Traffic stopped on Tremont Street in downtown Boston early Tuesday morning as a 12-ton historic railcar was lifted over a hundred feet into the city’s future Holocaust Museum, an artifact donated by the family of a survivor and personal reminder of the tragic chapter for Bostonians to look up at.
“We don’t look at this rail car as just an artifact,” said Jody Kipnis, co-founder and CEO of Holocaust Museum Boston. “We look at it as a witness to history. It carried human beings who were stripped of their dignity and sent towards ghettos, labor camps and extermination camps. … We’re placing the rail car into the fourth story glass bay window, right across from the Freedom Trail, so that no one walks by without being reminded of the cost of indifference.”
The restored early 20th-century railcar was lifted in a 173-foot-tall tower crane to be installed in the fourth-floor of the museum just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, watched by museum officials, government officials, members of the Jewish community and more.
The installation is a major step in the construction of Boston’s newest museum, set to open late 2026. The museum will be the only one in New England solely dedicated to Holocaust education.
Construction will continue around the massive historic railcar, measuring 30 feet long, 12 feet high, and 8.75 feet wide, officials said. The exhibit will be visible from the street, set up in a protruding bay window, and visitors will be able to walk through the railcar.
“From outside the museum, passersby will see people enter the railcar, but not exit – a visible reminder of the millions of Jews who were transported to their deaths in railcars just like this one,” the museum detailed.
Kipnis said the installation will be one of many interactive parts of the museum.
“We’re inviting the visitor to really examine the past, but then connect it to things that are happening in present day,” said Kipnis. “Not telling the visitor how to do those connections, but helping them throughout the their journey through the museum.”
The CEO said her hope is “people leave committed to standing up against hatred, bigotry and anti-semitism within their schools, communities and workplaces.”
The railcar was donated by Arizona-native Sonia Breslow, whose father was one of fewer than 100 survivors of the 900,000 murdered at Treblinka, the organization said. The artifact is a “powerful and personal testament to history,” as Breslow’s father was transported to the extermination camp in a railcar of the same type. After surviving the camp, Breslow’s father immigrated to Boston.
The railcar exhibited was discovered in a Macedonia junkyard, the museum detailed, before being brought to the U.S., stored in Arizona and brought to Massachusetts to be preserved by a conservator.
Breslow said Tuesday seeing the railcar lifted into its new home “took my breath away.”
“My father survived a transport to Treblinka in a car just like this,” Breslow said. “Most who were taken there did not survive. For this rail car to be in Massachusetts, a place where he rebuilt his life is deeply personal and ensures that his story and the stories of millions will never be forgotten.”
BOSTON (WHDH) – A pedestrian was hit and killed in Roxbury Thursday morning.
The collision occurred just before 8:20 a.m. on Tremont Street.
Police said Tremont Street was closed in both directions between Brigham Circle and Roxbury Crossing.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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A 96-year-old Boston woman received the surprise of a lifetime when she discovered the French men’s national soccer team had become her neighbors at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Back Bay.
Shirley, a beloved resident of the neighborhood, said she had no idea she would end up meeting the players in town for the World Cup.
“They’re my buddies,” she said with a laugh.
Her caretaker, Samia, said Shirley has become well known around Back Bay.
“Anyone outside, when we are walking, people come to her and want to talk to her,” Samia said.
The U.S. is out of the World Cup. Fellow co-hosts Mexico and Canada are too. So who should
The excitement around the hotel grew after the French team arrived to stay there during the tournament.
Shirley said the encounter happened unexpectedly while she was eating lunch.
“I was having lunch and they came over, and since then, it’s been wonderful to have them here,” she said.
Shirley said team representatives soon invited her to meet the players.
“And they said, ‘He would like to meet you.’ I said, ‘I’m glad to meet anybody,’” she recalled.
For this Massachusetts teenager, attending a World Cup match was more than a dream come true, it was a milestone in a journey that began when he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — something that might not have happened if he hadn’t been playing soccer.
After the visit, Shirley recorded a cellphone video sharing her excitement.
“This is absolutely — I cannot tell you how unbelievably fabulous this is,” she said.
The meeting ended with a memorable gift: A jersey from French star Kylian Mbappé.
The team also made her a promise.
“[They] told me that if they win, he will sign it, and then it will be worth a lot of money,” she said, laughing.
Samia, who is from Algeria, quickly agreed. She said she was already a devoted supporter of the French squad after spending many years living in France.
“I’m so excited. I went to Philadelphia to watch the game this past weekend. So, believe me, I’m totally 100% with them. I wanted them to go back to France with a cup,” she said.
Shirley said she never expected to become a fan, but she appreciated the sense of community the tournament brought to her neighborhood.
“It’s good to see such camaraderie happening, with people here getting along. Yeah, it’s the greatest thing,” she said.
She said she still did not know why the team wanted to meet her, but she’s grateful nonetheless. Shirley remains hopeful her new friends would keep winning, and keep returning to Boston.
Local News
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that the city is suing social media companies — including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube — over their alleged deliberate targeting of minors with addictive features.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Boston Public Schools in federal court in California, will be consolidated with more than 1,500 similar complaints from school districts around the country, Wu’s office said.
The lawsuit seeks to force the companies to remove addictive features and compensate the city for the mental health support needed by students. It alleges the companies designed addictive features specifically to keep young people engaged. These features include endless scrolling, frequent notifications, and personalized algorithms, city officials said.
In a statement, Wu said that these companies have evidence of the harm they are causing to children.
“Boston is taking legal action to protect children and youth and hold these companies accountable. Today, we are making it clear that social media companies must end exploitative practices and be accountable to standards of basic protection for children,” she said.
The move comes as more Massachusetts politicians look to rein in social media companies. The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill in April that would implement a phone ban in schools and prohibit children 14 and younger from using social media. Gov. Maura Healey followed that up by introducing legislation that would require social media companies to verify users’ ages and limit the ways in which minors are exposed to potentially addictive design features.
Just last week, the state Senate unveiled legislation that would require social media companies to automatically disable these types of features for minors.
BPS officials say that they have seen a “significant increase” in social media-fueled mental health needs over the past decade. They cited data from the Boston Public Health Commission that shows the impact on high school students. In 2015, just 26.7% of Boston public high school students reported “persistent sadness.” By 2021, that figure had risen to 43.9%.
The district says it has responded by “exponentially” expanding mental health resources. In 2007, there were six social workers and 48 school psychologists employed in the BPS system. The district now has 240 social workers and 105 school psychologists, officials said.
“We work hard to set our students on the best course for success through rigorous academics and whole-student supports, and the research is clear that social media has had a negative impact on students’ well-being while benefiting companies. We all need to do what is right for our students,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement.
In March, a jury in California found that Meta and YouTube are liable for intentionally designing addictive features and that executives failed to protect young users.
In May, Meta and other social media companies settled a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district in a bellwether case.
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