A powerful traveling Holocaust exhibit that has reached more than 50 countries and over 20 million visitors worldwide is coming to central Illinois. “Courage To Remember,” produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, will be displayed at Marketplace Shopping Center in Champaign from Monday, October 20 through Saturday, November 1.
The exhibit, located in the center court at 2000 N. Neil Street, is free and open to the public during weekday hours from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and weekend hours from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Organized by the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation’s Holocaust Education Center, the exhibit features large, illustrated panels paired with historical photos, maps, and firsthand survivor accounts that chronologically chronicle the Holocaust.
The exhibit’s grand opening takes place on October 20 from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Throughout the exhibit’s run, the Holocaust Education Center has organized several companion events to deepen the educational experience:
Wednesday, October 22 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. will feature a CHAI Seniors Film Screening of “The Pawnbroker” (1964), the first film made entirely in the United States to deal with the Holocaust from the viewpoint of a survivor. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session, with light refreshments served. The film, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Rod Steiger, earned international acclaim and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2008.
Friday, October 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. will feature Dr. William Gingold himself, who will share his experience surviving the Holocaust as a child and how his family rebuilt their lives afterward. Now retired from his role as Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Illinois, Dr. Gingold dedicates his time to educating others about the Holocaust and promoting tolerance.
Saturday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m. will showcase the Students of Urbana High School Orchestra, led by Orchestra Director Tamra Gingold. Tamra Gingold has been the Urbana High School Orchestra and All City Strings Director for 22 years in the Urbana School District, teaching grades 5-12. She is also an active member of the Holocaust Educational Committee and the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation Educational Committee.
Sunday, October 26 features two events: at 1:00 p.m., music with Cameron Cornell, a composer, director, actor, and coach based in Champaign, followed at 2:00 p.m. by a film screening of “999 – The Forgotten Girls,” an award-winning documentary featuring five extraordinary young women of the first official Jewish transport to Auschwitz.
The documentary reveals the untold story of 999 unmarried young Jewish women who were initially registered for government service in a purported shoe factory, only to be tragically sent to Auschwitz in March 1942. Director Heather Dune Macadam spent 11 years interviewing survivors, who were in their 90s at the time of filming.
Monday, October 28 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. will feature the Papashoy Klezmer Trio, which plays old-time klezmer music from the world of Jewish and Yiddish Eastern Europe.
Educational Tours Available
School tours for community groups, children in grades 5 through 12, and university classes may be arranged outside of regular public viewing hours. Those interested in viewing the exhibit with a trained volunteer guide may contact the Holocaust Education Center at hec@cujf.org or call 217-367-9872.
