organization” that sponsored it? Is there a reason their name and broad mission is left out of the article? There is definitely more to the story than what it says here.
That said, where are the cattle cars located? Does “having thoughtful conversations about genocide and indifference” refer to today’s blood libel in Gaza?
In theory I have nothing against this. But that’s conditional on the cause and circumstances of placement being fair.
Someone said it’s on Kennedy Blvd
where are they?
Can you let us know where they are parked so I can take my children to go see them…nothing like real life example of understanding how their great grandparents went to the their deaths.
near coventry along east kennedy
The question is if it is actually real.
I am a non Jewish resident of a nearby town. Years ago we had a holocaust survivor speak to us in elementary school and she emphasized not letting history even a painful history be easily forgotten, especially by those far away from it. It is a tough subject determining where such reminders for these things (slavery, internment, prejudice) etc should be placed. But we must continue to ensure new generations know the pains of the past to avoid repeating our mistakes.
Who brought this exhibit? We don’t need to be reminded! Where is its location ?
You obviously need to be reminded.
In your backyard.
On the contrary, it’s forgotten history that makes human beings repeat the same mistakes
I passed this Carl car parked on Kennedy Boulevard. I noticed an air-conditioning unit hooked up there. Well, if they want to give you a feeling what this cattle car was like in the 1940s, there were no air-conditioning units on it!
Actually, the AC should be on the max because it was freezing inside not hot.
no a/c – to say the least!:)
we don’t have to be remined maybe put it in a different area,
or actually maybe we need to be reminded how we should act in golus, to be good respectful neighbors, and not going around with a sense of entitlement, and getting organizations to always sue the townships we move into because we feel one of the aseres hadibros is to have a eiruv around your neighborhood, i grew up in Flatbush b.h. we didn’t feel deprived not having a eiruv
If you think that our own children have a real grasp on what happened to that generation, you are wrong. This is a way to touch history and know that the evil wasn’t an exaggerated story- for us as well as non- Jews. Use the opportunity to explain to your kids- we don’t sugar coat the past, we learn from it.
You have to know how to teach it. The rabbis have said that teaching the gory details is traumatic, and that harms child – and even young adult. They had meetings about how it should be taught in the schools, since it is important to teach about it to a degree.
I say ‘to a degree’, as there have been many a Holocaust since then – vaccines (no vax ever proven necessary, safe or effective, and mountains of proof to the opposite – see book Turtles All the way down on vaccines and Dissolving Illusion dot come), junk food, vapes etc. etc. A tremendous amount of damage is being done by Jews to Jews, I’m very sorry to say. And of course, they don’t mean anything wrong – just earning an “honest” living. If you don’t mean wrong, you can do what you want, of course, that’s all Ten Commandments, doesn’t everyone know?!
If this wouldn’t have been written about in TLS, I probably wouldn’t even have known about it.
B”H
Without going into details, I’m afraid the effect will be the exact opposite of the sponsors attempt, l”r. Rather, they might consider obtaining property in a remote location that is fenced in so the exhibits can only be seen from within, and charge an admission to people that really want to see this part of history without inciting anything unbeneficial. Thank you.
Its unlikely that a yid put this up. There have been facsimiles of cattle cars used in private places to demonstrate the horrors that the Jewish ppl were subjected to. But if a cattle car was placed in public at this juncture in history, it sounds like an intentionally provocative, antisemitic act, likely drawing a ridiculous analogy to current history.
Where can I go see this ?
My grandmother could have been on it
This is an item of extreme interest to the Jewish community, whether you are for or against it. Why is this the first I’m hearing about this? Don’t you think this should have been publicized? Something fishy about this…
i hope the moderator will let this through. I am the child of a holocaust survivor. I cannot believe what i read “ONLY SENSATIVE MATERIAL FOR A HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM SETTING? are you nuts? I heard about the horrors of the holocaust at 8 years old. so did my classmates. maybe thats why we have backbone. we werent sheltered by a dr spock liberal crybaby who says everything is traumatic. get a life and see a therapist. you have issues.
Sorry, but the gedolim have said otherwise. Please see my other comments. the gory details should not be taught even to HS.
About being “sheltered” and open-minded etc, the best solution is to learn about middos (good character) and chesed (kindess) – that makes the world a good place.
Many grandchildren of Nazis regret what their grandparents did. Some even become geirim (converts)!
specifically which gedolim said that? I do not.beleive you. FAKE NEWS. which Gedolim?
Wow! A chutzpah to call police!
Nothing changed since 1941, except we now have Israel & video communication; we are still in the same lions den as in 1941 but the lions stomachs are still full unlike Europes 1930’s depression, but if moshiach doesn’t come we will be going to deportation in patty wagons instead of cattle cars.
My Father ע”ה was in Auschwitz for a short while until he narrowly escaped in the middle of the night, he told his surviving brothers that we can’t stay here, we must get out of here asap, he escaped 4 times from camps, he said he and his surviving brothers were in gehinom for 4 years, but he never told me how he arrived at the concentration camps, probably in those cattle cars, I tried not to talk to him about it.
Al Qaeda Beheading Knife Exhibit Sparks Lively Debate
An Al Qaeda Beheading knife exhibit in Lakewood’s Town Square has sparked a lively debate between those who are utterly horrified and disgusted by the gruesome display and those people who are in charge of the display who say the purpose of the exhibit is to “educate the public about the dangers of beheading utensils and to give the public a personal, close-up view of these blood stained slicing tools.”
“We are committed to encouraging people to reflect on the cutting-edge capability of these incredibly awesome knives,” said Adolpho Fuhrer, co-founder of ‘Beheading for All’, the organization behind this exhibit, and the author of the renowned educational guide, ‘Beheading for Dummies’. “We are offering the public the opportunity to experience the horrors of Al Qaeda executions in a safe and fun environment.”
“So come on down to the exhibit,” Mr. Fuhrer said, “and bring along some friends with you, because, let’s face it, there’s no reason to deprive your friends of this amazingly fun learning experience.”
Mr. Fuhrer added: “I can promise you one thing: You will leave this exhibit with a full understanding of how these beheading knives work, and how they serve as the perfect tools to cut open people’s throats,”
“cutting-edge capabiliy”!:)
What a chillul Hashem! Who talks like this about fellow Yidden? To suggest using German atrocities to kick out your brothers?
And just FYI, I live in neither Lakewood nor Brooklyn.
I hope you take down your comment.
I’m beyond horrified that you can say such a thing about your own brothers….. Disgraceful!!!!!!!!!!!
I drive pass this cattle car daily and I must say it really unsettles me every time I see it. There is a time and place for everything including holocaust remembrance and education. This is not something I want to see while going about my daily routine.
Who put it there? Is it going around US?
BH your previous hate filled message was deleted. Hopefully this one will follow.
First, how do we know they’re authentic? There are fake tattooing told purported to be from Nazis on e-bay, and many are apparently fake. Are they charging money for this exhibit?
Also, people have much worse to be upset about. A rav in Israel said: 80 years ago, they forced us onto cattle cars with the threat we would be shot. Today, people line up to get the shot (Covid “vaccine”) – that NO manufacturer even CLAIMED would prevent Covid – only possibly reduce symptoms if one got it, and the “vax” caused more death and destruction after several months, than ALL OTHER VAXES COMBINED FOR 30 YEARS!!!
So, you don’t have time to be worried about this [perhaps authentic] cattle car – there are much more important things.
You have to be concerned about Democtraic Nazisim – not force, but coercion – advertising to enter the new types of cattle cars.
where is this exhibit?