The White Rose Society Essay Contest is named in honor of the original White Rose Society, a group of university students in Munich, Germany, who united to call the German people to oppose Nazi oppression and inhumanity through an underground newspaper and leaflet campaign. The society, which chose the white rose as its symbol to represent purity in the face of evil, was originally inspired to speak out in opposition to Nazi eugenics and euthanasia programs.
Our Contestants were asked to research the history of a specific child or youth who was caught in or witnessed the events of the Holocaust in Europe, and then describe how learning about the Holocaust through the personal story of this one individual made the Holocaust more meaningful to them.
The winners are pictured below, with links to their essays. Special thanks to our judges this year; Linda Leifeld and Joyce Waibel.
The winners with guest speaker-(left to right). Holocaust survivor Ida Paluch Kersz, First place winner Kenidie Evans from Lincoln Junior High School, Second place Samanatha Lewis from Lincoln Middle School and Third place winner Clara Oswald from Blessed Sacrament School.
Read Kenidie Evans Essay Here.
