Illinois Holocaust Museum To Reopen To Public In February

SKOKIE, IL – Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is thrilled to reopen and excited to welcome the public back with free admission on Wednesday, February 3. In celebration of reopening, the Museum will continue to offer free admission on Wednesdays through February and March.

The Museum has established a series of procedures to ensure the safety of all guests, volunteers, and staff. These include deep cleaning the entire Museum, treating the building with a powerful anti-microbial spray, creating a one-way traffic flow, and online-only ticketing.

Illinois Holocaust Museum has established the following guidelines for visitors:

• Temperature checks for all guests upon entry. Those with elevated temperatures will be asked to return another time

• Hand sanitizer will be provided to all upon entry and hand sanitizer stations have been installed throughout the Museum.
• Face masks must be worn at all times and bags and coats should be left in the car or at home.
• Museum capacity will be limited.
• Tickets must be purchased online at ilholocaustmuseum.org. For assistance, call 847.967.4800.

To see more of the Museum’s safety guidelines, click here.

Visiting Hours for the Museum are Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with last admission at 4:00 PM.

Upcoming Exhibit Opening – Mandela Struggle for Freedom

The Museum will also open its next special exhibition, Mandela: Struggle for Freedom, on February 20, with a virtual public opening on February 18 and member exclusive preview on February 19. Among its many dramatic features and original artifacts, the exhibition replicates the eight-foot by seven-foot cell where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail before emerging at age 71 to continue negotiating democratic change with his former enemies. Visitors entering the cell will find themselves in a multimedia theatre, with projections telling stories of repression and resilience. Click here to read more

"Nelson Mandela's impact and voice reached people around the world, and that voice still resonates today," says Museum CEO Susan Abrams. "As we continue to see racism, antisemitism, and hatred on the rise, this exhibition provides visitors with the chance to use Mandela's lifelong fight for justice as a source of inspiration."

In honor of Black History Month, the Museum will offer free admission Saturday February 27 and Sunday February 28. Tickets are required and can be reserved online.

Currently On View

Zev & Shifra Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition
Explore the history & lessons of the Holocaust through more than 500 artifacts, documents, photographs, and a German rail car of the type used in Nazi deportations. Click here to read more

Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience Holographic Theater
Visitors can meet virtual Holocaust Survivors through the Museum’s Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience in our Holographic Theater. 3D technology enables Survivors to tell their deeply moving personal stories and respond to questions from the audience, inviting visitors to a personalized, one-on-one “conversation.” What Will You Ask Them? Click here to read more
Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience features Dimensions in Testimony, developed by USC Shoah Foundation in association with Illinois Holocaust Museum.

They Shall Be Counted: The Theresienstadt Ghetto Art of Erich Lichtblau-Leskly
They Shall Be Counted is a gallery of original paintings and drawings by Erich Lichtblau-Leskly. While imprisoned in Theresienstadt (Terezin) Ghetto, he artistically depicted the daily lives of its residents, poignantly capturing the complications and ironies of ghetto life. Click here to read more

This release was produced by the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.