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The Railcar in the Film, Paperclips

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The Railcar in the Film, Paperclips
Paper Clips Railcar

The Railcar in the movie “Paper Clips” is now filled with paperclips. Every paper clip they have came with a story, and every paper clip is representing somebody. When people go into that car, they feel those things. They understand the pain, and remember the stories. People can visualize the victims in there. The Railcar experienced it all, and is now a famous artifact to remind us what the holocaust was about.

The Children's Holocaust Memorial consists of a genuine German rail car that was used to transport victims to concentration camps. The rail car holds eleven million paper clips, one for each victim of the Holocaust. A small park surrounds the car. There is also a monument honoring the children lost in the Holocaust. The Holocaust Research Room houses over thirty thousand letters, a collection of Holocaust books, artifacts, and art. The rail car at Whitwell Middle School was part of the "German Reichsbahn" and is one of the very last remaining cattle cars of the Nazi era. This car was located in Robel, Germany. Peter Schroeder and Dagmar Schroeder Hildebrand purchased the car and donated it to Whitwell Middle School. When the Schroeders purchased the car from Robel, they took on the intimidating task of getting the car to Whitwell.

The railcar that transported the victims to the camps must evoke so many painful memories. A rail car that measured 10 feet by 25 feet would be crammed with as many 200 people, and it wasn't unusual for 30 percent to die en route. Now the Railcar will become an educational tool so that children will understand the consequence of hatred, bigotry and intolerance. The Rail Car must have many stories of pain and anguish. People who are starring at death and having hope for a better day, people not giving up on life but also see the people who are in pure agony and ready to die. The Rail Car is now a fact of the Holocaust and a reminder of the tragic events that

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