Previous Temporary Exhibitions
> The Wartime Escape: Margret and H.A. Rey’s Journey from France
March 26, 2010 - June 20, 2010
More than three generations of Americans have grown up reading the stories of an irrepressible little brown monkey known in this country as “Curious George.” But few people know about the incredible journey made by his creators, Margret and H.A. Rey, to escape the Nazi invasion of Paris at the start of World War II. Stashing a few precious belongings and manuscripts in their knapsacks and the baskets of their bicycles, the Jewish couple fled Paris in June 1940, starting a five month odyssey by bike, train, and boat that would eventually bring them to American shores.
The Wartime Escape explores the Rey’s early creative collaborations and traces how the story of George himself (originally titled The Adventures of Fifi) spanned the wartime period. The exhibition features 27 framed art prints by artist Allan Drummond and supplemental archival images from the holdings of the DeGrummond Collection of Children’s Literature at the University of Southern Mississippi. The exhibition is based in part on the 2005 publication, The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey, written by Louise Borden and illustrated by Allan Drummond (Houghton Mifflin Company, New York). The exhibition is organized and curated by Beth Seldin Dotan, Director of the Institute for Holocaust Education in Omaha, Nebraska.
A program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts. This exhibition is generously brought to the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center by the McCormick Foundation.
News Coverage >
Chicago Sun Times | The brave escape of Curious George: Exhibit shows how author, illustrator dodged Holocaust Read Now >CBS2 Chicago | Holocaust Museum Honors Curious George Creators Read Now >
Shalom Life | Holocaust Museum Features Curious George Read Now >
> Anne Frank: A History for Today, Winter 2010
A new special exhibit will open December 3rd featuring photographs of the Frank family and other occupants of the Secret Annex.
The exhibit traces the story of the Frank family alongside the events of World War II and the persecution of the Jews. By focusing on the well known Frank family, the exhibit reveals the challenges faced by all Jews during World War II and the difficult decisions people were forced to make. Implicit in the exhibit are the themes of scapegoating, bullying, anti-Semitism, racism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
Anne Frank: A Private Photo Album was developed by the Anne Frank House and is sponsored in North America by the Anne Frank Center USA.
IMAGE: © AFS/AFF, Amsterdam/Basel
In the Press >
December 12, 2009 > Daily Herald | Traveling Anne Frank exhibit puts face on horror of Holocaust Read More >
> Darfur: Photojournalists Respond, Fall - November 2009
This exhibition is generously sponsored by the McCormick Foundation
Photo courtesy of Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures
This exhibit is presented courtesy of Holocaust Museum Houston and generously sponsored by the McCormick Foundation. "Darfur: Photojournalists Respond" is open from August 26th through November 30, 2009.
> Building the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, April 2009 - Fall 2009
Learn more about the people who have been working since the early 1980s to bring the IHMEC to life today.
Skokie, IL