Sam Harris, a “force of nature” who turned his personal tragedy into a tool to teach others about the Holocaust and the toll of antisemitism, died this week at 90 years old.
Before going on to found the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center, Harris was born Szlamek Rzeznik in Dęblin, Poland, in 1935.
He was one of the youngest known survivors of the Holocaust. He documented his time in Nazi concentration camps in his book “Sammy: Child Survivor of the Holocaust.”
Harris wrote about how his parents, brothers, and sisters had been deported to Treblinka and murdered. He and two of his sisters survived and were eventually liberated by the Soviet Army.
According to the museum, Harris arrived in New York knowing only three words of English: “yes,” “no,” and “Coca-Cola.” He was adopted by the Harris family of Northbrook.
In the 1970’s, with the encouragement of his Rabbi, Harris started sharing his story as a way to educate people about the Holocaust and to preserve our memory of what happened during that dark period in history.
He founded Holocaust Museum in Skokie as a way of continuing that educational effort. “Sam was a visionary who saw the need for Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and committed to doing the vital work to make his vision a reality,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. “His kindness, positive attitude, and winning smile will be deeply missed by our entire Museum family.”
Harris was also one of the leading voices speaking out against increasing antisemitism in the Chicago area and elsewhere.
”As antisemitism has increased, as incidents have become more visible in recent years, it became even more important for Sam to speak out, to teach and as much as he was able to prevent,” said Amanda Friedeman, the museum’s Associate Director of Education
Posting a picture of himself and Harris enjoying a lighter moment, Governor JB Pritzker said today he was heartbroken by the passing of his good friend. He said, “his spirit will continue to live on in the lives that he touched and in the kinder, more inclusive world he helped create.”
Harris’ spirit will continue in another way, as an interactive hologram at the Holocaust museum. The “Dimensions in Testimony Project” allows visitors to ask questions of a pre-recorded holocaust survivor and to have a conversation that continues not only when the survivor is present in the room, but after their death. Harris was one of the first survivors recorded of the project.
NBC 5 interviewed Harris in 2024 as part of a story about rising rates of antisemitic attacks in Illinois. “Silence is a killer and we have to speak out,” he said. “Good will prevail in the long run. We have both good and bad. And the good has to fight it. It’s a constant struggle.”
The Museum said Wednesday that memorial arrangements are still being made.
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