Victims, Perpetrators, Rescuers and Survivors: A Multigenre Response to the Holocaust

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio—22 December 2006—Notre Dame College’s Clara Fritzsche Library will host “Victims, Perpetrators, Rescuers and Survivors: A Multigenre Response to the Holocaust,” an exhibit featuring the work of Orange High School seniors sponsored by the College’s Tolerance Resource Center. Under the guidance of social studies teacher Gail Price and Gifted Intervention Specialist Petra Moran, students were asked to complete a multigenre paper after completing a unit on the rise of the Nazis and the Holocaust in Mrs. Price’s justice class. Multigenre research projects give students the opportunity to research and reflect on a topic then share their newfound knowledge through words and pictures. Students were required to use one written genre and one visual genre but beyond that were free to select genres that helped them best express their newly gained knowledge and understanding of the topic. Two sections of 25 students each participated in the project, representing a cross-section of all seniors. Inspiration for the projects came from the class resource book, Facing History and Ourselves, the graphic novel Maus II by Art Spiegelman, biographies of Holocaust victims and survivors from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the film Schindler’s List and Teaching Tolerance’s One Survivor Remembers kit.

Students completed their pieces in November 2006. The purpose of each piece was to educate viewers about the Holocaust in an interesting and engaging way and to create a sense of understanding and empathy among children, teens and adults. Students responded to the project, immersing themselves in the world of Nazi-occupied Europe. The pieces in the exhibit reflect a great deal of imagination and a full range of emotions ranging from utter despair to hope. The finished works vary in technique and medium but when viewed as a whole create a powerful statement.

Spurred on by the experience of creating these works, the student participants encourage the viewer to think about the pieces in the show and to respond to them by helping to put an end to atrocities occurring in the world now. The two justice classes are currently creating awareness at Orange High School about the genocide in Darfur by creating informative posters to hang around the school, passing around petitions calling for an end to the violence in the region and selling wrist bands to raise funds.

The show will run from January 18 through February 2, 2007. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, January 18th from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibit may be viewed during library hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; WECO Fridays 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m.-10 p.m. For more information, contact Karen Zoller at 216-373-5267.