Cattle Car Experience takes Savannah through Holocaust education amid rise in anti-Semitism

Zach Dennis, Savannah Morning News
·2 min read
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"To me, it's empowering," said Rabbi Eli Lob with the BBJ Synagogue and Southern NCSY as he looked at the WWII-era cattle car replica sitting in the Benedictine Military School parking lot on Thursday.

"My relatives didn't die for nothing, rather ... it's the lessons we take from it that we have to do all we can to raise more compassion and try to prevent hatred."

Inside the experience sat around 25 students from Islands High School, who were immersed in visuals and testimonies of the people who experienced similar enclosures when they were stripped from their homes by Nazi soldiers and transported to concentration camps across Germany during World War II.

Students from Islands High School watch from all angles as numbers flash across the walls of the cattle car symbolizing the identification numbers given to Jews during the Holocaust as they participate in the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car on Thursday January 5, 2023.
Students from Islands High School watch from all angles as numbers flash across the walls of the cattle car symbolizing the identification numbers given to Jews during the Holocaust as they participate in the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car on Thursday January 5, 2023.

The Cattle Car Experience, which began on Tuesday, will be on display in Savannah through Jan. 12 in conjunction with the Savannah Jewish Educational Alliance (JEA). The cattle car will be placed at Skidaway Community Church on Sunday and will be at the Savannah JEA on Monday and Tuesday.

Local school tours are planned most mornings, but the public is welcome to attend in the afternoon and evening by RSVP-ing at savj.org/hate-ends-now-tour. It is recommended to anyone of any faith and ages 13 and older.

Islands High Students look at relics from WWII during the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program on Thursday January 5, 2023 at Benedictine Military School.
Islands High Students look at relics from WWII during the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program on Thursday January 5, 2023 at Benedictine Military School.

Across the world, waves of violence and anti-Semitism have risen and Rabbi Lob said that he hopes an experience like this one will open people's hearts and show a path towards preventing further hatred. "They need to see how far hatred can take people and they need to learn that we need to focus on preventing hatred and building up love and compassion," he said.

"So it's important to see how far hatred can go in order not to get stuck in the hatred, but in order to move forward and building a positive future. I really want to empower people towards a love compassion and taking a stand against each other."

Participants in the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program left their finger print with a message of how they will leave their mark following a discussion about their experience.
Participants in the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program left their finger print with a message of how they will leave their mark following a discussion about their experience.
Islands High students watch intently as Holocaust survivors tell their stories during the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program on Thursday January 5, 2023 at Benedictine Military School.
Islands High students watch intently as Holocaust survivors tell their stories during the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program on Thursday January 5, 2023 at Benedictine Military School.
Propaganda images are shown on the walls as students from Islands High School participate in the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program on Thursday January 5, 2023 at Benedictine Military School.
Propaganda images are shown on the walls as students from Islands High School participate in the Hate Ends Now Cattle Car program on Thursday January 5, 2023 at Benedictine Military School.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Cattle Car Experience provides Holocaust education in Savannah GA