Obj. ID: 50463
Modern Jewish Art  Trains to Life, Trains to Death Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, Germany, 2008

Memorial Name

Trains to Life, Trains to Death

Who is Commemorated?

The 1.6 million children murdered in the Holocaust, and the 10,000 children whose lives were saved by being granted entry into England in 1938.

Description:

The bronze sculpture presents seven boys and girls to represent the Jewish children of the 1930s. The figures are attached to a bronze slab atop a base of stone slabs. Attached to the base on one side, in bronze, is a single railroad track on the beginnings of railroad ties. A narrow bronze panel is affixed to the track with the names of the sculptors.

The arrangement of the figural group reflects the contrasting fate of the children in the Nazi era. Five figures in greyed bronze face in one direction. One of the girls wears a prominently displayed yellow Magen David (the Yellow Star), on which is inscribed the word “Jude”. Behind the children is a pile of open empty luggage, including a violin case. In one open suitcase is a broken doll. These figures represent the children deported to concentration camps – and for the most part, to death. In contrast, two lighter bronze figures gaze in the other direction and represent Jewish children saved by the Kindertransport. An older boy carries a suitcase and strides forward confidentially, and a younger, smaller girl has a backpack and clutches a stuffed animal.

Inscriptions

Plaque facing the train station (German and English):

Züge in Das Leben
Züge in Den Tod
1938 - 1945
Trains to Life
Trains to Death

Sponsor and Sculptor Plaque:

Sculptors: Frank Meisler, Arie Ovadia 2008

German

Die skulptur entstand dank des engagements von Lisa Bechner, den
Unterstuetzern der Kindertransport Organization Berlin und sponsoren:

Translation: The sculpture was created thanks to the commitment of Lisa Bechner, the Support the Kindertransport Organization Berlin, and sponsors:

 This sculpture has been created thanks to the efforts of Ms. Lisa Bechner
and the generous contributions of

[List of Sponsors]

Commissioned by

Kindertransport Organization Berlin