Student Memorials

These are memorials inspired by participation in the Wings Of Witness program

John Paul Courtney's Memorial - Pierre Van Cortland Middle School
Sofie H's Memorial  - Robert E. Bell Middle School

 

 
 

 

 

  

A Tribute to my Ancestors And 6 Million Others Who Died in the Holocaust
 

By John Paul Courtney
 
     
 

 
     
 

My Grandfather

Karel Frohlich, Czech violinist 1917-1994
He was the only member of his immediate and extended family in Europe to survive the Holocaust. He survived Terezin, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz camps. He met my Grandmother, a pianist, in Paris after the war and they arrived in the US in 1948

  
     

 

     

This 1948 article describes my Grandfather's wartime ordeal and his survival
 

 
 

 

     
 

My Great-Grandmother

Rosa Frohlich 1887-1941
Widowed in 1933.
My Great-Grandmother was gassed and cremated in 1941 at Auschwitz

 

 
 

This is a postcard sent to my Great-grandmother from her Cousin Irma. It describes conditions for the Jews in Vienna in 1938
 

 

Click Here to Read Post Card Translation

     
 

My Great-Uncle

Paul Hans Frohlich 1920-1941
Younger brother to Karel.
He went to Auschwitz and died of Typhoid fever in 1941

 

 
 

My great-Uncle wrote this letter to Florence, his American cousin, in 1939. He hoped to come to the US soon but was deported to Auschwitz a year later and died in 1941
 

     

 

     
 

John's family provided this photo of Karel Frohlich, center, for this memorial presentation. 

"Inmates of the notorious 'model' concentration camp at Terezin perform in the 1944 Nazi propaganda film 'The Fuhrer Gives The Jews A City' "

  
 

 

 

Sofie H - Robert E. Bell Middle School

Memorycandle2.jpg (38817 bytes)

This is my memorial to the victims of the Holocaust

I cannot relate to the horrors they went through. I cannot tell them that everything is going to be all right. I do not have enough tears for all the victims that died and for all the tragedies the survivors had to live through. I cannot let the memories of the Holocaust get lost in time. That is way it is important to remind the world that the terror they went through should never be repeated. That is why I am making this memorial, for the victims of the Holocaust and for their stories, which should never be forgotten.

THE BOX
The circular box represents how the world is connected. The Holocaust was a worldwide affair, a timeless tragedy, which could only be represented by a circle. Just as the circle never ends, so the memory of the Holocaust must continue forever, to remind people all over the world that this appalling nightmare can never be repeated.

THE OUTSIDE
The outside of the box is decorated with around one hundred names of victims of the Holocaust. Some of these people survived the Holocaust; some of those are alive today. But most of these names are of children who died in the Holocaust.

I used blue tissue paper and white printer paper because blue and white are the colors of the Israeli flag. Yellow is the color of the star the Jews had to wear in the ghetto.

THE SAND
When you look at this memorial you will see the sand, which represents the multitudes of people who were affected by the Holocaust. The uncountable grains of sand represent each of the eleven million who perished, the six million Jews and the five million other minorities. There is also sand for every man and woman who helped save the life of a victim of the Holocaust, for every man or woman who died in battle trying to overpower the Nazis, for every person who sat by the radio in the safety of their own home with tears in their eyes, because all they could do was have faith and pray.

THE MIRROR
The mirror gives us, the world, the chance to reflect on our actions, to reflect on the death of the millions of lives that were brutally murdered. It reminds us that we should not only be looking at ourselves on the surface but inside us as well. The mirror gives us a chance to improve on what we see reflected for the future, not only our appearance but also our behavior.

But this mirror is shattered.

The mirror is shattered to represent the eleven million slaughtered humans whose lives were "shattered" because of their race and religion. The mirror is shattered into seven pieces, the seven days of creation, which gives us hope. We can recreate the world, and work to rebuild a global community based on acceptance and peace, not hatred.

THE CANDLE
The candle is a symbol for the human race. A candle is like human life, it breathes oxygen, lives and dies. The candle is also a way to mourn for the dead in the Jewish religion. When a family member dies a candle burns for 24 hours. This candle won’t burn for 24 hours, but it will be our way of mourning for the people who died during the Holocaust.

My generation is the last generation to be able to hear first hand the stories of survivors. It is important that we are educated to pass on the memories of these terrible years.