Illinois Holocaust Museum reopens in Skokie after 18 months of renovation Wednesday

After an 18-month renovation, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is reopening its Skokie location to the public on Wednesday

"In a moment of crisis, people look to history for answers," said CEO Bernard Cherkasov. "Our museum has answers to offer people."

In Judaism, the number 18 symbolizes life. For almost 18 years in this building, the Illinois Holocaust Museum has helped visitors find answers to difficult questions. Now after an 18-month renovation it's celebrating a new life of sorts.

"Our museum's attendance has been going up and up and up. While our visitors were really connecting with the content, our infrastructure was actually bursting at the seams," Cherkasov said.

So the museum redesigned several spaces, starting with the entrance. As they walk in the door, visitors will feel a new energy.

"They will see a much larger visitor welcome center. They'll be able to reserve their ticket, book special exhibits and get their information all in the same spot," he said.

There are wider exhibition spaces to shed light on one of history's darkest times.

"Many people are coming to the museum and bringing their family, their friends, colleagues," Cherkasov explained. "Our galleries are a little bit wider in most places, more room for them to process content together."

The way the content is presented has expanded too. There are big pictures and image captions telling the key elements of stories for visitors who are just looing to learn about key moments before, during and after the Holocaust. For visitors looking to learn every piece of history they can possibly learn, there are plenty of artifacts and details as well.

Exhibits, including The Roots of Antisemitism, have expanded to help visitors understand that antisemitism didn't begin with the Nazy party; it had millennia-old roots in Europe.

One wall honors the many who fell victims to the horrors of World War II, not just the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

"The Nazis also targeted dozens of other categories of people: gay men and lesbians, the Roma and Sinti, Germans of African descent, political dissenters, Poles; the list goes on," Cherkasov said

The journey through the museum also highlights the strength and resilience of survivors like Sharon Pitluk Silver, who called the renovation "bright, light and wonderful."

"With the antisemitism that's plaguing the whole world right now, we need a place where people can become educated," she said.

As the museum continues to search for answers and new questions, the message remains the same.

"The Holocaust is not just the story of murder and victim hood," said Cherkasov. "The Holocaust is also the story of resilience, strength, love and just an understanding that we all share humanity. This is what our museum tells the visitors who come here."

There is even more new to see, including a new auditorium and new room for public programming.

When the Skokie museum location temporarily closed, it opened its Experience 360 location in the Loop. That location will remain open through December