(Courtesy of OU) Commemorating Yom HaShoah and the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Orthodox Union’s Southern NCSY youth movement brought its Hate Ends Now Cattle Car: Stepping in and Out of Darkness exhibit to Times Square.
Hundreds of high school students from the New York metropolitan area had the opportunity to tour the interactive exhibit, as did a host of survivors, educators and dignitaries who attended an evening event at the site.
Uniquely housed in a traveling replica of a WWII-era cattle car similar to those used by the Nazis to transport Jews and other targeted groups to concentration and death camps, The Cattle Car: Stepping in and Out of Darkness includes a powerfully immersive multimedia presentation where visitors watch a movie projected in 360 degrees onto the walls around them helping them to understand the harrowing experiences of those crammed into similar rail cars around 80 years ago.
As visitors progress through the cattle car, they are exposed to the different phases of unimaginable atrocities that took place during the Holocaust. They hear the recorded testimonies of survivors Hedy Bohm and Nate Leipciger who share their own experiences being transported in a cattle car resembling the one that the visitors are standing in. The exhibit’s conclusion ties in present-day footage and images of intolerance and hatred, drawing attention to current issues humanity faces.
An artifact exhibit showcased outside of the cattle car provides added visuals to the overall educational experience.
This unique educational exhibit came to Times Square at a time when hate and discrimination targeting Jewish groups are at an all-time high. The Anti-Defamation League recently reported an all-time high in hate incidents across the United States in 2022, and a 39 % increase in antisemitic acts in New York in the same year.
“Times Square is nicknamed the Crossroads of the World, so there is no more powerful place to showcase the Hate Ends Now tour, particularly at a time in our country when antisemitism and hate in all its forms is on the rise,” said Southern NCSY Executive Director Todd Cohn. “Hundreds of thousands of people walk through Times Square each day. Our hope is to inspire those who see this exhibit and particularly the high school students who visited on the need for tolerance by helping them fully understand the history of the atrocities committed in service of hate.”
Following Times Square, the exhibit will travel to Massachusetts where it will visit Salem State University, Harvard University, Newton’s War Memorial, Jewish community centers and high schools.
Southern NCSY and its partner in the endeavor, the national Holocaust and social justice education nonprofit ShadowLight, launched the program in late 2021, and have since brought its powerful message to four states in the Southeast and New Jersey, reaching more than 60,000 visitors at 12 community centers, 63 high schools, 13 universities, the Florida State Capitol complex in Tallahassee and the Kaseya Center, the home of the Miami Heat.
Hate Ends Now has become a nationally acclaimed traveling exhibit with plans for expansion to visit as many communities as possible. For more information, including dedication opportunities, visit www.hateendsnow.org.
