Museum News

June 11, 2009 >

Pioneer Press: Survivor of Holocaust to speak in Kenilworth

Aaron Elster speaks about his childhood experiences in the Holocaust in Kenilworth.  Read online now >

April 2, 2009 >

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Holocaust Museum: Grand Opening Nears in Skokie

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Gov. Pat Quinn, Holocaust survivors and 2,000 others are expected to attend a sold-out gala Thursday night at the llinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie.
Read online now >

May 28, 2009 >

Chicago Tribune: Horror and heroism featured at new Holocaust museum  Read Now >

may 14, 2009 >

McCormick Freedom Museum Author Series: Thomas Buergenthal, A Lucky Child
Listen to the Podcast Online Now >
Thomas Buergenthal spent his childhood in World War II concentration camps.  Miraculously, he survived Auschwitz, the death marches and countless close calls, and is still alive to tell his story today.
The Freedom Museum proudly co-hosted this program with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois.

May 6, 2009 >

Chicago ABC: Mayor Daley marks Holocaust Remembrance Day at llinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Read Now >

Coverage of the Museum Opening >

May 12, 2009 | Angella Nazarian, Huffington Post: Voice of Hope Read now >
April 21, 2009 | Pioneer Press: Holocaust Museum: Seminar guests decry state of genocide reporting Read now >
April 21, 2009 | Art Bistro: Illinois Holocaust Museum Art Galleries Gives History its Due Read now>
April 20, 2009 | The Washington Post: There Will Be Generations, Eboo Patel  Read now >
April 20, 2009 | Chicago Tribune: Bill Clinton featured at opening event Read now >
April 19, 2009 | New York Times: Holocaust Museum Lets Local Voices Memorialize Read now >
April 19, 2009 | Chicago Sun-Times: Wiesel, Clinton revisit horrors, while a 'grandma' speaks of love Read now >
April 18, 2009 | Wall Street Journal: Holocaust Survivors' Protest Still Echoes in Illinois Suburb  Read now >
April 16, 2009 | WBEZ Radio: A Holocaust Survivor Hands Off Her Story  Listen now >
April 16, 2009 | Chicago Tribune: Sunday's opening in Skokie to have powerful message of hope amid the horrors  Read now >

April 2, 2009 >

Professor Elie Wiesel to Speak at Public Grand Opening April 19, 2009

Esteemed author, activist and Holocaust survivor to join President Bill Clinton, Senator Richard Durbin, Governor Pat Quinn and several thousand guests for opening of new museum.  Read the Press Release Now >

March 24, 2009 >

President Bill Clinton to Keynote Grand Opening April 19, 2009

Former U.S. President to join Governor Quinn and thousands of guests as local Holocaust survivors Witness their Dream Revealed for the first time.  Read the Press Release Now >

March 21, 2009 >

Chicago Tribune recognizes IHMEC tribute to Chiune Sugihara

Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese Diplomat during WWII, is one of many rescuers featured in the museum.  Richard Salomon helped secure Japanese documents to tell Sugihara's story and impart the lesson that individuals can make a difference in the midst of darkness.  Read the article online now >

March 21, 2009 >

North Shore Magazine features Museum's work to celebrate the memories of victims and educate future generations

April 2009 Cover Story: "Out of the Darkness" by Lisa Skolnik  Read the article online now >

January 2, 2009 >

Chicago Tribune Winter Architecture Preview Cites IHMEC

A winter architecture preview in the Chicago Tribune lists the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, designed by Stanley Tigerman, as one of its top 10 new sites to watch.   Read the winter preview online now >

December 18, 2008 >

Generation to Generation Hannukah Party Featured in the Deerfield Review

Holocaust survivors and members of HRC continue to preserve Holocaust memory, build lasting relationships, and celebrate traditions.   Read the article online now >

December 14, 2008 >

Chicago Tribune Features the "Skokie That Was"

Writer Howard Reich, a child of Holocaust survivors, highlights the efforts of Survivors to rebuild their lives in Skokie, the home of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Read the article online now >

November 11, 2009 >

Museum announces April 19, 2009 Opening

JUF Blog: A first-look at the Illinois Holocaust Museum
Chicago Tribune: Holocaust Museum Plans Historic Opening
Chicago Sun Times: Illinois Holocaust Museum to Open April 2009
Daily Herald: New Holocaust Museum Aims to Remember the Past, Transform the Future
Pioneer Press: Holocaust Museum in Skokie set for opening April 19
Naperville Sun: Illinois Holocaust Museum work nears completion
WBBM 780: Illinois' New Holocaust Museum in Skokie (with audio)

Older News >

Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Remember Kristallnacht
IHMEC co-sponsors Holocaust scholar Debórah Dwork at community-wide program honoring the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, The Night of the Broken Glass

New York Times Features Extraordinary Collection Donated to Museum
A stamp collection accumulated by Ken Lawrence is donated to the museum by the Spungen Family Foundation in Illinois.

Preserving death camp helps many to understand the horrors of genocide
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center responds to the Chicago Tribune article about financial concerns at Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp memorial sites.

Associate Director of Education, Kelley Szany, Honored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Chicago. 
Szany received the Federation’s 2008 Samuel A. Goldsmith Award honoring outstanding “next generation” professionals at Jewish communal organizations.  View the acceptance speech online >

Ex-refugees' Shanghai stories: 2 women relive years in Jewish ghetto after families fled Holocaust
Andrew L. Wang of the Chicago Tribune details the stories of two Chicago-area women who fled the Holocaust and found refuge in Shanghai.  The womens' stories will now be preserved in the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

HRC Launches Generation to Generation Program
The program pairs a young person who is a member of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee with a Holocaust survivor, with the end goal of the young leader learning the story of survival of their pair.

IHMEC Mourns Passing of Rescuer Irena Sendler

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center mourns the passing of Irena Sendler, a courageous and unsung hero who risked her life to save approximately 2,500 children during the Holocaust through her work with Zegota, a unit of the Polish underground established specifically to help Jews in hiding.

IHMEC is Highlighted in The Builder
Building construction is tauted in a construction trade magazine.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Receives Conservation Bookshelf 
IHMEC is among the first to receive an essential set of resources from the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf.

IHMEC Mourns Representative Tom Lantos
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center mourns the passing of Representative Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress.

Living History, Past Pain
Article highlighting the Holocaust Remembrance Board in the Daily Herald, July 04, 2007

Holocaust Survivors Gather to Leave Their Mark on the New Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Watch video coverage at CBS 2 News Chicago

State of Illinois Grants Additional $1 million to New Museum
To help ensure that Illinoisans for generations to come remain aware of the lessons of the Holocaust, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today announced a $1 million grant to support construction of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. 

Groundbreaking, June 22, 2006, 10:30 a.m.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center broke ground on the new 65,000-square-foot museum. Joined by Governor Rod Blagojevich, Israeli Consul General Barukh Binah, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen and Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, local survivors and project leaders marked the day with solemn remembrance and hopeful celebration.