Holocaust Museum Analysis

The mission statement of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois is, “…perhaps best expressed in our founding principle: Remember the Past, Transform the Future. The Museum is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring the memories of those who were lost and by teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice and indifference. The Museum fulfills its mission through the exhibition, preservation and interpretation of its collections and through education programs and initiatives that foster the promotion of human rights and the elimination of genocide.” The museum does fulfill its mission of letting the visitors of the museum experience what actually happened during the Holocaust

Upon entering this gallery, the visitor is shaken by images much like Jewish people at the time were. Entering the ghetto, the visitor is transported through time and through the primary source images and relics which survived. The cattle car is a poignant exhibit within the museum. Visitors experience what it is like to stand inside a train car that the Jewish people were forced to stand inside of for several, long hours. The smell and imaging so many people being crammed in there makes the visitor elicit many emotions. The museum has two warning signs: one for the train car and the other one for the graphic video of Jewish people being shot in a ditch then buried. Several televisions showed Jews being shot at by the Nazi officers while in a ditch.

The lighting in each gallery fits with the environment that the gallery is trying to achieve. An example being the gallery showing certain things in a typical Jewish home and several Nazi memorabilia or awards and the lighting was neutral at its natural setting; however, once entering the ghetto, the lighting is dimmer harkening to a darker time for the Jewish people. If the two lightings switched from the examples given, then the visitor would not feel the same about each gallery because the atmosphere of the gallery would

The museum does live up to its mission statement, it teaches the visitors what it was like to live as a Jewish person before, during, and after the Holocaust. While the museum has only a few benches for the visitors to rest in within the galleries, a visitor can find comfortable seating outside the restroom and gift shop. The engagement of the museum can be seen in different ways. At the time of my visit, the museum has only one interactive electronic piece. Despite this lack of interactivity, it still is engaging for the visitor. The reinforcement of the museum is not overwhelming. The flow plan of the museum is chronolgic and allows for the visitor to easily walk through the galleries and maximize their time. As a whole, the museum does an excellent job of covering and teaching the Holocaust to its guests. While the exhibits do not sugar coat the atrosities, it is not too gruesome for the visitors to experience. The Skokie Holocaust Museum is a museum that fulfills its mission statement “through the exhibition, preservation and interpretation of its collections and through education programs and initiatives that foster the promotion of human rights and the elimination of