September 2021 Featured Interview
Remembering the Past to Avoid Genocide in the Future
An Interview with
Jill Weinberg, Midwest Regional Director of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
About Jill:
Lake County, Illinois native Jill Weinberg is well-known in the community as a fierce fighter for Holocaust survivors and their children and for advancing Holocaust education in the Chicago community, across the U.S. and around the globe.
For almost 30 years, Jill has led the Midwest Regional Office of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Her efforts and the generosity of Chicagoans have made her office the leader in helping the museum ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten. Her Highland Park office is one of five national satellite offices for the national museum in Washington D.C. Jill personally speaks to local Holocaust survivors and their children on a regular basis. As the survivor community ages, she understands that their stories need to be heard and preserved.
About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
For almost 30 years, Jill has led the Midwest Regional Office of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Her efforts and the generosity of Chicagoans have made her office the leader in helping the museum ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten. Her Highland Park office is one of five national satellite offices for the national museum in Washington D.C. Jill personally speaks to local Holocaust survivors and their children on a regular basis. As the survivor community ages, she understands that their stories need to be heard and preserved.
About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Federal support guarantees the museum’s permanent place on the National Mall, and its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors. Located among U.S. national monuments, the museum provides a powerful lesson in the fragility of freedom, the myth of progress, and the need for vigilance in preserving democratic values. The museum teaches millions of people each year about the dangers of unchecked hatred and the need to prevent genocide.
Myrna Beth Haskell, executive editor, spoke with Jill about the museum’s history, her work as Midwest Regional Director, and the upcoming annual fundraiser.
What inspired you to become such a strong supporter of the museum?
I had been working for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. I wasn’t looking for anything, but a friend of mine from Washington, D.C. called me and asked if I knew that there were plans to build a U.S. Holocaust memorial museum. Very few people knew anything about the project at the time, but I had heard a little about it. He explained that they wanted to open regional offices across the country, including one in Chicago. He also said he thought I would be perfect for the position, so he wanted to walk me through the plans and introduce me to some of the leadership before I made a final decision.
When I saw the model of the museum, I realized this country was only going to build this once, and it was an extraordinary opportunity that I was never going to have again. It wasn’t perfect timing. I was raising my children who were two and three years old, but I decided I couldn’t pass it up. If it wasn’t me, it would be someone else. I was hired to raise the funds that would allow the museum to be built. And that was 33 years ago.
What inspired you to become such a strong supporter of the museum?
I had been working for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. I wasn’t looking for anything, but a friend of mine from Washington, D.C. called me and asked if I knew that there were plans to build a U.S. Holocaust memorial museum. Very few people knew anything about the project at the time, but I had heard a little about it. He explained that they wanted to open regional offices across the country, including one in Chicago. He also said he thought I would be perfect for the position, so he wanted to walk me through the plans and introduce me to some of the leadership before I made a final decision.
When I saw the model of the museum, I realized this country was only going to build this once, and it was an extraordinary opportunity that I was never going to have again. It wasn’t perfect timing. I was raising my children who were two and three years old, but I decided I couldn’t pass it up. If it wasn’t me, it would be someone else. I was hired to raise the funds that would allow the museum to be built. And that was 33 years ago.
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Was it initially difficult to build up interest in Chicago for a museum being built in Washington, D.C.?
This is a national museum which is why it purposely established offices outside of Washington, D.C. Each office handles an entire region. There are five regions. Our Midwest Region covers the middle of the country, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, etc. The other offices are Mid-Atlantic (which includes the Washington, D.C. office), Southeast, Western and Northeast. To begin to build interest, I talked to people individually and explained the vision. We asked people to host meetings in their homes, businesses, clubs or wherever they wished. Everyone invited interested friends, family members and neighbors, and we asked people at these meetings to give a meaningful gift. Sometimes Holocaust survivors spoke at these meetings. We also had authors volunteer to come and speak to help the cause. Sometimes we were making these presentations every night of the week. Ted Kopple made a video that we showed literally hundreds of times. We had to prove to Congress that this museum could happen. It is a public/private partnership. This priceless piece of land in our nation’s capital was given with the stipulation that funds had to be raised privately. |
Photo Courtesy: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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I am very proud to say that Chicago has been the number one supporter in the country. We don’t have the wealthiest community or the community closest to the museum or the community with the most Holocaust survivors, but we have an extremely caring and committed community.
We continue to build interest by bringing people from Chicago to D.C. In the early years, we were the very first community to enter the museum with our delegation of congressional representatives, survivors and supporters.
In this virtual world we are living in today, we had to create new opportunities. We have lots of free, virtual programming accessible to individuals throughout the world.
What is the museum’s primary goal, and what makes it different from other Holocaust museums?
The primary goal is to educate people about the past in order to prevent genocide in the future. We educate people about hate speech and teach Holocaust survivors to preserve their photos and memorabilia. We educate teachers about how to teach the Holocaust.
It was originally created to be a national museum, but it really has become a worldwide museum. Scholars from all over the world have come to do their research and to have access to our archives. The scholars learn from each other which is extraordinarily valuable.
We also have the guarantee that this museum will stand there for as long as this country stands. For those who are looking for a worthy investment, we point to the fact that this museum has permanence.
Please explain some of the exhibits and how the museum is laid out.
When you enter the museum, you receive an ID card for an individual with biographical information and descriptions of their personal experiences.
You start at the top floor where you hear the voices of American soldiers and how unprepared they were for what they were about to see when they liberated the concentration camps – the visitors then see the photographs of the corpses and people who were barely alive [images documenting what the soldiers came across as they entered the concentration camps].
‘Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story’ is an exhibit space that focuses on remembering how these children once lived joyfully with their parents, and that - step by step – everything was taken away. The Holocaust didn’t happen overnight with the death camps. It was the little things at first, such as books being taken away. Then, they couldn’t go to school. Next, they were taken to the ghetto with just the things they could carry. These were warning signs, and it’s so important to understand them to prevent this in the future. It’s important to look at Rwanda and genocide that is occurring in other places as well.
The exhibits are always changing. Even the permanent exhibit is updated. So, even if you’ve gone before, there is always something new to see.
Find the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Permanent Exhibit Guide.
We continue to build interest by bringing people from Chicago to D.C. In the early years, we were the very first community to enter the museum with our delegation of congressional representatives, survivors and supporters.
In this virtual world we are living in today, we had to create new opportunities. We have lots of free, virtual programming accessible to individuals throughout the world.
What is the museum’s primary goal, and what makes it different from other Holocaust museums?
The primary goal is to educate people about the past in order to prevent genocide in the future. We educate people about hate speech and teach Holocaust survivors to preserve their photos and memorabilia. We educate teachers about how to teach the Holocaust.
It was originally created to be a national museum, but it really has become a worldwide museum. Scholars from all over the world have come to do their research and to have access to our archives. The scholars learn from each other which is extraordinarily valuable.
We also have the guarantee that this museum will stand there for as long as this country stands. For those who are looking for a worthy investment, we point to the fact that this museum has permanence.
Please explain some of the exhibits and how the museum is laid out.
When you enter the museum, you receive an ID card for an individual with biographical information and descriptions of their personal experiences.
You start at the top floor where you hear the voices of American soldiers and how unprepared they were for what they were about to see when they liberated the concentration camps – the visitors then see the photographs of the corpses and people who were barely alive [images documenting what the soldiers came across as they entered the concentration camps].
‘Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story’ is an exhibit space that focuses on remembering how these children once lived joyfully with their parents, and that - step by step – everything was taken away. The Holocaust didn’t happen overnight with the death camps. It was the little things at first, such as books being taken away. Then, they couldn’t go to school. Next, they were taken to the ghetto with just the things they could carry. These were warning signs, and it’s so important to understand them to prevent this in the future. It’s important to look at Rwanda and genocide that is occurring in other places as well.
The exhibits are always changing. Even the permanent exhibit is updated. So, even if you’ve gone before, there is always something new to see.
Find the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Permanent Exhibit Guide.
Jill Speaking at the Museum
Photo Courtesy: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |
What does your role as the first director of the Midwest Regional Office entail?
We have a staff of ten to handle all of the communities we work with. We work with individuals and our survivor population. We have teacher education programs, both locally and nationally. This year, we were able to reach 2,000 teachers virtually. We organize speakers for events. We collect artifacts. We’ve also started groups for our next generation, such as our teen committee. We take people to D.C. annually to show them the latest information and the latest exhibit changes. The culmination is our major, annual event. I’d like to learn more about your annual fundraiser. Will it be virtual this year? Yes. It is scheduled for September 23rd. It was also virtual last year. In the past, it was a very chic event, a luncheon that grew to close to 3,000 people in one room. We started the first year with just 400 women (which we thought was a great success at the time), but we soon realized that it should be for everyone – for men and women, for the old and the young. |
Imagine the destress that COVID brought to us. This is the most successful fundraiser for the museum in the country which raises over $5 million. How were we going to be able to have a comparable virtual event?
Well, it was always a Chicago event, but it is now available to people wherever they are. However, there is a special focus on our Midwest Region. Regional leadership will run the event, and we’ll honor community members. This gives the local community a sense that they have stake in the game, but it also shows that this museum has a reach around the world.
There is no price point for entry at this fundraiser, but everyone is reminded that the museum doesn’t charge admission (unlike other museums in big cities). This [highlights] why it is so dependent on private support.
What about the future? Will you continue with a virtual event?
I think we'll do both. Hopefully, in 2022, we can be back in one room together. But I don’t see this as two separate events. I see it as one event which includes access for people who are not in the room. This will help those who are further away to still feel like they are a part of it.
Well, it was always a Chicago event, but it is now available to people wherever they are. However, there is a special focus on our Midwest Region. Regional leadership will run the event, and we’ll honor community members. This gives the local community a sense that they have stake in the game, but it also shows that this museum has a reach around the world.
There is no price point for entry at this fundraiser, but everyone is reminded that the museum doesn’t charge admission (unlike other museums in big cities). This [highlights] why it is so dependent on private support.
What about the future? Will you continue with a virtual event?
I think we'll do both. Hopefully, in 2022, we can be back in one room together. But I don’t see this as two separate events. I see it as one event which includes access for people who are not in the room. This will help those who are further away to still feel like they are a part of it.
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You’ve personally met with survivors and their families, correct?
I’ve worked with survivors all along, and many have passed away. We realize that we are losing this population daily. Museum experts and scholars work with survivors to document their oral histories which are available online. For many survivors, their greatest fear is that the next generation won’t remember or care. In your opinion, what do Holocaust survivors have in common? They have a shared history and a desire to rebuild their families. So many survivors shared with me that, when they first came to this country, they were told not to talk about their story; instead, they were encouraged to find their way to becoming an American and focus on rebuilding their lives. For many, it was too painful, and they felt no one wanted to listen. |
Jill (left) with Beatrice Muchman, a Holocaust Survivor
Photo Courtesy: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |
It was a combination of things that changed this: the museum being built, the miniseries Holocaust [four-part TV miniseries in 1978], and the movie Schindler’s List [Universal, 1993] all helped to change [perceptions]. Many survivors started to share their stories. They realized that people wanted to hear from them.
After Schindler’s List was finished, Steven Spielberg [the director and one of the producers of the movie] set up a foundation [formerly the Shoah Visual History Foundation] to collect the oral histories of over 50,000 survivors.
After Schindler’s List was finished, Steven Spielberg [the director and one of the producers of the movie] set up a foundation [formerly the Shoah Visual History Foundation] to collect the oral histories of over 50,000 survivors.
Public Art at Museum's Exterior: "Loss and Regeneration"
Photo Courtesy: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |
Does the museum have traveling exhibits?
First, I’d like to tell you about the international travel program. I’ve had the opportunity to travel with the museum to many areas of Eastern and Western Europe and to take a deep dive into Germany to learn about the kind of rebuilding they’ve had. There are incredible opportunities for travel. Almost every exhibit the museum has created is made available for travel. For instance, there is one about Nazi propaganda, which explores the sophisticated ways the public was manipulated. Often museums request them, but the exhibits also go to smaller venues, such as libraries. We have an exhibit going to 50 libraries throughout the country, to those smaller towns that don’t get a lot of information about the Holocaust. Are we doing enough to educate students about the Holocaust? It can be integrated into material better. However, there is more awareness and information out there today. So, people have more sensitivity to these issues. But there has also been a rise in anti-Semitism and hate speech in our country and throughout the world. This is why it is so important to teach about the past, so that we don’t go down that same road in the future. What about denial? There are some who don’t believe the Holocaust happened. Holocaust denial is very real. Even though there are still survivors, journalists and other eyewitnesses who tell their stories, there are those who deny it happened. There is a fear about what is going to happen in the future when there are no more eyewitnesses. |
This is one of the reasons the museum was created and why it is so important to collect everything we can from those who lived through it. These items and oral stories are of great value. Scholars then put all the pieces of this puzzle together to document the atrocities of the Holocaust.
As a woman nonprofit leader and community organizer, what do you feel your best strength is?
As a woman nonprofit leader and community organizer, what do you feel your best strength is?
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My passion for the work that I do. I take a project and give it a voice and a vision. I have [a knack] for bringing people in. I’m extremely proud that many of the people who were part of this 30 or 40 years ago are still involved. Some of their children and grandchildren are involved now, too. We’ve been able to regularly bring in new people who find their personal connection to it; whether it be to find more research on their family history or to get information on current day genocides, they understand that they have a role to play. I’ve worked hard to find a niche for everyone.
Any last thoughts? It is really wonderful to work on a project that has such impact – impact in the world, impact in the field of Holocaust education and remembrance, impact on those people who are involved. It is a wonderfully satisfying thing to do…to know that you are using your time wisely. |
"It is really wonderful to work on a project that has such impact – impact in the world, impact in the field of Holocaust education and remembrance, impact on those people who are involved." ~ Jill Weinberg |
Where do you find sanctuary?
In my kitchen. I’m a huge baker. I take great satisfaction in baking. In my work, I don’t always see immediate results. Goals don’t happen overnight. When I bake, there’s an immediate result and something I can share – it’s immediate happiness.
In my kitchen. I’m a huge baker. I take great satisfaction in baking. In my work, I don’t always see immediate results. Goals don’t happen overnight. When I bake, there’s an immediate result and something I can share – it’s immediate happiness.
