This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with Jewish teens around the world to report on issues that affect their lives.
Adam Mendelsohn expected his Central Florida community to do something on International Holocaust Remembrance Day to educate people about the Shoah. When Jan. 27 came and went and nothing was done, the teen decided to take action.
“With antisemitism on the rise, I wanted to bring a meaningful, immersive experience to my school that would help students truly understand the horrors of the Holocaust and the consequences of hate,” said Mendelsohn, 17, a senior.
Mendelsohn, along with Jewish Student Union members at Edgewater High School in Orlando, used this resolve to bring an immersive exhibit to their high school this year to educate community members about the Holocaust. The exhibit transforms a traditional cattle car into a time capsule, replicating the experience of Jews who were shipped to ghettos, internment centers and concentration camps.
“It is crucial for Jewish youth to connect with our history, especially through events that memorialize the Holocaust,” said Mendlesohn. “As the number of survivors dwindles, it becomes our responsibility to ensure their stories are not forgotten and that the lessons of the Holocaust continue to be taught.”
The exhibit was created by Hate Ends Now, a Holocaust education organization. To date, more than 40,000 students nationwide have participated in its events. Mendelsohn also partnered with Holocaust Center of Florida to provide resources about the Holocaust at the event for any exhibit goers.
Hate Ends Now has two goals: “One is raising awareness of the Holocaust,” said CEO Todd Cohn, with the other being “training students and giving them the strength and the education that they need to stand up to antisemitism and to hate in all of its forms.”
In order to bring the exhibit to their high school, Mendelsohn and his team raised $30,000 by developing relationships with community leaders, businesses and organizations in the city. More than 1,500 students and 500 community members toured the cattle car from January 6-10, including U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost and State Rep. Anna Eskamani.
“Many people told me they had never experienced something like this before, and it helped them connect with history in a way that reading from a textbook never could,” said Mendelsohn.
Students at Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida collected 1 million paper clips, each representing one of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. (Cara Dezso)
Edgewater Principal Alex Jackson said the exhibit changed the way his students learned about the Holocaust. “This experience brought the Holocaust to life for my students,” said Jackson.
The exhibit took place in the courtyard in front of the school. Inside the car, video clips play stories of Holocaust survivors, and recreations of families being packed into the cars themselves as well as being separated from their own family members. At the end of that 20-minute display, news clippings from recent stories covering antisemitism around the world connect the Holocaust to the present day.
“It’s not just about remembering,” said Mendelsohn, “it’s about using history to inspire action and ensure that future generations learn from the past.”
In the school lobby, people had the chance to view 25 Holocaust-related artifacts, including a striped uniform of the type worn by camp inmates and examples of Nazi propaganda. Edgewater’s JSU also collected 1 million paper clips, replicating the memorial in the documentary “Paper Clips,” about a Tennessee middle school that collected paper clips to represent the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis. This memorial was placed in Edgewater’s auditorium, with exhibit goers being able to come up and see the huge pile of clips on stage.
These cattle car exhibits are making their way across the state of Florida, with plans to open in Miami and Tampa in the first two weeks of March. After that, they are scheduled for public events in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
With antisemitism on the rise since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, groups have promoted education about Jewish history as a useful tool to stop antisemitism in its tracks. The Anti-Defamation League found in 2023 that those who have not had sufficient education about Jews, the Holocaust and Judaism are more likely to hold antisemitic beliefs.
“When Jewish youth take an active role in Holocaust education, they become leaders in their communities, fostering awareness, empathy and a commitment to ‘Never Again,’” said Mendelsohn. “It’s not just about remembering — it’s about using history to inspire action and ensure that future generations learn from the past.”
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