Imagining the Holocaust
a Writing Competition for
Middle School & Senior-High School Students
Sponsored by the English Department of
Jacksonville State University

"Why teach Holocaust history?" is a question that several professors at Jacksonville State University have struggled to answer. "Imagining the Holocaust" is one way we are attempting to teach Holocaust history and its importance to our daily lives because by teaching about Holocaust history we can learn about ourselves.

To this end, interested English faculty at JSU developed the idea of "Imagining the Holocaust," a writing contest designed to teach Holocaust history and its continuing influence in today's world to middle school and high school students in the state of Alabama. The competition is open to many kinds of writing, from essays to more creative approaches in poetry and fiction. Entries are due each spring, and prizes, including U.S. Savings Bonds worth $100, $75, and $50 to the top three winners in each category, will be awarded. The top winners will also be invited to participate in JSU's annual Holocaust Memorial Commemoration in April and are automatically entered in the Alabama Holocaust Commission's State Days of Remembrance writing competition.

Please use the following links to find out more information and download guidelines and entry forms (free Acrobat Reader needed, available for download here):

Letter to teachers
(describing the contest)
High School
Entry Form
High School
Guidelines
Middle School
Entry Form
Middle School
Guidelines

For further information please contact:

  • Steven Whitton at 256.782-5414 or by email
  • Joy Maloney--Contest Coordinator for grades 7 & 8, at 256.782-5469 or by email
  • John Hickman--Contest Coordinator for grades 9-12, at 256.782-8253 or by email
  • Contact any of us by mail: Department of English, Jacksonville State University, 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville, Alabama 36265
    •
    Some Online Sources - | -    Teaching the Holocaust    - | - Compiled by Dr. Steven Whitton

    International:

    Yad Vashem, Jerusalem: http://www.yadvashem.org/


    National:

    Holocaust Survivors: http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/

    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/

    USC Shoah Foundation Institute: http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/vhi/ 

    Regional: 

    Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee: http://bhamholocausteducation.org/ 

    Holocaust Museum Houston:  http://www.hmh.org/