The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and

research library A research library is a library that contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of top ...

for the study of

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, and its specialist collections include material relating to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and war-related

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

Architectural Gem

The facility was designed by the late architect Helmut Jahn. It was one of the last designs he created. The facility has won numerous architectural awards. Architectural Recognition: ENR Midwest " Cultural Best Project Award"; ACEC Honor Award for Building/Technology Systems; ACEC Judges 'Choice Award for Building/Technology Systems; AIA Chicago Honor Award.

History

The institution was founded in 2003 as the Pritzker Military Library to be a

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of democracy" by Colonel (Hon.) ( IL) Jennifer (at the time, James) Pritzker, who had just retired from the

Illinois Army National Guard The Illinois Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. With the Illinois Air National Guard it forms the Illinois National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard unit ...

. Originally located in the

Streeterville Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan ...

neighborhood at 610 N. Fairbanks Court, the library later moved to 104 S. Michigan Avenue in the Loop. The museum & library is a non-profit, supported by donations and membership.

Collections

The collection of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library comprises over 115,000 items and includes more than 70,000 books, as well as periodicals, videos, artwork, posters, rare military

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

, over 9000 photographs and glass negatives from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

to the present, letters and journals from American soldiers, and a sizable collection related to

. Sam Gevirtz, who served on board during the Okinawa invasion, donated his two World War II diaries to the Museum & Library. The Library participates in an interlibrary loan program with major public and university libraries in the continental United States. Membership is required to borrow circulating materials. The library has a non-circulating collection of more than 3,000 rare books and periodicals, including the Famiano Strada's ''De Bello Belgico'' (London: 1650) and John Entick's ''The General History of the Late War: Containing It's Rise, Progress, and Event, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America'' (London: 1763). The collection also includes unit histories, such as Civil War regimentals, and cruise books, like those from USS ''Chicago''. These materials must be read in the Rare Book Reading Room. The institution maintains named collections, which include the Parrish Collection on Soviet History, the Dr. Charles E. Metz Collection (titles on

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

aviation), James Wengert Military Medical Collection, Lt. Col. Robert C. Peithman Collection (titles on the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

), Henry J. Reilly Memorial Library (volumes collected by Brig. Gen. Reilly), the Robert C. Baldridge Collection (volumes collected by Robert Connell Baldridge),

Edward Jablonski Edward Jablonski (March 1, 1922 – February 10, 2004) was the author of several biographies on American cultural personalities, such as George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Alan Jay Lerner, and Irving Berlin, as well as books on aviation history. ...

Collection (books of historian Edward Jablonski), John V. Farwell Collection (books on the American and British navies), Robert G. Burkhardt Memorial Collection (books on

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

and leadership), Dr. Charles C. Moskos Collection (books on military sociology, LGBTQ and the military, women and the military), Norman E. Harms Collection (books and papers on aviation, tanks, and ships), Robin D. S. Higham Collection (books on aviation, the Civil War, World War I, and World War II unit histories), and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

Sheet Music and Song Books Collection.

Programs

The Museum & Library has produced multiple programs related to military history in the United States.

''Pritzker Military Presents''

''Pritzker Military Presents'' was a televised series covering various topics in military history, and features film screenings, author presentations, and panel discussions with military officers and specialists in military history. They have included interviews with

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipients such as Paul William Bucha and Gary L. Littrell, retired military figures such as Gen.

Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps General (United States), general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special e ...

and NASA Capt.

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. ( ; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the fi ...

, as well as military authors such as

Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalism, sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of numerous U.S. presidents. Goodwin's book ''No Ordinary ...

, Rick Atkinson, and W.E.B. Griffin. Retired CIA agent Sandra Grimes also paid a visit to the Museum & Library and introduced her book ''Circle of Treason''. Programs are

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...

live on the library's website and archived for later viewing or listening in streaming media or as

podcasts A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

. This website has over 400 of these programs available as episodes of ''Pritzker Military Presents'', or original programming produced by the Museum & Library. The programs are downloaded at a rate of 2,000 per month per program. They were also broadcast on Chicago

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

affiliate

WTTW WTTW (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT (98.7 FM). ...

Channel 11.

''Citizen Soldier''

The Museum & Library also produced ''Citizen Soldier''. Each episode is originally a panel, conversation or interview that take place at Pritzker Military Museum & Library. It is then edited into a 26-minute episode that was broadcast on Chicago Public TV station, WTTW Channel 11 and WTTW-Prime Channel 11–2. All episodes can be viewed on the Museum & Library's website.

Other programs

The Holt Oral History Program has collected stories from over 71 US military veterans and posted a downloadable podcast. The full audio interviews and transcriptions are available on the Museum & Library's website. Kenneth Clarke, president and CEO of the library at the time, said one of the Library's goals is to provide a secure space for veterans to explore their experiences in war. The Museum & Library also serves as a community resource, hosting commissioning and citizenship ceremonies.

Exhibitions

The Museum & Library has also hosted exhibitions by artists such as Steve Mumford, James Dietz, Don Stivers, and members of the Midwest Air Force Association. Other exhibitions have included Don't Be a Dope!: Training Comics from World War II and Korea and She's a Wow!: Women's Service Organizations in World War II. In May 2014, the Pritzker exhibited photography from

Stephanie Freid-Perenchio Stephanie Freid-Perenchio is an independent documentary photographer known for her work highlighting humanitarian causes and wartime. She is best known for her documentary work on the Navy SEALs, both in her publication ''SEAL: The Unspoken Sacri ...

: her work depicted

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

in training and during their service in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

; the exhibit also included independently loaned artifacts from the Navy SEAL Museum such as uniforms and equipment. In June 2019, the Museum & Library opened the ''D-Day+75'' exhibition, to mark the 75th anniversary of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. The exhibit featured images, letters and maps from the invasion in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in addition to video and audio recording from D-Day veterans. In 2023, the Tet and the Battle of Hue exhibit debuted. The exhibit was a powerful presentation of imagery, audio, and interactive elements, allowing visitors of all abilities including blind and low vision, to experience the personal stories of the men who endured the brutal conflict.

Awards program

In 2007, the Museum & Library awarded its first annual Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing to Civil War historian James M. McPherson. The award includes a $100,000 honorarium.

Honorees

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *2023: Dr. Craig L. Symonds

Critical reception

The Pritzker Military Museum & Library was named one of 10 recipients of the 2009

National Medal for Museum and Library Service The National Medal for Museum and Library Service is an award given annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to American libraries and museums with outstanding service to their communities. The IMLS refers to the medal as " ...

. The annual award, made by the

Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for librar ...

(IMLS) since 1994, recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental, or economic contributions to their communities. The Museum & Library's 2006 schedule was named an Official Honoree of the 2007

Webby Awards The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

. It was also named an Official Honoree in two categories, Live & Broadcast Events and Podcasts, in the 2008 Webby Awards.

Publications

The museum publishes books, including: * *

References

External links

*
''Front & Center''
''with'' '' John Callaway'' archive at the Pritzker Military Museum & Librar
pdf
* John Callawaybr>discusses ''The Politics of War''
with Bruce DuMont at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the U.S. economy as it relates to nonprofit organizations. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that conducts economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations, and p ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pritzker Military Museum and Library Military historiography of the United States Museums in Chicago Art museums and galleries in Illinois Military and war museums in Illinois Libraries established in 2003 2003 establishments in Illinois Research libraries in the United States Pritzker family