Chicago, April 3, 2005 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed today's rededication of a Holocaust museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, that was gutted in a November 2003 arson that authorites described as a hate crime.

The CANDLES Museum was started by a local Holocaust survivor, Eva Kor, who as a child was subject to Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele's medical experiments in the Auschwitz death camp. The CANDLES museum, which stands for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Experiments Survivors, opened in 1995.

Lonnie Nasatir, Regional Director of ADL's Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Region, issued the following statement: 

We welcome the rededication of the CANDLES museum, which is devoted to educating the citizens of Indiana and Illinois about the Holocaust. We applaud the efforts of Eva Kor, the museum's founder, who was determined to see it rebuilt.

 

We are also grateful for all those from across the country who raised funds and participated in efforts to rebuild the museum. In particular, we recognize the outstanding contributions of so many from the Terre Haute area, including numerous students and teachers. Out of the tragedy of the arson, they have demonstrated how a community can band together to stand up to hate. 

No one has been charged in the November 2003 arson.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.