houston | A World War II-era German railcar’s arrival at a Texas museum brought back horrific memories for Al Marks, one of millions of Jews who were loaded onto similar cars and hauled to Nazi concentration camps.
The 74-year-old Houston resident was taken on a railcar to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he became separated from his parents and never saw them again.
“At that time, we knew we were in hell when we were in the railcar, but we didn’t know how much more hell was waiting for us once the railcar arrived to that location,” said Marks, who rode railcars to work assignments during more than a year spent at four concentration camps.
The 25-foot boxcar, built in 1942, arrived from Germany on Wednesday, Dec. 28 to become part of the Houston Holocaust Museum’s permanent exhibit. Museum officials can’t say for certain whether it was used to transport people during the Holocaust, but insist it is a powerful symbol nonetheless.
“Our railcar is not only an important reminder of history, it is a valuable tool for teaching those lessons,” said Peter M. Berkowitz, president of the museum’s board of directors.
Museum officials plan to officially unveil it at the museum’s 10th anniversary ceremony March 5. Former President Bill Clinton and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are among those invited to join about 300 Holocaust survivors for the ceremony.
According to the museum, 30,000 railcars transported more than 3 million Jews to their deaths during the Holocaust. Some died aboard railcars, while others were killed at concentration camps located along the rail lines. Trains had up to 50 cars, each holding from 50 to 200 people.
The cars were packed with people who had no restrooms, food and little water during trips that sometimes could last days, Marks said. When temperatures were cold, the railcars were frigid and in hot temperatures the conditions were sweltering, Marks said.
There is no way to authenticate whether the museum’s railcar, built to haul cattle and grain, actually transported Holocaust victims.
It has a rounded top believed to allow riders to stand up during transport, and stair steps to allow quicker entry — shortening transport times, museum spokesman Ira Perry said. The railcar is one of seven at museums in the United States. Only two, including the one in Houston, are German railcars.
“We can’t say for sure this car was used,” Perry said. “What we can say is all of the signs were there.’
Many of the railcars have been destroyed or fallen into disrepair, he added.
The Houston museum’s railcar was located in the German town of Blankenburg, where it was being used to store spare railway parts.
“In such a small space of 10 feet by 25 feet there would be up to 200 people crammed in this railcar for up to six to eight hours,’ Berkowitz said. “It is not uncommon that often as much as 30 percent of the individuals who were in these railcars would not see the end of the trip.”