CUJF Holocaust Education Center April Newsletter

This Sunday, you are invited to Musical Magic Live: Music and Song of Jewish Artists Through Time. In addition to a wonderful array of live music, you will also be able to view the SHOAH: How Was It Humanly Possible traveling Holocaust exhibit, created by Yad Vashem. This exhibit is paired with personal stories of Holocaust survivors that are or were local to Champaign-Urbana. More information is included in the events section below!

This month, our newsletter is highlighting some of the incredible work that local community members are doing to support Holocaust education in Central Illinois. 

Local Student Wins International Competition

Hannah Needham of Jefferson Middle School has won the 2025 Chapman University Holocaust Art and Writing Contest, Middle School Division Film Category!! The HEC was proud to support Hannah's travel to California to attend the awards ceremony in March. 

Click the button below to watch "She Taught Me How to Read in the Attic", Hannah's award winning film!

Dr. Gingold Speaks to Hundreds

Dr. Gingold was invited to speak to what he expected to be one classroom of students at Johns Hill Magnet School in Decatur. Upon arrival, he was lead to a stage where he was presented to an entire middle school, including fourth and fifth graders. Students of all ages were captivated by his story, skipping part of their lunch period to stay and ask questions.

The students and staff thanked Dr. Gingold for his time by giving him Hershey's chocolates and a card signed by students. Many also gave their thanks by coming up to shake his hand at the end!

Monticello High School & Franklin Middle School Host Holocaust Museums

For the first time ever, Monticello High School sophomores created a Holocaust Memorial Museum as a final project for their WWII Unit. HEC members had a special opportunity to walk through the exhibit and were deeply impressed with the depth of research and variety of projects that were on display.

Franklin STEAM Academy in Champaign held their annual 8th grade Holocaust Museum project, with a focus on Rescuers and Resisters during the Holocaust. Students presented their posters with a 'artifact' made of recycled materials, along with their research paper on the topic. Getting to see how knowledgeable the students were on their subject of choice was so refreshing! It showed us, as Holocaust historians and educators, how important Holocaust education is to our youth.

Do you want to showcase your classes' Holocaust unit projects? Keep reading for a great way to share your students work this month! 

Until later this spring, 

Azer Matten (They/Them)

CUJF Community Engagement Coordinator

Courtney Smith (She/Her)

Holocaust Education Committee Chair