The power of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is its ability to present the history of the Holocaust in ways that enable visitors to relate this experience to his or her own life today - the values we hold dear, the moral choices we each confront, and recognizing that each of us has the power to stand up to bigotry.
Through its core exhibition and a wide array of public programs, the new Museum has become a cherished destination for learning and reflection, as well as a foundation for advancing inter group understanding in our community.
Learn more about all of the exhibitions in
the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
The Zev and Shifra Karkomi Permanent Exhibition Learn more >
The Exhibition tells the story of the Holocaust, from pre-war German life through ghetto life and concentration camps to eventual liberation and resettlement throughout the world, with a special focus on post-war life in Israel and Skokie. More than 500 artifacts, documents and photographs help illustrate the narrative of the Holocaust while testimonies from local survivors add personal detail. A German Rail Car of the type used in Nazi deportation programs sits in the cleave of the building. As you pass, feel free to enter the rail car. The exhibition concludes with a summary film in the Pritzker Theater that connects the lessons of the Holocaust with other Genocides. View some of these artifacts online >The average visit time is one to two hours. This exhibition is recommended for visitors 12 years of age and older.
Make a Difference: The Miller Family Youth Exhibition Learn more >
Make a Difference: The Miller Family Youth Exhibition is designed for younger visitors aged 8-11, although everyone will find something engaging in this space. The exhibition’s interactive and hands-on activities in the McDonald's Friendship Park help younger visitors identify who they are as individuals, explore what it takes to care for themselves and others, and how to make the difficult decisions that lead to being an “upstander” rather than a bystander. ITW's state-of-the-art "Take a Stand" exhibit is a virtual-reality experience that provides a safe forum for our younger visitors to explore their impact on their environment and how their decisions and actions affect others. The Polk Bros Global Community Theater offers a variety of film and live experiences.Legacy of Absence Gallery Learn more >
The Legacy of Absence Gallery focuses on the feelings of sadness and loss that continue in the shadow of the Holocaust and other modern genocides, including Cambodia, Rwanda and the Soviet Gulag. Through various artistic perspectives, these six galleries will help visitors gain an understanding of the impact of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights abuses on the individual and the various ways they express these feelings. The gallery features photographs, works of contemporary art, and multimedia displays from world-renowned artists such as Samuel Bak, Betye Saar and Jozef Szajna, among many others.
Room of Remembrance and Hall of Reflection
The Room of Remembrance pays special homage to the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Representative names of victims line the walls in a moving tribute to those who were lost. The inspirational Pritzker Hall of Reflection provides a forum for peaceful discussion and contemplation for groups and individuals.Special Exhibits:
Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race
At the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center:
July 23, 2010 - January 2, 2011 | Learn More >
Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race, an exhibition about the role of science in Nazi ideology, is now open at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. The exhibition examines how the Nazi leadership, in collaboration with individuals in the professions traditionally charged with healing and the public good, used science to help legitimize persecution, murder and, ultimately, genocide. Produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, Deadly Medicine will be on display through January 2, 2011.
“Deadly Medicine explores the Holocaust’s roots in then-contemporary scientific and pseudo-scientific thought,” explains exhibition curator Susan Bachrach. “At the same time, it touches on complex ethical issues we face today, such as how societies acquire and use scientific knowledge and how they balance the rights of the individual with the needs of the larger community. We are pleased to be bringing this important exhibition to the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and a Midwest audience.”
Viewer Discretion Advised: The exhibition contains difficult subject matter and imagery. It is recommended for visitors 12 years and older.
Photo: Dr. Otmar von Verschuer examines twins at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. As the head of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute’s Department for Human Heredity, Verschuer, a physician and geneticist, examined hundreds of pairs of twins to study whether criminality, feeble-mindedness, tuberculosis, and cancer were inheritable. In 1927, he recommended the forced sterilization of the “mentally and morally subnormal.” Verschuer typified those academics whose interest in Germany’s “national regeneration” provided motivation for their research.
Credit: Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin-Dahlem
Skokie, IL