By JTNews Staff, other
Each year, the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center holds the Jacob Friedman Holocaust writing and art contest for students in grades 5-12 in Washington State.
This year’s contest asked students to think about a person affected by the Holocaust and to either write a letter or create a piece of art for that person expressing something the student has learned.
Eight hundred students from 70 schools submitted entries, which were reviewed by a panel of 22 judges that included artists, educators, and community members from a diverse selection of organizations, religions, and backgrounds.
Below are excerpts from the winning entries, which can be viewed in their entirety at www.wsherc.org.
Writing 5th/6th grade category
First Place: Andrea Sama, grade 6
Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle
Teacher: Lindsey Mutschler
In a letter to Elie Wiesel:
“This book taught me many things: How cruel people can be, how much people needed to support each other, how desperate things can get and how important faith can be. Now that I have read your book, I know how to use faith to make the world a better place. If I see someone who needs help, I can help them, because now I know how one encouraging statement can save a life.”
Second Place:
Tong Yuan Douville, grade 6
Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle
Teacher: Lindsey Mutscher
In a letter to Elie Wiesel:
“I usually don’t read non-fiction books and yours was one of the few books of this genre that I didn’t find dry and hard to read. Though the topic was not an easy subject, the writing was beautiful and at the end had me wanting to read more…. By learning about other atrocities and genocides with similar missions that happened after the Holocaust, it made me realize that if we do not remember, than we cannot learn from our mistakes and stop what we believe is wrong….I will use the knowledge that I have extracted from your profound words to stand up for what I believe in even if I don’t think it will change the world, for I am part of the world and each person matters.”
Writing 7th/8th Grade Category
First Place: Tyler Zirker, grade 7
Selah Intermediate School, Selah
Teacher: Lorri Clifton
In a letter to Elie Wiesel:
“After reading this book, I knew that I could try harder; try harder to face my fears, and bear my trials, try harder to do what I know is right, and try harder to intervene when I know something is wrong. Night has not only affected me, but the world as well…I think you know that history repeats itself, and you are trying to stop anything like that from ever happening again. The world thanks you, Mr. Wiesel.”
Second Place: Ilana Hoff, grade 8
Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle
Teacher: Jenny Zavatsky
Dear Trudy,
That memory
Is the only one I have of you
The others lost
Aunts and Uncles
Parents and Grandparents
Tell me of you
My father
Told me your story
Barely sixteen
Just a couple years
Older
Than me
A young girl
Growing up in Germany…
What makes you real
So familiar
To me
Is that you had hopes
Dreams
You were a teenage girl too
Just like me
Also not like me
So
Radically different
Than mine…
Writing 9th-12th Grade Category
First Place: Simeng Wang, grade 11
Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle
Teacher: Tim Reilly
Dear Mr. Elie Wiesel,
As a sophomore in high school, my worries are limited to my life and others around me…. It is a time of bliss, filled with fun memories of friends, driving for the first time, and countless sweet 16 birthday parties…
Never has a book touched me in such a deep way. When you described the way your father died, and how hungry men would fight their own fathers for a breadcrumb, I felt like you popped my bubble of happiness…. A million questions and thoughts raced through my head. Most of them will probably remain unanswered, but I do know one thing; it has changed me forever. I want to thank you for opening my eyes, and helping me to learn to care for others around me, and around the world. They might not affect me now, but ultimately they will. We are all together on this earth and we need to learn to look out for one another, because if we don’t, why should anyone else?
Your book has taught me to look outside my own world and even my own group of friends for injustice, because everyone deserves to be treated with respect. As a sign of respect to you, and anyone else that had to endure the Holocaust, I decided to change my bubble, and make it a bubble of inclusion. From now on my bubble is a bubble of friendship, justice, and peace. I now care about what is around me and how I affect other people. It all started with a book, your experiences, and your words, but it’s going to end in a lesson learned, a changed mind, and a better world.
Second Place:
Alex Coddington, grade 10
Charles Wright Academy, Tacoma
Teacher: Nick Coddington
Dear Mr. Leo Hymas,
I have always wanted to get to know a WWII veteran from the European front. My great-grandfather served in France during the war, storming the beaches at Normandy and then fighting in the Battle of the Bulge under General Patton…. Hearing your story told in such a vividly personal way made me feel a deeper connection with my great-grandfather, who died when I was very young…
Every year, my school takes 12 students to Poland to study and learn about the Holocaust firsthand. Inspired by the talk you gave at my school, I signed up and asked to go….
You said to the students at my school, “What I saw in Buchenwald has never faded.” Thanks to your vivid storytelling and commanding presence at the podium, you have made Buchenwald impossible to fade from our minds as well. You are a hero not only for your brave service in one of the world’s most frightening wars of hate, but also because of your courage to tell others what you have seen in order to prevent this hatred from ever happening again. Thank you, Leo Hymas.