» Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest

The Nazi rise to power in 1933 brought changes to every facet of German society. While some initially benefited, others, especially Jews and Roma, immediately experienced restrictions as they were moved to the fringes of society and subsequently forced from society altogether. These changes accelerated and expanded as German forces annexed or occupied other countries where they implemented their racist and antisemitic ideology.

As persecution increased, those targeted faced the difficult decision of whether to stay or leave—although many people lacked either the necessary financial resources or a country that would accept them.  Departure often meant leaving behind much that mattered—family, friends, career, school, home, business. Some who fled discovered that putting down roots in another European country was not necessarily a guarantee of safety.

Otto Frank and his family left Germany for the Netherlands soon after Hitler became Germany’s political leader, never imagining that only a few years later Germany would be at war and the Netherlands would be occupied. As the threat of an attack drew closer, Otto did what he could. He created a secret hiding place in his business and moved his wife and daughters into the annex in July 1942. To avoid suspicion, the family could bring little with them, but knowing how much it meant to her, Otto allowed Anne to bring her treasured album filled with photos and postcards. Gluing magazine photos of her favorite Hollywood stars on the wall made the room she shared feel more like her own, as she wrote, it was “much more cheerful.” After the Franks’ secret hiding place was discovered, their next move was a much more sudden and traumatic one. This time the photos, along with Anne’s beloved diary, her most prized possession, had to be left behind.

The Holocaust brought unpredictable and sudden transitions. On a moment’s notice or less, one could be ordered to depart for an unknown location—ghetto, camp or into hiding. Sometimes one had only a few minutes to decide what to include in the one small suitcase one was allowed to bring. Should a mother pack a cooking pot in the hope that wherever she ended up she could still cook for her family or instead, should she pack an extra blanket for her child?

Arrival at a camp like Auschwitz meant that one was stripped of all a person had with them, including their clothes. After that, one could only carry what was intangible, something within oneself. Separated from his mother in the Plaszow concentration camp, young Leon Leyson treasured the memory of the time his mother had made him a special breakfast “for being such a good boy.” Remembering a parent’s words of praise or the promise, “you will survive,” became a lifeline of hope that one would someday be reunited with those one loved.

Sometimes what a person chose to carry sustained more than oneself. In his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel tells the story of Juliek, his companion on the death march from Auschwitz to Buchenwald, who somehow managed to bring his violin with him. Late at night, surrounded by starving and freezing men close to death, Juliek miraculously found the strength to play a movement from a Beethoven concerto, a haunting testimony to beauty in the midst of overwhelming inhumanity.

In December 1942, artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was ordered to the ghetto concentration camp of Terezin. Instead of bringing clothes or personal items, Friedl instead brought paints and brushes so she could teach drawing and painting to the camp’s children. Thanks to what she chose to carry, over the next two years, the children created nearly 5,000 drawings which Friedl packed into two suitcases and hid before she and the children were deported to their deaths in Auschwitz.

Every person caught in the net of the Holocaust carried with them something of personal value whether it was carried in one’s hand or one’s heart. What each person chose tells us something about them as individuals, about what mattered to them, and perhaps about what they thought might be a source of strength for survival. Their choices also challenge us to think about who we are and about what matters to us.

• Chapman University’s Holocaust Art & Writing Contest website, featuring video testimonies from the collection of the USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education at Chapman.edu/contest-testimonies
• South Carolina Council on the Holocaust website at scholocaustcouncil.org/survivor.php
• The 1939 Society website at the1939society.org
• USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education’s YouTube channel at Youtube.com/uscshoahfoundation (“Full-Length Testimonies” playlists only)
• USC Shoah Foundation's iWitness site at iwitness.usc.edu

* Lists of testimonies that are one to two hours in length are available on the last page of the Educator Guide.

2. As you listen to the survivor’s testimony, think about the stages of that person’s journey through the Holocaust, the challenges they faced, and the decisions they made about what they could carry with them at each transition. Write down a specific word, phrase, or sentence from the testimony that references something specific that person “carried.” Why did whatever they chose matter so much to them? What insight does their choice give you about that individual? 

Please note the timestamp from the video testimony where the specific word, phrase, or sentence occurs.

3. As the person now entrusted with this individual’s experience, through your creativity in art, poetry, prose, or film, explore this word, phrase, or sentence as central to the survivor’s story, as a source of insight about that person and what mattered to them, Include in your response your reflection about what you will carry with you from this survivor’s story and why it matters to you.

We encourage teachers to consult the Educator Guide for rubrics, specific criteria and other information.

• Regardless of delivery method (digital or hard copy), all entrants must complete the online submission form
• Entries must reflect genuine engagement with the survivor's testimony in its historical context and constitute a thoughtful and creative response.
• Entries must be based on a survivor's testimony available from one of the following sources:
  • Chapman University’s Holocaust Art & Writing Contest website, featuring video testimonies from the collection of the USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education at Chapman.edu/contest-testimonies
  • South Carolina Council on the Holocaust website at scholocaustcouncil.org/survivor.php
  • The 1939 Society website at the1939society.org
  • USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education’s YouTube channel at Youtube.com/uscshoahfoundation (“Full-Length Testimonies” playlists only)
  • USC Foundation's iWitness site at iwitness.usc.edu
• Entries must include a time stamp (timecode) from the video testimony. This is the moment in the testimony that the student chooses that references the theme of the contest prompt.
• Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.

• Regardless of delivery method (digital or hard copy), all entrants must complete the online submission form
• Entries must be submitted with the artist’s statement that includes
  • Title of the work
  • Name of survivor to whose testimony this work is a response
  • Statement of how the work addresses the prompt
  • Statement must not include student or school name and must not exceed 100 words.
  • Acknowledgement of sources – to protect copyright holders, proper citation of all sources is required. Permission for sources that are not public domain must be obtained in writing from copyright holder and submitted with entry.
  • Please do not staple, tape, or otherwise attach the artist statement to the artwork
• Submissions must be two-dimensional only, on medium no thicker than ¾”, and must not exceed 12” x 18.”
• Artwork must not be matted or framed.
• Fixative spray must be applied to charcoal, pencil, pastel, and chalk art.
• Submissions can include photography and computer-generated images.
• Artists can use charcoal, pencil, pastel, chalk, watercolors, acrylics, or oils.
• Renderings of another’s work will be disqualified.
• Please note that AI-generated works are not permitted. All images, whether created by hand or digitally, must be the original creation of the student artist.
• Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.

• Regardless of delivery method (digital or hard copy), all entrants must complete the online submission form
• Entries must be submitted with the filmmaker’s statement including:
  • Title of the work
  • Name of survivor to whose testimony this work is a response
  • Statement of how the work addresses the prompt
  • Statement must not include student or school name and must not exceed 100 words.
  • Acknowledgement of sources – to protect copyright holders, proper citation of all sources is required. Permission for sources that are not public domain must be obtained in writing from copyright holder and submitted with entry.
• Content viewing time (without credits) may be no longer than three (3) minutes.
• File size must not exceed 600 MB.
• Films are to be submitted without credits for blind judging. A completed film with credits should be prepared in the event the film is selected for screening.
• Films may be submitted using WeTransfer.com, Google Drive, or other free file transfer websites.
• To ensure compatibility with MAC and PC, please use either QuickTime or MPEG format.
• Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.

• Regardless of delivery method (digital or hard copy), all entrants must complete the online submission form
• Entries must be titled.
• Entries must be typed.
• Entries must not include graphics, drawings, or other images. It must be clear that the entry is a poem and not artwork.
• Entries must be created by students. AI-generated works are not permitted.
• Entries must not include reference to student or school name.
• Students should include the name of the survivor about whom the entry is written. If the name doesn’t appear in the work, it should appear under the title.
• Entries may be no more than 30 lines.
• Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.

• Regardless of delivery method (digital or hard copy), all entrants must complete the online submission form
• Entries must be titled.
• Entries must be typed.
• Entries must be created by students. AI-generated works are not permitted.
• Entries must not include reference to student or school name.
• Students should include the name of the survivor about whom the entry is written. If the name doesn’t appear in the work, it should appear under the title.
• Entries may be no more than 500 words.
• Entries that do not follow the criteria will be disqualified.