As part of its 30th Annual Community Holocaust Commemoration for Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance), the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation held a Student Holocaust Writing, Art, and Multi-Media Contest.
Students in grades seven to 12 were invited to submit an original piece of poetry, narrative composition, art, or multimedia piece. Winners were announced at the annual Yom Hashoah Community Commemoration held at the Mahoning County Courthouse April 18.
Yom Hashoah is an internationally recognized day set aside for remembering all victims of the Holocaust and for reminding society what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred, and indifference reign.
The theme for this year’s contest was "Stars Without a Heaven - Children in the Holocaust.” One and a half million children, a totally unfathomable number, were murdered in the Shoah. The story of the children is particularly tragic and is different from the adult narrative as very few children managed to hide, and even fewer survived.
The Nazis targeted all Jews for death, but the mortality rate for children was especially high. Only six to 11 percent of Europe’s prewar Jewish population of children survived as compared with 33 percent of the adults.
| 2023 Winners of the Student Holocaust Writing, Art, and Multi-Media Contest |
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Grades 7-8 Poetry Grades 7-8 Essay Grades 7-8 Art |
Grades 9-10 Poetry Grades 9-10 Essay Grades 9-10 Art |
Grades 11-12 Poetry Grades 11-12 Essay Grades 11-12 Art |