This year, 800 students from 68 schools across Washington State submitted entries to the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center’s annual Holocaust Writing and Art Contest. The contest is open to students in grades 5-12 who live in Washington State.
A panel of 16 judges selected the winners.
Below is a selection of excerpts from the winning entries.
To see the entries in full, visit the Holocaust Center’s Web site at www.wsherc.org.
First Place — Writing
9th-12th grade category
Skye McConnell, Grade 10
Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle. Teacher: Matt Barmore
“He had not forgotten his papa’s words. It was this reflection that was giving him the strength to touch the pocket watch one last time. As his trembling hand placed the watch inside the display case at the Holocaust museum, his soft voice carried in the open room: “˜May this remembrance help others to learn from our story and to not forget what has happened to our people.’
He continued with the solemn benediction, “˜Mutter und Vater… Mother and Father, just as you were helped in your escape, let us never forget that not everyone is to blame but everyone is responsible.’”
Second Place — Writing
9th-12th grade category
Olivia Vargas, Grade 10
Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle Teacher: Chris Kiehn
“We, as a world community, need to confront injustice directly and not think about ourselves as individuals, but as a whole. It is only through this collective mindset and direct action that we will truly achieve “˜Never Again.’”
First Place — Writing
5th-8th grade category
Steven Weier, Grade 8
Cedar Heights Middle School, Covington
Teacher: Sylvia O’Brien
“By acquainting ourselves with the stories of these survivors, we can learn things that only people who have experienced such atrocities could ever teach. They are willing to share their knowledge, but if the future is to be spared of any iniquity that is at all comparable to the Holocaust, then we, the people of today, must listen with the utmost intent. The stories of Holocaust survivors contain keys that will unlock the doors of a brighter future…. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to carry history into the future, especially because the knowledge at hand is of such importance.”
Third Place — Writing
5th-8th grade category
Nathan Poindexter, Grade 7
Seattle Academy, Seattle
Teacher: Emily Cherkin
“We can help make a world of compassion and peace, and stop anything like the Holocaust from ever happening again. We can do this by telling others what happened, contributing support in our everyday lives, and finding compassion instead of anger and hate.”
Third Place — Writing
9th-12th grade category
Sofia Smith, Grade 10.
Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle
Teacher: Tim Reilly
Grandmother: Would you like me to tell you a story? It’s not a happy one, mind you. In fact it’s the most horrible story I can think of. But it’s mine. Mine, and Marney’s and my sisters. And all of our sisters. Do you understand?
Girl: I think so.
Grandmother: I don’t particularly want to tell it, but it needs to be told. I need someone to listen without interrupting. Can you do that?
Girl: Yes, Omi. I think so.
To the best of my knowledge, I am the only person who has been told…what happened to my Omi. She entered Auschwitz in May of 1943 and was freed on January 27, 1945. I cannot tell the story of her imprisonment, which would be a betrayal of her confidence in me. But this is my feeble attempt to honor my Omi as well as all of the brave souls who lived through the Holocaust.