Object stories: The exhibition allows visitors to engage with objects of memory and discover survivor testimonies. Image courtesy of Illinois Holocaust Museum.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum–founded by Holocaust survivors who came to the United States–is dedicated to bearing witness to the atrocities that took place during Holocaust. The museum has received NEH funding for different projects including an education program in the 1980s and a Preservation Assistance grant to stabilize the storage environment of its art collection in 2015. More recently, an NEH grant helped the museum plan for an exhibition on global genocide that will expand its impact once completed.
Read More
“We now have to stand up, we now have to fight back, we now have to speak up and do something, and we have to fight this hatred with education.”
–Kelley Szany, Illinois Holocaust Museum
Peter Magai Bul, a Sudanese refugee living in the Chicago area. Image courtesy of Illinois Holocaust Museum.
Creating this exhibition is a significant undertaking for the museum. Focusing on global genocide, the completed exhibition will highlight genocide beyond the Holocaust as well as the signs of an impending genocide. Importantly, this exhibition will also provide a space for genocide-affected communities in Illinois to be recognized and have a place where their story is told. NEH funding supported the extensive planning process and was instrumental in the museum’s ability to collaborate with prominent scholars and organizations. Further, this funding proved to have benefits beyond planning the exhibition: it allowed the museum to position itself to receive state funding to build the exhibition through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
“I think what you ultimately see through the exhibition is that these are individuals who are still bearing witness to what is happening and telling you to hear us and listen to us…but then also it is possible to create change and to have an impact.”
–Kelley Szany, Illinois Holocaust Museum
The project draws on the expertise of prominent humanities scholars and collaboration with other organizations founded by communities affected by genocide. An important aspect of the project is the input of survivor and descendant communities to inform the content of the exhibition. This aligns with the museum’s mission to tell the stories of survivors and individuals who are still bearing witness to the atrocities. The global genocide exhibition will stand alongside the existing permanent Holocaust and Human Rights exhibitions which draw approximately 70,000 students and 80-100,000 general visitors annually.
