The Holocaust Remembrance Project is a national essay contest for high school students that is designed to encourage and promote the study of the Holocaust. Participation in this project encourages students to think responsibly, be aware of world conditions that undermine human dignity, and make decisions that promote the respect and value inherent in every person.

The project serves as a living memorial to the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.  The Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation recognizes the moral imperative of teaching young people about this watershed event and the central importance of passing on to future generations a profound understanding of the consequences of the Holocaust and a sense of responsibility to the human community.

High school students across the United States and Mexico are invited to incorporate the project into their study of the Holocaust and to use it as a means to personally react to the messages of the Holocaust. Scholarships and other prizes are awarded to students in first, second and third place categories. 

First Place winners participate in an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and other historic sites.  In addition, scholarships are awarded to the first-place winners.  

Students responding to this year’s writing contest should study the Holocaust and then, in an essay of no more than 1,200 words: (a) analyze why it is so vital that the remembrance, history and lessons of the Holocaust be passed to a new generation; and (b) suggest what they, as students, can do to combat and prevent prejudice, discrimination and violence in our world today.

In preparation for writing, students should research information from a variety of sources to assist them in the study of the Holocaust. Primary and secondary source material could include: historical and reference material; interviews, eyewitness accounts and oral testimonies; official documents and other primary sources; readings from diaries, letters, autobiographies and works of poetry; video or audiotapes, films, art, CD-ROM and Internet source.

This contest is open to all students age 19 and under who meet the following criteria: (1) are currently enrolled as a high school student in grades 9-12 (including home schooled students) or who are high school seniors who may graduate high school at any time in 2008, or are students who are enrolled in a high school equivalency program; AND (2) are residents of either the United States or Mexico or who are United States Citizens living abroad.

Entries must be submitted online via our Web site. Entries may not be sent via mail, facsimile or e-mail. Entries must be uploaded to the upload site no later than 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

 http://holocaust.hklaw.com/