holocaust essay contest

Waldman International Arts & Writing Competition

About the waldmans.

Diane and Hal Waldman started the Arts and Writing contest shortly after the Holocaust Center was started in Pittsburgh in the early 1980s. The contest was inspired by meeting many survivors in the Pittsburgh area. The plan came together after a mission trip to Israel with the first director of the Holocaust Center, Isaiah Kuperstein (z”|).

Through the years the contest greatly expanded to include essays, poetry and the visual arts. It also expanded geographically in to Israel. Over almost 40 years, thousands of students have participated in the contest.

Waldman Arts & Writing Competition 2023-2024

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Student Holocaust Writing, Art and Multimedia Contest

“Righteous Among the Nations”

"I believe that it was really due to Lorenzo that I am alive today; and not so much for his material aid, as for his having constantly reminded me by his presence…that there still existed a just world outside our own, something and someone still pure and whole…for which it was worth surviving."

-  Primo Levi describing his rescuer, Lorenzo Perrone (“ If This Is A Man” )

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation invited students in grades 7-12 in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties, and Western Pennsylvania, to enter its annual Holocaust Writing, Art, and Multimedia contest. This annual contest is held in conjunction with Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), an internationally recognized day to be commemorated this academic year on Monday, May 6, 2024, set aside for remembering all victims of the Holocaust and for reminding society of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred, and indifference reign.

The theme for the 2024 contest was “Righteous Among the Nations,” an official title awarded by Yad Vashem , the world Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, Israel, to courageous non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Attitudes towards Jews during the Holocaust largely ranged from indifference to hostility. The mainstream watched as their former neighbors were rounded up and killed. Some collaborated with the perpetrators. Many benefited from the expropriation of Jews’ property.

However, many non-Jews took great risks to save Jews, despite posted notices warning the population against this practice. Rescuers who sheltered Jews faced severe punishment that included incarceration in camps or execution. Non-Jews watched the Nazis’ brutal treatment of Jews, knowing that they would suffer greatly if they attempted to help the persecuted.

As a result, rescuers and those being hidden lived under constant fear of being caught, making it more difficult for ordinary people to defy the conventions and rules. Those who decided to shelter Jews had to sacrifice their normal lives and embark upon a clandestine existence, often against the accepted norms of the society in which they lived, in a life ruled by fear of their neighbors and friends, and by dread of denunciation and capture.

In a world of total moral collapse, this small minority who mustered extraordinary courage to uphold human values and rescue Jews were the “Righteous Among the Nations.” Most rescuers were ordinary humans from all walks of life and religions who risked everything to care for and protect those in need. Their humanity and courage of the Righteous serve as a model, teaching us that every person can make a difference in fighting hate, bias, injustice, discrimination, and persecution.

2024 Winners:

Charles Beichner, first place, grade 7-8 Poetry, Boardman Glenwood Junior High

Ronnell Gordon, second place, Grade 7-8 Poetry, Akiva Academy

Shelby Sullivan, third place, Grade 7-8 Poetry, Austintown Middle School

Danica Stanley, third place, Grade 7-8 Poetry, Austintown Middle School

Morgan Avery, first place, Grade 7-8 Essay, Austintown Middle School

Averi Billups, second place, Grade 7-8 Essay, Austintown Middle School

McKena Briggs, third place, Grade 7-8 Essay, Austintown Middle School

Addison Woodburn, first place, Grade 7-8 Art/Multi-media, Lowellville School District

Rubylyn Payumo, second place, Grade 7-8 Art/Multi-media, Austintown Middle School

Marion Pazin, third place, Grade 7-8 Art/Multi-media, Akiva Academy

Kharma Flowers, first place, Grade 9-10 Poetry, Sebring McKinley High School

Ava Acevedo, second place, Grade 9-10 Poetry, Boardman High School

Gianna Berardino, first place, Grade 9-10 Essay, Boardman High School

Jack Benson, second place, Grade 9-10 Essay, Boardman High School

Alexander Hoffman, third place, Grade 9-10 Essay, Boardman High School

Ella McGree, first place, Grade 9-10 Art/Multi-Media, Boardman High School

Kyrie Heeman, second place, Grade 9-10 Art/Multi-Media, Boardman High School

Natalie Vasquez, first place, Grade 11-12 Poetry, Boardman High School

Kaylee McCarty, second place, Grade 11-12 Poetry, West Middlesex High School

Ayzlin Jones, third place, Grade 11-12 Poetry, West Middlesex High School

Brayden Aratari, first place, Grade 11-12 Essay, Crestview High School

Lola Gordiejew, second place, Grade 11-12 Essay, Boardman High School

Maggie Hoffman, third place, Grade 11-12 Essay, West Middlesex High School

Natalie Vasquez, third place, Grade 11-12 Essay, Boardman High School

Sara Tackett, first place, Grade 11-12 Art/Multi-Media, Boardman High School

Ella Bartholomew, second place, Grade 11-12 Art/Multi-Media, West Middlesex High School

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Deadline: Holocaust Remembrance Essay/Video Contest

Feb 24, 2023 11:30 p.m..

North Central's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is sponsoring a Holocaust Remembrance Day essay/video contest.  The contest is open to currently enrolled NCMC students, and cash prizes are awarded for first, second and third place entries.

Essay Theme

Answer ONE of the following questions via essay (500 – 750 words) or video (4 – 6 minutes):

"As a nation, what can the United States learn from how it dealt with the refugee crisis during the Holocaust, and how can Americans apply those lessons to future global refugee crises?"

"During the Holocaust, the Nazis positioned the Jews of Europe as others. As a nation, how can the United States ensure we do not treat people as others and ensure we develop an inclusive society?"

Contest Rules

• Open to currently enrolled North Central students only.
• One entry per student.
• Essay entries must be typed, 500—750 words, and 1 – 2 pages, double-spaced. Pages must be single-sided with student’s name and email appearing at the top left of each page.
• Essay entries must be submitted electronically to:   [email protected]
• Video entries must be 4—6 minutes in length.
• Video entries must be uploaded to YouTube Studio. Email the video link only to [email protected] . 
• Deadline for entries: Friday, February 24, 2023, by 11:30 p.m.

Judging Criteria

Winners will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Originality
• Relevance to theme
• Effective and creative expression

1 st   Place Prize:       $500 2 nd   Place Prize:      $300 3 rd   Place Prize:       $100

Winners will be announced on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies

White rose student research contest.

Appalachian State University's Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies (CJHPS) is pleased to announce its first annual White Rose Research Contest for 8th through 12th grade students.

About The Contest

The 2024 contest theme is Americans and the Holocaust .

Holocaust history raises important questions about what the international community and the United States could have done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany and its assault on Europe’s Jews. Once war began, Allied governments prioritized the military defeat of Germany over humanitarian efforts. Yet during this time some action was taken by individuals and, limitedly, by the U.S. government in response to the increasingly dire situation of European Jews.

Submit Your Entry

Details TBA

Contest Prompt

A successful essay or documentary entry will address both portions of the following prompt. At minimum, one-fourth of the finished work must be devoted to the reflection.

• Research:  Describe the motivations and outcomes of a non-military action or policy taken by the U.S. government or American citizens to address the persecution of European Jews between 1933 and 1945. Discuss how these actions impacted the European Jewish community or Jewish individuals, citing specific examples.
• Reflection:  Based on your research, what responsibility do you believe the U.S. has toward refugees and immigrants in today’s world?

General Guidance

CJHPS urges students to tour  USHMM’s online exhibition “Americans and the Holocaust”  to gain essential background information about this contest topic. USHMM estimates that it will take one hour to explore the online exhibit. Specific documents, photographs, videos, maps and artifacts from this exhibit will be used as primary sources for the White Rose Research Contest. Touring the online exhibit will help students understand how these individual pieces of evidence fit into the whole. We also recommend that students explore the  Personal Stories  portion of the online exhibition. An interesting research topic may be found in these stories!

Students - the following contest rules govern the use of sources:

• Contestants must base their entry on at least three of the provided contest documents (sources).
• In addition, contestants must use at least two additional sources of information obtained through research.
• A Works Cited page should be included that credits all and only the sources of information used in your essay or documentary.
• No matter what style manual you use, bibliographies are not allowed for the White Rose Research Contest. (Please make sure you understand the difference between a Works Cited and a Bibliography.)
• All information beyond common knowledge must be cited.
• Citations must follow Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA) or Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) format and be consistent within the paper or documentary and Works Cited page. The  OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue  is a good source of information about these style manuals.

Contest Documents

• Correspondence from Messersmith to Hull about 1936 Olympics (15 November 1935)
• Jewish Athletes at Berlin Olympics – Glickman & Stoller
• Couldn’t They Swap or Something? (cartoon; 20 June 1938)
• The Wagner – Rogers Act (8 February 1939)
• Holocaust Survivor Kurt Levi Testimony (Video by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education)
• State Dept. Memo Temporarily Halting Immigration (26 June 1940)
• Memorandum of Conf. on Curbing Immigration (27 June 1940)
• Jan Karski’s Testimony about his report to Roosevelt in 1943
• “Acquiescence” Memo (13 January 1944)
• Executive Order: War Refugee Board (22 January 1944)
• FDR Message to Congress announcing Fort Ontario, June 12, 1944
• Requirements for an American Visa (Secondary Source)
• Walter Winchell condemns American Nazi Rally (Secondary Source)
• Animated Map of Ships Carrying Immigrants (1938-1941) (Secondary Source)
• The American Friends Service Committee (Secondary Source)

Approved Websites for Student Research

Here is a list of approved websites for student research published by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

Primary Source Documents for Student Research

Here  is a list of primary source documents for student research published by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

Additional Information & Resources

Contest eligibility.

The White Rose Research Contest is open to students in 8th through 12th grades.

Entries are accepted in two categories: Essay or Documentary.

Entrants compete in two age divisions: Lower (8th and 9th Grade) and Upper (10th, 11th, and 12th Grade).

Students may submit one entry in one contest category per year. Students may enter the contest every year they are eligible. Previous winners may enter gain.

Sponsoring teachers may enter the ten best essays and the ten best documentaries created by their assigned students during a contest year.

Contest Rules

General Contest Rules

• All information beyond common knowledge must be cited–following MLA, APA or CMS format.
• Contestants must base their entries on at least three of the provided contest documents (sources).
• In addition, contestants must use at least two additional sources of information obtained through research.
• Entries must be submitted through the CJHPS website by the contest deadline.
• Entries will not be returned. Entrants give CJHPS permission to publish entries. Decisions of the judges are final.
• Sponsoring teachers may instruct, guide and review, but may not rewrite or extensively edit student work.
• No portion of the work may be plagiarized–a problem most often caused when sources are not properly credited.

Contest Rules for Written Work

• 1,600 words maximum allowed for an essay. At minimum, one-fourth  of the total length of the essay (400 of 1,600 words) must be reserved for the reflection portion of the contest prompt. The maximum word count need not include the Works Cited.
• 800 words maximum allowed for a process paper; this word count need not include the Works Cited.
• The Works Cited is the last page of the essay or Process Paper. It lists—in alphabetical order—all and only the sources cited within the essay or used in the documentary. Bibliographies are not allowed. All citations—in the text and Works Cited—must be consistently formatted in MLA, APA or CMS style.
• Essays and process papers must be the original work of the entrant.

Contest Rules for Audio-Visual Work

• Documentaries should be at least seven minutes but no longer than ten minutes in length. At minimum, one-fourth of the total length of the documentary (2.5 of 10 minutes) must be reserved for the reflection portion of the contest prompt.
• The last portion of the documentary must be a list of acknowledgments and credits for sources of still images, moving images, interviews, music, and narration that comprise the documentary. These source credits must be brief—not full bibliographic citations and not annotated. Full credits, in MLA, APA or CMS style, must be given in your Works Cited.
• Documentaries should be in mp4 format, submitted as a YouTube link. Finalists may be asked to submit the mp4 files of their documentaries to CJHPS.
• Documentaries must be original productions of the contest entrants.

About the Documentary Category

A documentary is an audio/visual presentation that uses many types of sources such as still images, video, and sound to communicate a historical argument, supported by research and a reflection on this year’s contest prompt.

Entrants submitting a documentary must also submit a Process Paper that answers the following questions:

• How did you choose your topic, and how does it relate to this year’s contest prompt?
• What is the thesis (historical argument) of the documentary?
• How did you conduct your research?
• How did you create the documentary?

The end of the documentary must show a list of credits that acknowledges the sources of still images, moving images, interviews, information used in narration and music used within the film/video. These source credits must be brief—not full bibliographic citations and not annotated. However, these credits should match the citations on the Works Cited page that must accompany the Process Paper.

Documentaries should be saved in mp4 format, submitted as a YouTube link. Finalists may be asked to submit the mp4 files of their documentaries to CJHPS.

Contact Amy Hudnall , interim director of CJHPS, via email at [email protected] or via phone at (828) 262-6025.

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Eva Lassman Holocaust Writing Contest: ‘Our Stories’

Irena Karplusová

14 years old

Living in the Terezín ghetto

Yitskhok Rudashevski

15 years old

Living in Lithuania

16 years old

Living in Amsterdam

Our families.

Silenced by

Nazi Germany.

His followers.

Discriminating against us,

Because of our beliefs.

Killing us,

Because of our families.

Starving us,

Because of our religion.

We believed we were Germans.

We believed we could fight.

We believed that we were strong enough.

But Hitler was stronger.

And Hitler was popular.

And Hitler was destroying us.

Why are we important?

Why are our voices not silenced?

Why are our names known?

Because we fought back.

We may not have lived, but our memory did.

We may have died, but our voice is still strong.

Through drawings.

And diaries.

And memories.

We might be kids, but we will help you learn.

We might be small, but your knowledge can get bigger.

With every drawing that you see.

With every diary that you read.

With every memory you hear.

And with those drawings, diaries, and memories,

Remember us.

Remember our stories.

Remember our history.

Remember why we’re important.

Remember what we lived through.

We share our history so you can learn.

So you can grow.

So you can remember our stories.

Human hate is everywhere.

But you must see it to prevent it.

You must realize how it changes us.

How it affects us.

How we feed it.

Sustain its growing hunger with our words.

With our hurt.

With our pain.

Look around you.

There is so much hate in our world.

In our countries.

In our lives.

History isn’t supposed to repeat itself.

But what do we call the events happening right now?

The invasion in Ukraine.

2 million refugees in 12 days.

Asian Americans.

Dying for no reason.

Because of human hate.

Human vengeance.

When we are hurt, we like to blame others.

We like to have a reason for our pain,

For our suffering.

So we place our blame on others who are different.

When we do this,

People suffer.

People die.

People lose everything,

Because of human hate, pain, and hurt.

To stop this, you need to see it.

When no one knows what’s going on, no one stops things from happening.

But when you learn about real life examples of human hate,

When you realize what men

Went through during these situations,

You realize how the hate you inflict on others changes the world.

How the world can change because of the hate inflicted on it.

But what can you do?

How can you make a difference in your community?

In your school?

In your home?

You can remember our stories.

You can learn lessons from us.

You can feel the impact of hate upon our world.

And you can teach it to others.

Figure out how to get rid of human hate and put a little more peace into our lives.

Our diaries tell the story of the Holocaust.

There are many things that shouldn’t have happened.

Shouldn’t have been spoken.

Shouldn’t have been thought.

Shouldn’t have been dreamed.

Our lives were nightmares when the Nazis took over.

Every morning we woke up, hoping it would all be a dream.

But it wasn’t.

And it was always real.

Teaching people what happened during the Holocaust lessens the nightmares we have every night.

To know that someone still remembers us and our stories

Remembers what we went through.

If you help spread these stories and memories

You can be the reason we wake up.

Ava Lewis is an eighth-grader at Chase Middle School.

Support local farmers and lower your carbon footprint

Sustainable living is more important today than ever before.

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In This Section

How do i..., holocaust reflection contest .

Teaching students about the lessons of the Holocaust is both a great responsibility and a tremendous opportunity to influence the next generation. The powerful stories of Holocaust survivors provide wisdom and inspiration. The annual Holocaust Reflection Contest enables middle and high school students across the state of Florida to study the testimonies of Holocaust survivors in a meaningful, creative way. This contest presents our students with a unique opportunity to review a range of first-hand testimonies of Holocaust survivors and to choose one that they connect with. Students are then challenged to develop a creative piece that takes the form of an original essay or poem, a digital video or presentation, or a visual art piece and that represents what they learned through studying their chosen survivor’s story.

The contest will open for submission on Wednesday, January 17, and will remain open through Tuesday, February 20. For more information, visit the contest website at https://www.nova.edu/holocaustcontest . In addition to the valuable learning that students will experience by participating in this contest, the following prizes for students will be awarded across the three categories:

All students who submit an entry will receive a Certificate of Participation signed by the President and CEO of NSU as well as by the President of the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc. Students can use this certificate as a part of their college applications.

Each winning student in each of the three categories receives:

$1,000 for First Place 

$250 for Second Place

Invitation for the student and family to attend an Award Ceremony at the NSU Campus in Fort Lauderdale

Private tour of the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection Resource Center

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Holocaust Education Resources: Contests for Students

Holocaust Remembrance Project The Holocaust Remembrance Project is an essay contest for high school students funded by the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation. Scholarships and prizes are awarded to winning students writing about the annually selected Holocaust/human rights-related theme. 

Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) seeks to educate the public about the Holocaust and to prevent future genocide. MCHE offers community exhibits, lectures and programs, as well as a library and resource center for Holocaust education purposes. There is also access to a speakers’ bureau and information on the White Rose Student Essay Contest on the site, as well as links to Holocaust resources and a special link for educators. 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers information about the exhibits in its Washington, D.C. museum as well as exhibits across the United States. The website also contains research tools including a Holocaust Encyclopedia, personal histories of those involved in the Holocaust, and online museum exhibitions. 

The Holocaust: Students reflect in award-winning essays, projects

In her award-winning high school essay, Emily Salko asks others to imagine the freedoms that Mira Kimmelman lost as Nazi Germany intensified its persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. 

“The freedom that we possess is something that we all take for granted each day,” she wrote. “Ask yourself, are you allowed to attend school? Walk the streets of your town? Ride a bus? Live in your own house? Answering ‘yes’ means that you already have 10 times the freedom that Mira Kimmelman had, and this little freedom is what sparked her appreciation of the things such as the clothes on her back, her shoes, and even her own roof.” 

Emily, a sophomore at Oak Ridge High School, is one of the 14 students who won awards in the first Mira Kimmelman “Learning from the Holocaust” Contest in 2021.  Kimmelman told her story of surviving the Holocaust to students, civic and religious groups in East Tennessee for more than 50 years before her death in 2019. 

Her sons, Benno and Gene Kimmelman, created the essay and project contest for Tennessee high school and middle school students, sponsored by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, to carry on her legacy and ensure that her voice continues to be heard through her books and recorded talks. The contest offers prize money ranging from $150 to $750. 

Emily watched videos of Kimmelman's speeches and read articles about her and about anti-Semitism before writing her essay while she was in the ninth grade. She noticed that Kimmelman, as a teen, chose to take family photos, rather than other possessions, when her family was forced to leave home for a ghetto.

“She was so brave to continue moving forward and just fighting to stay alive for her family,” Emily said of Kimmelman after she received the first place high school essay award. She wrote the essay when the Black Lives Matter movement was gaining attention in the news, and she realized that people facing discrimination need to have strength and resilience.

“I think her biggest message I would continue to use is just kindness toward everyone. You shouldn’t judge people based on who they are as a group, based on race or religion. You should get to know someone,” Emily said. “You should not treat them differently because you might look different or believe in something different.” 

Along with the mantra of “never forget” often heard in relation to the Holocaust, Benno and Gene hope students entering the contest learn their mother’s lessons of tolerance and kindness. The essays reflect that, as the students wrote about being moved by her bravery and resilience and about how they are applying her lessons today. 

“Many of the essays touched on current injustices and suggested ways they could be addressed,” said contest judge Katie High, of Knoxville, a retired University of Tennessee vice president for academic affairs and a member of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission. “The writers were giving world-wide atrocities serious thought, which was impressive. I wanted to cheer the students, and their teachers, because it was obvious teaching and learning were going on.” 

High, who served as interim dean at the UT Martin College of Business after her retirement, said much of the Holocaust Commission’s work is focused on middle school students, and that work becomes more difficult as more Holocaust survivors die. 

“When they talk to a group of middle school students and show their tattoos and talk about what it’s like to be in the camps, kids are horrified, but in awe of these survivors, because of their resilience,” High said. “You have planted something in their hearts.”

Emmanuelle Wolf-Dubin, first-place winner in the middle school essay contest, wrote that hearing a rabbi challenge listeners to think not only of Israelis and their suffering but Palestinians, as well, reminded her of Kimmelman’s message of seeing the kindness in all people. Her story, she wrote, is a message of ideals that Emmanuelle can only hope to achieve.

“As a young adult, she would be imprisoned in the deadliest concentration camp called Auschwitz and was forced into the nearly unimaginable march to Bergen-Belsen,” wrote Emmanuelle, a student at Meigs Magnet Middle School in Nashville. “Yet, after all of these horrors at the hands of one of the most evil men in recorded history, she still preached lovingkindness in a world that seemed apathetic to her plight. Instead of focusing on that, she zeroed in on the people who helped, the people of all nationalities, races, and religions who saved her and her counterparts across Europe,” Emmanuelle wrote. 

Chloe Collins, a student at Oakdale Middle School in Morgan County, said she read Kimmelman’s first book, "Echoes from the Holocaust," before writing her essay, which was awarded second place in the middle school contest. 

“Mira Kimmelman … had to say good-bye to the family she loved, she had all of her dignity stripped away, she saw things that no one should ever have to see, she lived in a world of hate, and she felt unwanted in a country that was once her own,” wrote Chloe, an eighth grader this year. “I am thankful for Mira Kimmelman’s message of hope and tolerance that will live on forever.” 

Though not a Tennessee student, Soha Sherwani earned a “Notable Achievement” award from contest judges for her essay comparing the Holocaust with the current Chinese government repression of the Uigher people, a small and mostly Muslim minority. 

“The Uigher population is being forced into concentration camps, which are dubbed ‘re-education’ camps by the government, and are forced to partake in direct violations of their Islamic faith,” Soha wrote as a high school senior in Houston, Texas. “The Uighur Muslims are exploited for cheap labor and physically abused ... it is happening again.”

Now a college freshman, Soha said she read about the essay contest online as she was seeking scholarship opportunities and was moved by the emotion in Kimmelman’s words. She could teach and spread love through her pain, Soha said. 

“For Ms. Kimmelman, her perception was undoubtedly changed by the two integral lessons she learned surviving the Holocaust: that there are always beacons of light in the darkness and that humanity must uphold its responsibility to learn and act from instances of injustices,” Soha wrote. In her essay, Soha urges those concerned to join her with their voices in protesting, spreading awareness, and educating others on the injustice happening now. 

First- and second-place awards for middle school contest projects went to teams of students at Oak Ridge’s Robertsville Middle School.

“The Shoah Proliferates” won first place. The team used an online survey to ask students to allow their names to be used on a poster to help remember the 6 million who died in the Holocaust, saying that people remember what they can be part of. Nathanael Peters, Lennox Pack, Aiden Cantu and Kyleigh Langdale are the team members who created the project, using a QR code for business cards that students used to access the survey. All are ninth graders at Oak Ridge High School now. 

A poster with a poem and image of broken glass, symbolizing Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass when Nazis targeted synagogues, was included. Kyleigh created the poster, and Lennox wrote the poem:

Think of them not as 6 million lives lost,

But 6 million lives remembered.

Thousands more put through exhaust,

And families dismembered.

These depressing tales aren’t fiction,

Rather they are tales to stand the test of time.

It is our job to remember,

These lives left devoured. 

The second-place team, Julia Hussey, Alia Oakes, Teagan Tate and Audrey Thompson, proposed a mural for a hallway at their school. They created artwork with Holocaust symbols, including  barbed wire on a red background on one side, and symbols of peace and hope, including swallows and flowers on a blue background. A Star of David represents martyrdom and heroism. 

Haley Braden, second-place high school essay winner from Anderson County High School, wrote that she knew little about the Holocaust before entering the contest. Her essay urges her generation to follow in Kimmelman’s footsteps, to “keep a positive attitude and mindset through the darkest hours. Because with this hope comes peace and love.”

Haley wrote, “We can embody her message when looking at the face of injustice. When you see something that is wrong, be sure to right it. Stand up for people who are treated wrongly and cannot stand up for themselves.” 

Elizabeth Bernheisel, of Dyersburg Middle School, focused on Kimmelman’s second book, "Life Beyond the Holocaust: Memories and Realities," in her third-place middle school essay. The book, she wrote, offers insights on how Holocaust survivors recover, rebuild and live normal lives after experiencing unimaginable trauma. 

“Through letters, reunions, and travels back to Europe, Mira Kimmelman tells her story, as well as the stories of those no longer able to speak for themselves,” Elizabeth wrote. “She also highlights the importance of remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust, as well as the restoration that must follow.” 

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MMI students place in 27th annual Israel T. & MildredKlapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest

Andrew Blasko, Jillian McGeehin, and Serena Novotney placed in the 27th Annual Israel T. & Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest. Mrs. Jennifer Novotney serves as the MMI English Department Chair and advisor for the contest.

Three MMI Preparatory School students placed in the annual Israel T. & Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest. Serena Novotney (Middle School category) and Jillian McGeehin (High School category) captured first place in the 2022 contest. Andrew Blasko tied for second place in the High School Category.

The 2022 essay topic focused on the public display of Nazi flags and public expression of Holocaust denial and how such expressions are protected by the First Amendment to our Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of speech. However, with the marked rise in anti-Semitic speech expressing hatred toward Jews, most notably during recent neo-Nazi and white supremacy marches, students were asked to write about how our country can avoid fomenting the same irrational anti-Jewish emotions and beliefs which led Hitler and his Nazi party to wipe out six million of their nation’s Jews along with millions of other minorities they deemed undesirable.

Serena Novotney is the daughter of Jennifer and Tim Novotney of Freeland; Jillian McGeehin is the daughter of Larry and Amy McGeehin of Sugarloaf; and Andrew Blasko is the son of Andrew Blasko ‘84, Freeland and Renee Lapchak, Mountain Top. Mrs. Jennifer Novotney, MMI English Department Chair, serves as the contest advisor.

The Israel T. & Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest marked its 27th anniversary this year.

The contest is sponsored jointly by the Hazleton Jewish Community Council and the Greater Hazleton Ministerial Association. It features Middle School (grades 7 and 8), High School (grades 9-12) and Post High School categories. Students in the Middle School and High School categories are asked to submit an essay that is no more than 300 words on the given topic. A panel of judges chosen by the Greater Hazleton Ministerial Association read each essay and selected the winners.

Exclusive Subscriber-Only Content

Jewish Studies Program

The Jewish Studies Program annually awards prizes for the best essays and projects in the field of Jewish Studies.

Categories include:

• Best Undergraduate Paper
• Best Graduate Paper
• Best Short Paper
• Best Honor’s Thesis
• Best Creative Project

Who is eligible to apply for the Jewish Studies Essay Contest?

Any full-time student who wrote a paper or made a project on a Jewish Studies topic during the past academic year (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025). Students of any class standing are eligible to apply.

You need not be a Jewish Studies student, nor does the paper or project have to have been written for a Jewish Studies class. The important factor is the topic. As long as you wrote a paper or made a project in the field of Jewish Studies, you can submit it for this contest.

How do I apply?

To apply, please submit

• Your paper or project with a 1-page cover sheet. Essays must be submitted in the form of a Word Document with only a title. If you cannot submit your creative project using a Word document, please make arrangements with Rob Jones (assistant director) .
• Cover sheet should include the title of your paper or project, your name, and the course and professor it was submitted for. Please note whether you are pursuing a Jewish Studies major, minor, or certificate.

If you receive a Jewish Studies Essay or Project Award, we will ask you to submit a short bio about yourself to be featured on our website. In addition, you may be asked to write a brief blogpost about your paper and research to publish on the website and social media.

Applications Due: April 5, 2024

Once you submit your application, your information will be emailed to the Jewish Studies committee for review. If you have any questions, including  about whether or not your paper fits our eligibility requirements,  please contact Director of Jewish Studies Professor Tobias Brinkmann or the Assistant Director Rob Jones .

Additional Questions

Students are competing for one of three top places. First place receives an award of $500, second place receives an award of $300, and third place receives an award of $200.

All prizes will be award at the Jewish Studies award ceremony at the end of the academic year. Winners will be notified prior to the ceremony.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Rob Jones, the assistant director of Jewish Studies ( [email protected] ).

Previous Award Winners

1st Place Master’s Director’s Fund Essay Prize Recipient: “Resurgent Antisemitism: The Threat of Viktor Orban and His Political Arsenal” by Jacob Green

2nd Place Master’s Director’s Fund Essay Prize Recipient: “Ugly Jews in the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man” by Morgan Seiff

3rd Place Harris and Zelma Freedman Scholarship Essay Prize Recipient: “Solomon’s Temple: Historical Sources, Accuracy, and Reconstruction” by Dov Gordan

2024 Award Winners

Wagner and grossman awards for best undergraduate essay:.

“Inside the Minds of Prehistoric Peoples: Plastered Skulls in the Neolithic Levant” by Aimee Thompson

“Judean Pillar Figurines: Typology, Use, and Significance of Judean Pillar Figurines in Iron Age Judah” by David Hay

“Innocent God of Auschwitz” by Jerri Williams

Lori Master Award for Best Short Essay:

“Violent Femininity: An Analysis of Biblical Women and the Canaanite Goddesses in Judges 4–5” by Kristen Kitch

“Jay Ipson: A Testimony of Survival” by Josh Reiff

“Linda Schwab: A Holocaust Survivor’s Story” by Sophie Seigel

Jewish Studies Award for Best Creative Project:

“Farhud: Disaster and Resilience in Baghdad” by Laura Roncancio

“Something Old, Something New: Middle-class Jewish Women’s Experience during the Interwar Period in the Middle East and North Africa” by Zan Dyreson

Richard W. and June R. Duffine Prize for Best Graduate Essay:

“The collective impact of private memories: self-representations of Jewish-Mexican identities in family photographs (1930–1955)” by Ana Sofía Semo

“Abjection, Body, and the Collapse of Institutions in Peter Weiss’ Die Ermittlung ” by Suchitra Harnahalli

“Addressing Antisemitism at American Universities: Three-fold Policy Brief for the United States Department of Education” by Rayna Alexander

Reuben and Lizzie Grossman Award for Best Thesis:

“Phoenicia and Philistia: Economic and Cultural Resilience Following the Late Bronze Age”  by Grace Blaha

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‘The More You Know About Something the Less Scary It Is’: The Week 7 Winner of Our Summer Reading Contest

Michelle Zhibing Zhou, 15, writes about a Science article highlighting new research that “sent ripples throughout the leech research community and shivers down my spine.”

By The Learning Network

For 15 years, our Summer Reading Contest has been inviting teenagers around the world to tell us what New York Times pieces get their attention and why. This year, for the first time, students can submit either written comments or 90-second video responses.

In the seventh week of our 10-week challenge, we received 1,082 entries, and we list the finalists below. Scroll down to read the work of our winner, Michelle Zhibing Zhou , and to take a look at the variety of topics that caught these students’ eyes, including a nine-year-old chess prodigy, Kamala Harris’s cooking, Alzheimer’s disease, jewelry, cows, anchovies, and preserving memories of the Holocaust.

You can read the work of all of our winners since 2017 in this column , and you can participate in the contest any or every week this summer until Aug. 16. Just check the top of this page , where we post updates, to find the right place to submit your response.

Michelle Zhibing Zhou, 15, from Hong Kong, read the Science article, “ Videos Show That Leeches Can Jump in Pursuit of Blood .” Here is her response:

Leeches! Bleh! Famed for their role in medieval medicine, they’re often dismissed as repulsive, blood-thirsty parasites. So, imagine my surprise and morbid curiosity when I stumbled upon an article that added insight into their world and abated some of my irrational fears. Surprisingly, leeches reminded me of something very different: myself. When I have a craving, like for chocolate, I scurry to the store. Similarly, when motivated by their craving for blood, leeches are “provoked [into] acts of startling athleticism,” springing through the air, then splatting on the ground comically. Adding even more intrigue, the video included ground-breaking footage ending the age-old debate about whether leech-leaping was even possible. The finding sent ripples throughout the leech research community and shivers down my spine. As with many things in life, the more you know about something the less scary it is. The article helped dissipate some of my fear and disgust, presenting leeches as being motivated by food (like me!), and with amusing behaviors. The article changed my perception of leeches from nightmare fuel to riveting little creatures. Don’t get me wrong though, while leeches are endlessly captivating, being that, to them, I’m a tasty walking bag of blood, I don’t want them snacking on me in a tropical forest. I’ll stick to watching them from afar, behind a screen, and preferably while nibbling on a bar of chocolate.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name.

Nazira Musabaeva on “ After 12 Years of Reviewing Restaurants, I’m Leaving the Table ”

Noa Riss on “‘ Crown Jewels of the Jewish People’: Preserving Memories of the Holocaust ”

Shi Yi Yang on “ A Family Dinner with My Wife and Girlfriend ”

Sissi Ma on “ When It Comes to Food and Politics, Kamala Harris Is Riffing on the Recipe ”

Honorable Mentions

Alex Ding on “ The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling ”

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