Witness to the Holocaust

Survivors who worked to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center reflect on what the new museum means to them. 

Magda Brown

As a member of the Speaker's Bureau, I have been privileged to observe the progress--from the groundbreaking to the opening--of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.  My congratulations to the many participants who worked diligently to accomplish this dream.

My personal experiences in the Holocaust involved losing my home, my property and my country, and becoming an orphan, a slave laborer, and a refugee. At the age of eighteen I was left alone to decide my future.

The museum will educate all who attend about the horrors of the Holocaust. And for those unfortunate people who somehow deny the existence of the Holocaust, the museum will offer an opportunity to view authentic photos, documents, and survivor testimonies that substantiate the reality of gas chambers, crematoriums and the horrible conditions we faced.

A message to the visitors: Defend the memory of the 6 million who perished by standing up to the deniers.