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Congressional Daily Record
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April 16, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Hebrew phrase “l'dor v'dor” means “from generation to generation,” and it is an important principle in the Jewish faith. This phrase describes the passage of beliefs, values, and traditions from parent to child, mentor to student. “L'dor v'dor” is a message of Jewish resilience, a testament to their continued spirit in the face of centuries of oppression. My friend Samuel R. Harris was the living embodiment of this maxim.
life to telling his story of growing up in Nazi-occupied Poland. Sam played an indispensable part in expanding Holocaust education in Illinois, where he helped create the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. In doing so, Sam inspired thousands of people to stand up against hate, injustice, and oppression. Sam was a powerful force for good, and it is with deep sadness that I share the news of his passing.
children to an Orthodox Jewish family. His childhood before the war was filled with happiness and joy, but it would last only 4 short years before the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939. Deblin was one of the locations where the Polish Air Force trained, which meant that it was a target for the Luftwaffe, who blanketed the city with bombs at the start of their invasion. Soon after, the Nazis arrived in Sam's town, where they terrorized and beat Jewish families. They evicted Sam's family from their home and forced them to live in one of the Nazi-created ghettos, designed to starve the Jewish population who inhabited them.
genocide campaign and began to round up families to be taken to extermination camps. As Sam walked with his parents toward the cattle car, his father pushed him out of the line so that Sam could escape execution. Sam ran and hid with his two sisters Rosa and Sara. Rosa, the oldest of the three, was forced to work in a labor camp outside of Deblin, and she smuggled Sam and Sara with her, as they were too young to survive on their own. Sam never saw his parents or his other siblings again; they were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp and murdered.
camps for nearly 3 years, where they were subject to daily abuse and torment. In January 1945, they were liberated by Russian soldiers, and soon after, Sam fled to Austria, then to America, arriving in Northbrook, IL, in 1947. When Sam arrived at his new home, he handed his adopted mother his suitcases and told her that he “never wanted to see his luggage again.” Sam had hoped to leave his experience and trauma under Nazi occupation behind. As he went through high school and college, he never spoke about his childhood in Poland. Sam would go on to graduate from Grinnell College and build a successful career in the insurance industry. He met the love of his life Janice—“Dede”—and had two children Julie and David.
his past behind. In the 1970s, the United States witnessed a resurgence in anti-semitism, with the neo-Nazi marches in Skokie, IL, and Sam was increasingly encouraged by his family, friends, and other survivors to speak out about what he witnessed in Poland. Upon the insistence of Ernest Michel, Auschwitz survivor and Nuremberg Trials reporter, Sam became involved with the Illinois Holocaust Foundation. As Sam began to share his story, he took on a greater role in Holocaust education advocacy in Illinois. Sam pushed Illinois to become the first State in the Nation to make Holocaust education mandatory in public schools, which it did in 1990. He authored a memoir about his experience and went on to teach thousands of students about what he went through as a Jewish person suffering under Nazi occupation.
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, which opened its doors in 2009. Sam fought tirelessly for its construction, organizing donation drives, public interest, and governmental support. Before the creation of the new museum, the largest Holocaust education center in Illinois was barely equipped to handle 30,000 visitors in 1 year. Thanks to Sam, more than 100,000 students now visit Skokie every year to learn about the Holocaust and the importance of tolerance. The museum itself, while currently closed for renovations, is designed to contain a dark side, depicting Hitler's rise and the Nazi plans for the final solution, and a bright side, describing the joint resistance to Nazi fascism by Jewish and non-Jewish people alike.
In a way, the museum's format mirrors Sam's life. His childhood was filled with unimaginable pain and heartache, yet he never lost his faith in humanity. In his book, Sam wrote that “everyone has both good and bad [in them]. I choose to look at the good.” Sam embodied this sentiment every day. He was filled with love for the people around him, and he spent his time on Earth committed to the idea that through education and learning we might bring out more of the good in people. In 2014, Sam won the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, one of America's most eminent awards, in honor of his resilience and his advocacy. Despite Sam's numerous awards and accomplishments, he maintained that the best thing to ever happen to him was his wife Dede. Loretta and I send our deepest condolences to Dede, Julie, and Sam's grandchildren Jessica and Jeremy.
Sam wrote at the end of his memoir that “good will prevail in the long run.” Through sharing his story, his faith, and his unyielding optimism, Sam brought us closer to that reality. From generation to generation, Sam taught us the lessons of his past so that we may create a better future. May his memory be a blessing.