Brochure from Center for Holocaust Education & Human Dignity featuring survivor Faye Rothestein Toperak

Faye Rothstein Toperak Faye Rothstein was 16 years old when the Nazis invaded her home town of Lask, Poland and moved her family to the ghetto. When her town was made"Judenrein"(free of Jews), Faye and her siblings were sent to the nearby Lodz ghetto while other relatives and friends were sent to be gassed at the extermination camp Chelmno. In August 1944 when she, her two sisters and their brother were sent by cattle car to Auschwitz-Birkenau. When they got off the train there was a selection. The brother went with the men. The three girls tried to stay together but one of them went in a different direction?to the gas. April 1945. The sisters were again locked in a cattle car but this time they had been moved into Germany as the Nazis fled the advancing Russian troops. During an Allied bombing raid the Nazis ran leaving their prisoners helpless on the train. Not knowing who or what was inside, the Allies bombed the train. The car next to the sisters took a direct hit killing everyone inside.Their car had one wall blown away pinning Faye's sister in the debris. Faye was working desperately to free her when she noticed one of the walls was starting to fall and \ about to crush her sister's face. Faye moved and took the weight of the wall on her shoulder, saving her sister. Wounded, both girls fled the train and were later liberated by the Russians. Faye almost lost her arm. It took a long time to heal but for the rest of her life she had a dent in her shoulder. After the war she married and came to the US where she settled in Chicago. CENTER ? FOR? HOLOCAUST EDUCATION & Human Dignity A project of the East Valley JCC www.evjcc.org The Center The Center for Holocaust Education & Human Dignity is dedicated to educating the public about the Holocaust in order to take action on issues facing the world today. As a world-class museum, the lessons of the Holocaust and the message of human dignity will extend throughout the Southwest on a daily basis. Honoring victims of the Holocaust is the centerpiece of the project, while the name is meant to convey the larger message that dignity is an inherent human right. The East Valley JCC in Chandler, Arizona conceived of the Center as an extension of its events centered on diversity, understanding and human dignity. The Center will be built on the JCC's land adjacent to its existing building, which was originally intended for a JCC expansion and is now dedicated to an integrated campus approach. Exhibits will include Holocaust history and education, exhibits on other genocides, and rotating exhibits on current diversity and tolerance issues. The Railcar In early 2012, the East Valley JCC acquired the railcar from Macedonia, which was occupied by Germany during World War II. Railcars were integral to the German's ability to transport and murder mass numbers of Jews as they worked to carry out the "Final Solution". This railcar has been certified as'being of the type and era'used to transport Holocaust victims to death camps. The Center for Holocaust Education & Human Dignity commissioned an expert in the preservation of artifacts to research the history and significance of the car, while preserving it as closely as possible to its current state. Research shows the car was of German design and made in Yugoslavia between 1915 and 1925, while elements of the car, specifically some of the windows, were fabricated in the late 1800's. Maintenance markings indicate the car was in service during the time of Holocaust, although it has not yet been confirmed that it transported people.The last maintenance markings indicate that the car was in service in 1976.The car was purchased as scrap metal from the Macedonian Railway Authority and shipped to the Port of Los Angeles, then transported by freight to Arizona. The railcar is significant as a symbol of the millions of people whose lives and families were destroyed and subjected to the worst of human nature. This railcar has traveled more than 11 thousand miles to fulfill its new purpose: to become a centerpiece in a place dedicated to human dignity, serving as a symbol of honor and respect. The railcar will be on limited display until it takes its place as the signature artifact in the Center for Holocaust Education & Human Dignity in Chandler, AZ.