The Museum welcomes writers, researchers, and others interested in taking advantage of the multitude of educational resources available on a number of subjects, including the Holocaust, Survivor stories, genocide, racism and discrimination, and more.
Schedule Your Collections Research Visit
We ask that you schedule your research visit so that our team can help direct you to the resources that will be beneficial to you. Please provide us with:
- A selection of dates and times you are available
- The topic or focus of your research
- The type of items you’re interested in viewing
Testimonies
The Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois began recording Survivor testimonies in the 1980s and have continued through the present day. Over 300 Survivors’ testimonies can be accessed via the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website, and more are added as they become available. USC Shoah Foundation testimonies can be ordered online or accessed on-site at the Museum by appointment. Please email artifacts@ilhmec.org to make an appointment.
The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University currently holds more than 4,400 testimonies, 136 of which were recorded with Survivors from the Chicagoland area. These can also be accessed on-site at the Museum by appointment – please email artifacts@ilhmec.org to make an appointment.
Library Resources for Writers and Researchers
Visiting scholars can take advantage of the Museum’s extensive library collection. Our library features:
- Holocaust Encyclopedias
- Anthologies of European ghettos and resistance movements
- One of Dr. David Boder’s original oral recorders (developed at the Illinois Institute of Technology by Marvin Camras) used in the IIT Voices of the Holocaust Project
- More than 13,000 selections of adult and juvenile fiction, non-fiction, and reference titles
- Hundreds of videos and multimedia resources
- A large periodical collection including current journals
Photo credits: Scott Edwards