HOLOCAUST ESSAY CONTEST GUIDELINES: 2022 (Grades 9-12)

Safeguarding the Sacred: Perspectives on Holocaust Memory

1. Essay contest open to all high school students in TN and surrounding states. 
2. One entry per student. 
3. All entries must be typed and double-spaced in 12-point font.
4. Entries may not exceed 600 words.
5. Entries must include name, address, phone number, e-mail address, name of school and grade.
6. Essays must be electronically submitted to HolocaustEssayMJF@gmail.com by the close of business, Monday, March 21, 2022.
7. The essay should explore the following topic: Safeguarding the Sacred: Perspectives on Holocaust Memory.
8. When thinking about this topic, you may wish to consider how Holocaust memory is transmitted through the generations and /or the threats posed to memory by Holocaust denial and trivialization. Contest entrants may explore one or more avenues of memory preservation: personal testimony, diaries, hidden archives, judicial prosecutions, historical accounts, visual arts, etc. and consider the opportunities and challenges posed by these methods to the future of Holocaust memory. 
9. Suggested Resources: 

Facing History and Ourselves

Yad Vashem. The World Holocaust Remembrance Center | www.yadvashem.org |

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (ushmm.org)

 USC Shoah Foundation |

ADL: Fighting Antisemitism and Hate

Home | AJC

Simon Wiesenthal Center

10. Ideas not your own and/or quotes must be referenced. 
11. Judging will be based on the following criteria: originality, creativity, passion, message conveyed, connection to theme, accurate historical detail, and proper use of language.
12. First Place cash prize of $250; Second Place cash prize of $125.  Gift cards for Honorable Mention. Contest awards provided by the Kaethe Mela Family Memorial Fund of the Jewish Foundation of Memphis. Kaethe, her husband Paul and their 17-year-old daughter Doris, were murdered in Auschwitz. 
13. First Place essay will be published in the program booklet for Memphis Jewish Federation’s annual community-wide Yom HaShoah/Holocaust observance on Thursday evening, April 28, 2022. All winners will be publically recognized at the commemoration.  
14. Winning essays will be published in print and digital publications.
15. Please direct questions to Carrie Richardson at crichardson@jcpmemphis.org.