BOSTON, Mass. - On November 25, supporters, Massachusetts dignitaries, civic leaders, Jewish communal leaders, and Boston-based community partners gathered along Boston’s historic Freedom Trail—directly across from the Massachusetts State House—to witness a major milestone in the creation of Holocaust Museum Boston.
During the morning commute, traffic briefly halted as a 173-foot tower crane lifted a meticulously restored early 20th-century railcar—believed to be the same type used to transport Jews from across Nazi-occupied Europe to extermination camps—into the museum’s fourth floor while the construction continues around it.
The dramatic installation marked significant progress toward building New England’s only museum dedicated solely to Holocaust education and the fragility of democracy.
Measuring more than 30 feet long, 12 feet high, and nearly 9 feet wide, and weighing over 12 tons, the railcar had to be installed now – the only moment when the building’s structure could receive it. Guests began their morning with a program at Suffolk Law School before gathering on Tremont Street to witness the rare artifact rise above the city and settle into its permanent home. The moment symbolically bridged past and present and underscored the urgency of the museum’s mission. The railcar was donated by Sonia Breslow of Phoenix, Arizona, whose father—one of fewer than 100 survivors among the 900,000 Jews murdered at Treblinka—was deported to the extermination camp in a railcar of this type. After the Holocaust, he immigrated to Massachusetts, making the installation especially meaningful for her family.
The artifact was discovered in a Macedonian junkyard in 2012, brought to the United States, stored in an Arizona DPW yard, and then transported to Massachusetts for conservation. Over the past six months, renowned conservator Josh Craine of Daedalus meticulously stabilized and restored the rail for exhibition.“The hardest truth this railcar forces us to confront is this: the Holocaust was not carried out by the Nazis alone. It was carried out by people, ordinary people, who kept the trains running, who stamped the papers, who followed schedules, who chose silence over courage. The machinery of genocide ran because countless individuals did their everyday jobs and looked away,” said Jody Kipnis, Co-founder and CEO of Holocaust Museum Boston, who delivered remarks before the installation. “This railcar will stand at the heart of the Holocaust Museum Boston to confront that truth.”
“Seeing this railcar lifted into its new home took my breath away,” said donor Sonia Breslow. “My father survived a transport to Treblinka in a car just like this. Most who were taken there did not survive. For this railcar to be in Massachusetts, a place where he rebuilt his life, is deeply personal. It ensures that his story, and the stories of millions, will never be forgotten.”
When the museum opens in late 2026, visitors will be able to walk through the railcar as part of an immersive experience. From Tremont Street, the artifact will be visible through a protruding bay window; passersby will see visitors enter the car but not exit—an intentional design symbolizing the millions who never returned and the freedoms that were stripped away.
Holocaust Museum Boston will be the only institution in New England solely dedicated to Holocaust education and the first major museum built in Boston in more than 20 years.
Project partners include the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, Schwartz/Silver Architects, Lee Kennedy Company, Luci Creative, Cortina Productions, and MGAC.
For more information or to support the museum’s mission, visit holocaustlegacyfoundation.org.
About Holocaust Legacy Foundation:
Holocaust Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization is dedicated to honoring and preserving the memory, lessons, and legacy of the Holocaust through educational initiatives, transformative programs, and widespread outreach. For more information, visit: www.holocaustlegacyfoundation.org.
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About Holocaust Museum Boston
Opening in late 2026, Holocaust Museum Boston will be the first museum in New England solely dedicated to Holocaust education. Through immersive exhibits, survivor stories, and cutting-edge technology, the museum will honor the legacy of Holocaust victims and survivors while confronting the pressing issues of antisemitism, hate, and bigotry. Located in Boston’s historic district, the Museum, operated by the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, will serve as a place for learning, reflection, and community connection. Drawing on the city’s legacy of civic engagement, it will inspire future generations to recognize the fragility of democracy, confront hatred and intolerance, and act with moral courage.
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