SKOKIE, IL — Illinois Holocaust Museum founder and survivor Samuel Harris has passed away at 90 years old, museum officials announced Wednesday.

Harris was born in Poland in 1935 under the name Szlamek Rzeznik. He was one of the youngest known survivors of the Holocaust and a driving force behind the creation of Illinois’ museum.

"Sam was a visionary who saw the need for the Museum and committed himself fully to making that vision a reality,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. “His kindness, optimism, and unwavering belief in the power of education will continue to inspire generations.”

Harris personally contributed to the museum’s education center, where his own leather belt that he carried through the camps during the Holocaust remains on display. Harris’ interactive testimony also lives on in the museum’s Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience.

Harris served as the museum’s president from 2002 to 2009 and later as President Emeritus. In 2014, he was honored with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

“I am heartbroken by the passing of my good friend Sam Harris. A champion for good who inspired people to fight bigotry and hatred, Sam attracted a community of followers built on hope and compassion," Gov. JB Pritzker said. "I was lucky enough to know Sam for nearly three decades as a friend and a leader in building the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Just as he did for countless others and for younger generations, Sam profoundly shaped and enlightened my outlook on the world in ways large and small. Whenever anything bad would happen, Sam would say, ‘It’s Beshert – something better will come out of this difficulty.’ And he was always right, and often because he made it so.”