Results tagged “illinoisholocaustmuseum”

On a damp, chilly afternoon in Skokie, an estimated 12,000 people packed a tent on the grounds of the new Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center for the new museum's official opening. The first of its kind in the Midwest, Illinois' Holocaust museum is also likely the last built with the input of Holocaust survivors. The day included performances by hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Soul Children of Chicago, as well as speeches from numerous people involved with the creation of the museum, including Holocaust survivor and museum president Samuel R. Harris, Skokie mayor George Van Dusen and Executive Director Richard Hirschhaut. J.B. Pritzker, the museum's capital campaign chairman, served as MC for the afternoon.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum is nearing completion and has been scheduled to open on April 19, 2009. At 65,000 square-foot, the museum will be the largest of its kind in the Midwest. Officials also say it's likely to be one of the last such museums made in conjunction with Holocaust survivors. J. B. Pritzker, campaign chair for the Museum, said, "This building is a testament to Holocaust survivors who settled in Illinois and their understanding that we must teach future generations the lessons of the Holocaust."

Artifacts include the original volume of the Nuremberg trial transcripts, nearly 2,000 testimonies of Midwest Holocaust survivors and a German rail car of the type used by the Nazis during the Holocaust to transport millions of Jews to concentration camps.