Holocaust survivor speaks in Chandler

CHANDLER, Ariz. (KSAZ) - A piece of history has been on display in Chandler.

A railroad car used to transport Jewish people to concentration camps during World War II is on display and a Holocaust survivor was there to share his story with younger generations.

"I was 9-years-old when me, my grandfathers, and other 80 people were shoved into a railway car just like that there," says George Kalman.

The railway car brings back dark memories for Kalman, who is a Holocaust survivor. In 1944, he and his family were forced out of their home, loaded up, and sent to a camp.

"I remember it was raining," Kalman recalls, "and we were in the mud... we were there in that mud for about a week before the other transportation started, and then we were transported again in a rail way car to Austria."

From there, he ended up at a work camp.

A spokesperson for the city of Chandler says they're honored to host this piece of history.

"The railcar really symbolizes the experience that some of the Holocaust survivors, and those that perished in the Holocaust, went through as they were transported in railcars to either work camps or death camps," they said.

Most of Kalman's family was murdered during the Holocaust, but he likes to share his experiences at events like this one in Chandler to keep his story alive and use the lessons of the past to at that time battle discrimination in the world today.