City of Greeley Holocaust Memorial Observances

There are three divisions:
Middle School: grades 6 - 8
High School: grades 9 - 10
High School: grades 11 - 12

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, in 1948, the United Nations approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This convention establishes genocide as an international crime, which all signatory nations must "undertake to prevent and punish." And, it revises the definition to "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group [. . .]."

Preventing genocide remains a challenge that nations and individuals continue to face. And there are places in the world where, right now, genocide is occurring--places like Darfur, the Congo, Chechnya, Burundi, and Rwanda. For this contest we ask you to consider the issue of genocide in response to the question below.

Prompt:

The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Observance is “Heroines of the Holocaust.” Historically, many women have played an important role displaying their courage in helping defy the Nazis during World War II. However they were not often acknowledged for their heroism or courage. Choose a female who has either made a contribution toward survival during the Holocaust or has shown exceptional courage or inspiration. Explain the challenges that that person had to meet and what lessons you and others your age can learn from her experiences.