Following are a range of the events happening at the Illinois Holocaust Museum this spring. See www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/event for more info or to purchase tickets.
WHAT CAN A HOLOGRAM TELL YOU ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST?
Experience the first interactive 3D exhibit of its kind. Get real responses to real questions from the holograms of real Holocaust Survivors in the new Take a Stand Center.
WEEKDAYS on the hour 11 am—4 pm ( last screening at 4 pm ) | THURSDAYS on the hour 11 am—4 pm & 5:30 pm | WEEKENDS 10:15 am & on the hour 11 am—4 pm ( last screening at 4 pm ).
Free with Museum admission. Free for Members.
Advance reservation recommended.
SURVIVOR TALK: JANINE OBERROTMAN
Sunday, April 8, 12:30 — 1:30 pm
Janine, born in Lvov, Poland, was fifteen years old when the Germans invaded her hometown and when the pogroms, random killings, and round-ups began. Her father found her a job in construction to avoid deportation. But soon, that job could no longer secure her safety, and Janine was forced from hiding place to hiding place to avoid capture. For a few days she found shelter at the home of a kind Polish lady. Subsequently she hid at the German commandant's villa, which was under construction; in an armoire with a secret entrance to the underground; and under a dirt road beneath a camouflaged "patch." After her escape from the ghetto, while living in a Ukrainian village under an assumed name, Janine was denounced by a local woman and arrested, interrogated, and jailed. Subsequently, she was deported to forced labor in Stuttgart. Liberated in 1945, she hitchhiked to Paris and immigrated to the United States in 1953.
Free with Museum admission. Free for Members. Reservations not required.
COMMEMORATING YOM HASHOAH
PHILIP L. & ELLEN V. GLASS HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COMMEMORATIVE SERIES
Wednesday, April 11, 7:00 — 8:30 pm
Renowned violinist David Lisker performs alongside storyteller and Northwestern Theatre Professor Rives Collins as he reads from diaries written by young people during the Holocaust.
A candle lighting by Holocaust Survivors and their descendants is accompanied by prayer and song by Hazzan Benjamin A. Tisser of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El.
Consul General Aviv Ezra, Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest; and Consul General Herbert Quelle, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, will offer brief remarks.
A partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community.
Free and open to the public. Reservations required.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE
MEMOIRS OF AN ARMENIAN SOLDIER IN THE OTTOMAN TURKISH ARMY
Sunday, April 15
2 pm Book Signing, 3:00 pm — 4:30 pm program
The new book Forced into Genocide is the riveting account of Yervant Alexanian.
After Yervant passed away in 1983, his daughter Adrienne G. Alexanian discovered hidden documents detailing the horrors he faced during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. She has spent years preparing her father's manuscript for publication.
Yervant witnessed the massacre and dislocation of his family and countrymen in Ottoman Turkey during World War I as a conscripted Turkish army soldier. He fled to America in 1920 and never told his family about his horrific experience. However, he did stow away a vast collection of photos, documents and written memoirs that are the basis of this book.
Hear Adrienne speak about Yervant's compelling record of the astonishing cruelty of the genocide, as well as its rare, unexpected acts of humanity.
All commemorative events are free and open to the public. Reservations required
MEET THE AUTHOR
FRITZ BAUER: THE PROSECUTOR WHO FOUND EICHMANN AND PUT AUSCHWITZ ON TRIAL
Thursday, April 26, 6:30 pm — 8:00 pm
PD Dr. Irmtrud Wojak, German historian and managing director of the non-profit BUXUS FOUNDATION GmbH in
Munich, discusses Survivor Fritz Bauer's key role leading to the capture of Adolf Eichmann and his involvement in the Auschwitz trials of 1963. This program provides insight into the German culture of remembrance. Lecturer Anette Isaacs will moderate.
A book signing follows.
Free for Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
SURVIVOR TALK: ESTELLE LAUGHLIN
Sunday, April 29, 2:00 pm
Estelle Glaser Laughlin was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929. When she was 10 years old, her family was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto. The family hid in a secret room to avoid deportation during liquidations in 1942. Estelle's father, Samek, built a bunker in which the family hid during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943. The bunker was eventually exposed by a bomb, and the family was sent to Majdanek. Estelle, her mother, and her sister were selected for work. When her sister was injured and unable to work, she hid in the barracks but was discovered and her name placed on a list. Estelle and her mother, believing the list named those to be executed, traded places with two other women so that the family might die together. Instead, the three were sent to the Skarzysko concentration camp to work in a munitions factory, and later to another munitions factory the Czestochowa concentration camp. The three women were liberated by the Russian Army in January, 1945. They moved to Bavaria in August 1945 and remained there until they immigrate to the United States in 1947.
Free with Museum admission. Free for Members. Reservations not required.
YOUNG PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE
RACE FOR HUMANITY 5K & KIDS FUN RUN
Sunday, May 6, 8:00 am — 11:00 am
Everyone can take a stand for humanity.
Now you can take a running start!
This scenic race supports the Museum's mission to transform history into current, relevant, and universal lessons in humanity.
USATF certified.
PANEL DISCUSSION
LOCAL ACTIVISM: LEARN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FROM CHICAGO UPSTANDERS
Thursday, May 10, 6:30 pm — 8:00 pm
Daily headlines and news bulletins expose us to the challenges faced by people in our communities and all over the world. Panelists, who include Evelyn Diaz, President of Heartland Alliance; Elizabeth McCostlin, Managing Director, Midwest Office, US Fund for UNICEF; and a representative from YWCA Evanston-North Shore share why and how they tackle issues like homelessness, violence, hunger and immigration.
Free to Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
FROM PAGE TO STAGE
YOUNG ACTORS PERFORM 'TRAIN'
Thursday, May 17, 7:00 — 8:00 pm
An original play inspired by Train—the young adult thriller
about six teenagers who were endangered by the Nazi roundups in 1943 Berlin—is performed by students of Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School. This production gives voice to lesser heard victims of Nazism—the Roma, the disabled, homosexuals, intermarried Jews and political enemies of the regime.
A talkback with the actors and author Danny M. Cohen follows.
Free to Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION:
THE DILEMMA OF FREE SPEECH: FROM SKOKIE TO CHARLOTTESVILLE
Thursday, May 31, 6:30 — 8:00 pm
Do Nazis have free speech rights? Is hate speech protected?
And what are the consequences? Jason C. DeSanto, Senior Lecturer, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, will examine the First Amendment, both as it relates to the attempted 1978 neo-Nazi March in Skokie and with regard to more current events.
Free to Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
SPECIAL EVENT: ISRAEL AT 70
Thursday, June 7, 6:30 — 8:00 pm
A panel of Holocaust Survivors who emigrated to Israel after World War II discuss rebuilding their lives in the new Jewish state. Consul General of Israel Aviv Ezra highlights
the role Survivors have played from 1948 to the present day.
Free to Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
PRIDE MONTH EVENT
THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY? LGBTQ+ RIGHTS WORLDWIDE
Sunday, June 10, 2:00 PM — 3:30 PM
Across the globe, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer ( LGBTQ+ ) people continue to face violence, legal discrimination, inequality and other human rights violations.
Join us as we explore the history, early battles, defeats, and victories in the struggle to achieve equality. Learn what we can do to stand in solidarity to defend human rights for
all, including the LGBTQ+ community.
Participants include Matt Nosanchuk, Associate Director of Public Engagement during the Obama Administration; and Art Johnston, cofounder of Equality Illinois, whose advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community spans decades.
Free to Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
REFUGEES AT RISK: THEIR PLIGHT, OUR RESPONSIBILITY
Thursday, June 20, 6:30 — 8:30 pm
Every three seconds, someone flees their home because of violence or persecution. Join us as we stand in support of the 65+ million people who are displaced. We will hear from a senior official of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees.
Free to Members. Free with Museum admission. Reservations required.
