Lydia May Memorial Holocaust Writing Contest

The Lydia May Memorial Holocaust Writing Contest is named for the grandmother of DHRC Director Renate Frydman. Lydia is shown here with her daughter Carmen, Renate’s mother, who passed away in 2014 age 107.

Each winter the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center sponsors two contests for students in grades 5 through 12. Click on the links below for complete details about the contests, including this year’s themes and deadlines. Contact dhrcdirector @ gmail.com with further questions.

The theme for this year’s Lydia May Memorial Holocaust Writing Contest and Max May Memorial Holocaust Art Contest is

Eighty years after the Holocaust, the Second Generation shares the history of their families.

Never again, Never forget!

לְדוֹר וָדוֹר

As the survivors of the Holocaust gradually leave us, their children and grandchildren are stepping up to preserve their memories and to help educate the students of today and tomorrow about the dangers of prejudice, racism and bullying. The Holocaust is in the past but the hatred and anti-semitism that produced it are, unfortunately, still with us. The suffering of Holocaust victims – and of other victims – can affect their children and grandchildren. The Hebrew saying just above means “from generation to generation.”

For this year’s contests, we ask students to look at second-generation survivors – either an individual, or at the study of transmission of trauma from one generation to the next – a phenomenon that is currently under study by many psychologists and sociologists, and is often a long-lasting legacy of persecution and bullying.

The librarians at the ERC at Wright State will be happy to help: contact beth.anderson@wright.edu

We know that the uncertainties of this school year may present obstacles to students, teachers and parents alike when it comes to creating art and writing for the contests. We encourage entries from students being schooled at home as well as from the traditional classroom.

Entries must be submitted by Friday, March 28, 2025. But any time before that is fine!

Because of the large volume of entries we receive each year – both art and writing – please try to send us only your students’ best work.

Important: You may either e-mail entries or send them by regular mail. If mailing hard copy, you need to include a cover sheet with the student’s name and grade, teacher’s name, and school; the entry itself should not include any of this information, in order to ensure anonymity in judging. Please send three copies. Entries coming directly from students will not be accepted – they need to come through a teacher, except in the case of home-schooled students.

Send e-mail entries to: jhochstein@jfgd.net

Mail entries to:

Dayton Holocaust Resource Center

525 Versailles Dr, Dayton, OH 45459

Your entry may be fiction, nonfiction, prose, drama or poetry.

DIVISIONS: Division I is for grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Division II is for grades 9-12. Students at any greater Dayton area school, public, parochial or private, as well as home-schooled, are eligible.

AWARDS: Monetary awards will be given for First, Second, Third Place and Honorable Mention.

GUIDELINES:

Entries must represent the independent and unassisted work of the student under whose name they are submitted. Proofreading for corrections by a parent or teacher is acceptable, but content must not come from anyone but the author.

Entries will be judged for originality, content, and understanding of the subject.

Entries become the property of the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center, which reserves the right to publish them in part or in their entirety.

PLEASE NOTE that the deadline is Friday, March 22. Winners will be notified soon after that date, and will be announced at the annual Yom HaShoah commemoration at Beth Jacob Synagogue in April

If you aren’t already on our e-mail list, please ask to be added; updates are sent out periodically.

Here is a list of resources: