Holocaust Writing, Art, and Film Contest 2023
The Writing, Art, and Film Contest challenges students to explore the history and stories of the Holocaust. Open to students in grades 5-12 from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, the contest runs from January to May.
Thank you to all who participated in this year’s contest!
This year, we were honored to have 476 entries from 32 schools across the Pacific Northwest. Entries explored the lives of over 30 Holocaust survivors through art, writing, and film.
Explore our 2023 Winners Booklet for a look into all the award-winning works!
Navigate directly to a subtopic:
Featured Works | Physical Art Winners | Digital Art Winners | Film Winners | Writing Winners | 2023 Prompts
Featured Works
1st Place Grade 9-12 Physical Art
Shelly Netz, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School
2nd Place, Grade 9-12 Physical Art
Elisha Calaunan, Grade 9 Peninusla High School
1st Place, Grade 9-12, Digital Art
Brian Yin, Grade, 12, Tesla STEM High School
2nd Place, Grade 9-12 Digital Art
Davis Yang, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School
Physical Art Winners
View the winners’ art in our winners booklet.
Physical Art 5th/6th Grade:
1st Place: Kimber Poser, Grade 6, Emmett Middle School, Emmett, ID
Physical Art 7th/8th Grade:
1st Place: Evie Hobbs, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
2nd Place: Caitlin Radtke, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
3rd Place: Colin Johnson, Grade 8, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, WA
Physical Art 9th-12th Grade:
1st Place: Shelly Netz, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
2nd Place: Elisha Calaunan, Grade 9, Peninsula High School, Gig Harbor, WA
3rd Place: Aaryan Bondre, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Honorable Mention: Triana Fernando Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Digital Art Winners
View the winners’ art in our winners booklet.
Digital Art 7th/8th Grade:
1st Place: Ayla Sibay, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
2nd Place: Katrina Becker, Grade 8, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, WA
3rd Place: Davis Wurzburg, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
Digital Art 9th-12th Grade:
1st Place: Brian Yin, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
2nd Place: Davis Yang, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
3rd Place: Deepalakshmi Thirumal, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Honorable Mention: Evan Kim, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Film Winners
View the winners’ films in our winners booklet.
Film 5th-8th Grade:
1st Place: Cecilia "Ceci" Garzon-May, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
2nd Place: Isaac Royce, Grade 8, Gateway Middle School, Everett, WA
3rd Place: Sophie Shade, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
Honorable Mention: Cara Nishimura & Quinn Wiita, Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
Film 9th-12th Grade:
1st Place: David Gershony, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
2nd Place: Ananya Unnikrishnan, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
3rd Place: Ethan Yu, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Honorable Mention: Arihant Singh, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Writing Winners
View excerpts from our writing winners in our winners booklet.
Argumentative Writing 5th/6th Grade:
1st Place: Sophie Gillick-Downs, Grade 5, Seattle Jewish Community School, Seattle, WA
2nd Place: Eden Benzikry-Stern, Grade 5, Seattle Jewish Community School, Seattle, WA
3rd Place: Daniel Smith, Grade 5, Seattle Jewish Community School, Seattle, WA
Creative Writing 5th/6th Grade:
1st Place: Jacob Anguiano, Grade 6, Park Place Middle School, Monroe, WA
Argumentative Writing 7th/8th Grade:
1st Place: Olivia Chen, Grade 8, Open Window School, Bellevue, WA
2nd Place: Ivy Rudat, Grade 8, Coupeville Middle School, Coupeville, WA
3rd Place: Riley White, Grade 8, Coupeville Middle School, Coupeville, WA
Honorable Mention: Sophia Allman, Grade 8, Horizon Middle School, Spokane Valley, WA
Creative Writing 7th/8th Grade:
1st Place: Arlo Alberts, Grade 8, Sacajawea Middle School, Spokane, WA
2nd Place: Felicity Anderson, Grade 8, Sacajawea Middle School, Spokane, WA
3rd Place: Lexi Mahoney , Grade 7, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle, WA
Argumentative Writing 9th-12th Grade:
1st Place: Brietta Yi, Grade 11, Newport High School, Bellevue, WA
2nd Place: Jonas Koller, Grade 9, Peninsula High School, Gig Harbor, WA
3rd Place: William Gong, Grade 12, Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, WA
Creative Writing 9th-12th Grade:
1st Place: Rachana Venugopal, Grade 11, Eastlake High School, Sammamish, WA
2nd Place: Claire Poulsen, Grade 9, Freeman High School, Rockford, WA
3rd Place: Kalyn Swanson , Grade 9, Freeman High School, Rockford, WA
Contest Prompts
Option 1: Creative Writing, Physical Art, Digital Art, and Film
Background: “...I consider that everything should be recorded and noted down, even the most gory, because everything will be taken into account." -Yitskhok Rudashevski, teenage diarist murdered during the Holocaust. 1927-1943
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the largest, symbolically most important Jewish uprising, and first urban uprising in German-occupied Europe. While organized armed resistance was the most direct form of opposition to the Nazis, resistance also included escape, hiding, cultural activity, and other acts of spiritual preservation. Such non-armed resistance refers to attempts by individuals to maintain their humanity, personal integrity, dignity and sense of civilization in the face of their oppressors' attempts to dehumanize and degrade them.
Prompt: Describe or illustrate, in the art form of your choice, how a Holocaust survivor's experience with resistance during the Holocaust can inspire us to make meaningful change today.
*Use one or more entries in the Survivor Encyclopedia: Washington State and/or the story of a survivor about whom you have learned in your class to inform your entry.
Option 2: Argumentative Writing
Grade 5-8
Background: The Holocaust Center for Humanity has been asked to submit a recommendation to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in the state of Washington regarding whether instruction about the Holocaust should be required in public schools, and if so, in which grades.
The current law, which “strongly encourages” teaching about the Holocaust, indicates that, “The studying of this material is intended to: Examine the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and intolerance; prepare students to be responsible citizens in a pluralistic democracy; and be a reaffirmation of the commitment of free peoples never again to permit such occurrences.”
Prompt: In a cohesive paper, write a letter to the legislature arguing in favor of mandating (requiring) Holocaust education in Washington State schools. Use one or more entries in the Survivor Encyclopedia: Washington State, and/or the life story of a survivor about whom you have learned in your class, as well as at least one of the sources provided to inform your entry.
Grades 9-12
Background: Any study of the Holocaust raises questions about what might have been done to stop the rise and expansion of the Nazis in Europe. The Nazis built a society based on exclusion and persecution of the Jews and other marginalized groups in Germany and, eventually, throughout Europe. Over time, governmental leaders in the United States made choices that drove the American response to the atrocities committed by the Nazis and their collaborators.
Prompt: Was the American government response to the Holocaust (1933-1945) sufficient? In a well organized paper, support your position by discussing two or more specific events related to the American response. In addition, based on what you have learned, how should America respond to human rights violations in other countries? Explain your thinking.
See Previous Winners
See our winners' packet Celebrating Life: Holocaust Writing, Art, & Film Contest 2022 here.