Donna Hatch, author

This is one of the most powerful historical photos I've ever seen. They are Jewish prisoners being liberated from a death train in 1945. They were en route to concentration camps. They would have likely all been killed, many of them almost immediately. Allied soldiers intercepted it and set them all free. This train appears to be mostly women and children. Although 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, many millions more were also offed because of the insatiable hatred of one man and his supporters. By the time this photo was taken, the passengers knew exactly what this train meant. You are staring at “the moment” these people realized they wouldn’t be dying in a group execution. I can’t even fathom the relief they felt. Relief isn’t even a strong enough word.