Sam Harris: A leader in Holocaust education

Sam Harris, a stalwart in the Holocaust survivor community who was instrumental in the creation of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, died on April 1 at 90.  

Known for his good humor, optimism, and unwavering persistence, Harris, a longtime Northbrook resident and business executive, spearheaded fundraising efforts culminating in the opening of the museum’s current structure in Skokie in 2009. He also served as its President from 2002 to 2009. 

“As a Holocaust survivor, Sam experienced the very worst of humanity—yet spent his entire life believing in and bringing out the best,” wrote Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, upon learning of his friend’s death. “The fact that he suffered so mightily but still emerged with relentless and infectious optimism tells you everything about who Sam was.” 

For Harris, born Szlamek Rzeznik in 1935 to an observant Jewish family in the shtetl of Deblin, Poland, the suffering began early.   

As he recounted the German invasion to Neil Steinberg for a 2024 Rotary magazine article, “I remember distinctly sitting around having lunch. We heard noises in the sky. The German Lutfwaffe [air force] was flying in to destroy the Polish air force. Deblin had an airfield. Soon, those same airplanes came after people. I saw death for the first time.” 

Harris, then 4, was herded into the Deblin ghetto with his family and thousands of others. Three years later, the Nazis rounded them up to take them to a death camp. Pushed out of line by his father, he hid, along with his sister, Sara, and watched his parents and four of his older siblings boarding cattle cars. He never saw them again. 

Harris and Sara were hidden by their older sister, Rosa, who worked nearby in a slave labor camp. Rosa’s fierce love of her siblings and a bit of luck saved all three, even after they were all transported to a concentration camp in southern Poland. 

After the war, Rosa arranged for the adoption of her siblings by Jewish families in the Chicago area. Sam was adopted by the Harris family of Northbrook, where, by all accounts, he acclimated well. 

“He came into one of the most socially competitive places,” observed his son-in-law, Dr. Jeff Kreamer, of Harris’ time at New Trier High School, “and not only survived, but thrived,” transforming himself from a little boy in the shtetl to high school class president. 

Harris went on to Grinnell College, married, had a family, and built a robust career in the insurance industry. He was a happy man, outgoing, involved in his local Rotary Club. As with many survivors, he did not speak of the trauma he’d endured. But several factors changed all that in the 1970s: Neo-Nazis were planning to march in Skokie, and Northwestern University Professor Arthur Butz released a book claiming the Shoah never existed.  

By 2000, Harris was fully immersed in Holocaust education. He had written the children’s book Sammy: Child Survivor of the Holocaust and worked indefatigably to move the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois from a small storefront in Skokie to a 65,000-square-foot facility designed by architect Stanley Tigerman. The recipient of many honors, Harris worked with the Illinois Holocaust Museum to create a lasting hologram that allows visitors to hear his story.  

In his later years, Sam reconnected with the traditional Judaism of his early years, regularly attending services led by Rabbi Shimon Susskind of Chabad of Vernon Hills.  

“It brought him back to the first six years of his life that had been cut short, giving him the experiences of his mother and father,” Susskind said. 

Harris was a Golden Giver to the JUF Annual Campaign, having contributed for over 50 consecutive years. “Sam was a true force of nature,” said JUF President Lonnie Nasatir. “He was always positive and upbeat despite a tough start to his life in Nazi occupied Europe. Sam was a huge instrument for good and played a huge role in bringing our local museum to the prominence it now holds across the country and world. I will miss Sam’s charm, humor, and friendship.”  

In addition to his son-in-law, Harris is survived by his wife, Dede; daughter, Julie Kreamer; and grandchildren, Jessica and Jeremy Kreamer. He was predeceased by his son, David. 

Robert Nagler Miller is a journalist and editor who writes frequently about arts and Jewish- related topics from his home in New York.