Annie Pankowski
8th Grade, St. Anne School
Shelli Bautista
12th Grade, Downey High School
Danielle Spriggs
8th Grade, St. Anne School
Gloria Galardo
9th Grade, Orange High School
We’re always amazed by the outstanding projects of local students, and we’re proud to showcase their work. Here’s a look through the winning entries of The Holocaust Art & Writing Contest from the last 3 years:
Trabuco Hills High School, Mission Viejo
Teacher: Barbara Gard
Survivor Testimony: Anita Lasker-Wallfisch
Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana
Teacher: Lyndsey Lefebvre
Survivor Testimony: Leopold Page
Esperanza High School, Anaheim
Teacher: Carrie Platz
Survivor Testimony: Ilse Diament
South Lake Middle School, Irvine
Teacher: Brooke Bonilla
Survivor Testimony: Rose Toren
Trabuco Hills High School, Mission Viejo
Teacher: Barbara Gard
Survivor Testimony: Elly Kamm
Acaciawood College Preparatory Academy, Anaheim
Teacher: Noemi Quiñones-Rosado
Survivor Testimony: Barry Bruk
Creativity opens minds.
The annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest furthers Holocaust education by promoting creativity. The 1939 Society and Chapman University ask middle school and high school students to submit their art, poetry and prose projects—all inspired by the extraordinary stories of Holocaust survivors.
While each project is unique, students share a common resource: the collection of survivors’ interviews found on The 1939 Society and USC Shoah Foundation websites. Using these stories, students learn about the Holocaust while helping to preserve the legacies of those who lived through it.
Each spring, Chapman University hosts an awards ceremony, where students share their projects with the community and compete for great prizes. All attendees receive a copy of The Holocaust Chronicle: A History in Words and Pictures, while runners-up receive a $250 cash prize. For the grand prize 6 winners receive $500 cash plus an all-expenses paid trip (with a parent and teacher) to Washington, D.C., where they’ll visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Each year, thousands experience the impact of participating. Students interpret survivors’ stories through their own individual artistic lens; they apply these stories to their own lives. Young people become connected to the Holocaust and the people who lived through it.
Check out the work of past winners—your work could be up here next year!
For more info please see our 2009 publication, The Holocaust Art & Writing Contest: A Retrospective