We are very lucky to live an area with many resources that aid our children (and ourselves) as we learn about life, the world, and our place in it. The
Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie is one of these treasures. This month, we were given the opportunity to visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum to learn about the mission of the museum, gain more knowledge about the Holocaust, and see what our children will see when they visit. The
Illinois Holocaust Museum has so much to offer that we have opted to discuss our visit in two posts. This post will focus on the main exhibit.
Be prepared to be moved as you visit the Museum. The main exhibit is extremely poignant and is appropriate for those 12-years-old and older. Through the main exhibit, you will follow a path that will wind you through the history of the Jewish people after WWI in Germany leading up to the Holocaust, through the Holocaust itself, and on to life after the Holocaust. There are many artifacts along the route which bring a reality to the Holocaust experience that can be sometimes lost if your knowledge is only garnered from textbooks.
Here is some of what we each took away from our visit to the
Illinois Holocaust Museum:
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| Photograph by Jim Schnepf |
Mel's take: When I learned that students from my daughter's school had visited the Illinois Holocaust Museum, I knew that I had to visit before my daughter did in order to prepare for her questions. What I did not know was how much I would learn myself. The main exhibit really struck me in ways I did not expect. I was amazed by how the Museum used artifacts, videos, and special effects such as light and sound to impress upon visitors the stages of the Holocaust, life before, and life after. I teared up when I saw elements displaying how Holocaust victims still tried to have pieces of life during the Holocaust. Most of the exhibits were varying shades of black, gray, and white. However, I noted a red knit dress of a little girl who escaped to China and colorful drawings made by children--sparks of life amidst tragedy.
The Museum light effects move from darkness as you move through the Holocaust to light when you reach the liberation and life after the Holocaust sections. As we move into the light, we bring life out of the Holocaust and the mission to not allow it to happen again. The light effects add poignancy to the exhibit.
