VE Day to be commemorated at Holocaust Museum
The 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe will be commemorated statewide Friday, May 8 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie.
The commemoration, honoring the victory of Soviet and Allied forces and Holocaust survivors, will be held 10 a.m. to noon at the Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie.
It is especially poignant as the number of surviving veterans and Holocaust survivors has dwindled in the last decade.
Dignitaries and local leaders expected to be present include Gov. Bruce Rauner; Roey Gilad, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest; Marijus Gudynas, Consul General of Lithuania; and Andriy Pravednek, Consul General of Ukraine. All of them will offer remarks during the program. Violinist David Lisker and the Campanella Children's Choir will perform.
"I am proud that our state recognizes those who heroically sacrificed their lives for freedom," said Rauner in a news release. "We must continue to show our gratitude to those who fought so valiantly to protect our way of life."
The commemoration is one of many public programs being held in conjunction with the Museum's current special exhibition, "Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War and the Holocaust," a photographic exhibition that reveals a rarely seen perspective of World War II through the lens of the most important Soviet Jewish photojournalists.
In order to reach the Chicago area's significant Russian speaking community, the Illinois Holocaust Museum is the first museum in the world to present the entire exhibit with Russian translation.
"As the son of a veteran, I could not be more thankful for this unique opportunity to recognize the efforts and extend gratitude to a very important part of our community," said Michael Polsky, Invenergy CEO. "These veterans made tremendous sacrifices years ago for our freedoms today, and we are forever indebted to them."
The Russian-speaking community is an integral part of the World War II story: 62 percent of World War II survivors in the Chicago area were born in the former Soviet Union; 64,000-plus Russian speakers live in Illinois; 40,000 Russian-speaking Jews reside in the Chicago area.
The May 8 event is free to the public and will be presented in Russian with English translation. This program is sponsored by the Peter Polsky Freedom Fund in partnership with Chicago Association of Veterans of World War II, Holocaust Community Services CJE SeniorLife, Council for Jewish Elderly and the Russian Jewish Division of Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Support also provided by Virginia Wolff, Inc.
To view other exhibit-related programming, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org/pages/exhibitions/special-exhibitions.
The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily (Thursday evenings until 8 p.m.).