However you choose to express yourself through art or writing, it is important to remember that an emotional response alone is not an expression of knowledge. Be sure to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of historical events to make your creative expressions more substantive and convincing. You should use the Museumís Web site as a primary resource in researching and preparing your entry. A completed entry form (on the Museum's Web site in PDF format) must accompany each entry. All entries must represent your own independent effort.
ELIGIBILITY
All students in middle school and high school may participate.
Entries will be disqualified for any of the following reasons:
All entries remain the property of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and cannot be returned. By your participation in the contest, you grant the Museum permission to publish the winning entries in brochures, flyers, other Museum publications, and exhibitions. Photo reproductions of the winning entries may also be made available to the news media.
ART ENTRIES
Feel free to choose from the full range of techniques and materials including paint, charcoal, and pencil.
Guidelines
WRITING ENTRIES
Feel free to choose from the full range of genres including prose, poetry, plays, and short stories.
Guidelines
MEDIA ENTRIES
Feel free to choose from various media forms such as photography, video, and computer-related media.
JUDGING
There are two judging divisions for the contest:
Division I: Middle school
Division II: High school
The judges for this contest include historians, educators, artists, writers, and Holocaust survivors. For both divisions, judges evaluate each entry based on the following categories:
Content
Does the entry attempt to answer the contest question?
Historical Accuracy and Interpretation
Is the entry historically accurate?
Does the entry provide analysis and interpretation rather than a retelling of historical events?
Originality, Creativity, and Presentation
Is the entry organized and well presented?
Is the written material clear, and grammatically correct?
Is the visual material well drawn or constructed?
Does the entry reflect the student's imagination in dealing with the subject matter?
PRIZES
Winners receive a cash award, a gift certificate from the Museum Shop, and a certificate of achievement. Teachers of winners receive a selection of books. Winning schools are eligible for an on-site award ceremony with a member of the Museumís Education Division.
The Museum reserves the right not to award prizes in either division.
All entrants receive a certificate of accomplishment.
Photos, top to bottom: Gitta Rosenzweig was discovered in a Catholic orphanage after the war. In 1942, she had been found wandering in the Polish countryside and was taken to a childrenís home, where she was given the name ìMaria Czekanska.î Biata Podlaska, Poland, August 1946. USHMM, gift of Gitta Rosenzweig;
Two hidden Jewish children, Beatrix Westheimer and her cousin Henri Hurwitz, with Catholic priest Adelin Vaes, on the occasion of Beatrixís First Communion. Ottignies, Belgium, May 1943. Beatrice Muchman;
Rajala Lederman and her daughter Annette in Brussels, Belgium, shortly before Annette was placed in hiding with a Christian family. USHMM, courtesy of Annette Lederman Linzer;
In 1942, Henrietta and Herman Goslinski went into hiding to avoid deportation from the Netherlands. Because their rescuer could not take their infant daughter Berty, the Dutch resistance moved her frequently. During the two-and-a-half years apart, the parents saw Berty only once and received this lone photograph. Bertie Levkowitz
