292 North Street 2nd Floor
Newburgh, N Y 12550
845-562-7860 Fax 845-562-5114
info@jewishorangeny.org www.jewishorangeny.org
Abbe Distelburger
PRESIDENT
Dear Teachers,
Dr. Leslie Green
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Carla Wise
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
Jeffrey Harmer
TREASURER
Susan Notar
SECRETARY
Joyce Waschitz
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Jessica Brenner
Dr. William Cieplinski*
Mark Fink*
Rabbi Larry Freedman
Zoe Fruchter
Dr. Emily Gordon
Adria Gross
Betty Grossman
Joseph Herzog
Dr. Irving Kadesh
Dr. Lisa Korenman
Raena Korenman*
Constance Littman
Rabbi Garry Loeb
Risa Neustadt
Gail Oliver*
Stefanie Pearl
Beth Pechman
David Rider
Dr. Steven Rubinsky*
Beth Schoen
Marie Schor
Rabbi Joel Schwab
Pamela Beneck Shanker
Rabbi Rebecca Shinder
Michael Schwartz
Terri Small
Robert Soll
Ingrid Rosenberg Taub
Rabbi Brenda Weinberg
Rabbi Philip Weintraub
HONORARY TRUSTEES
George Handler*
Matthias Schleifer
LIFETIME TRUSTEES
Dr. Joseph Birnbaum*
Andrea Dubroff*
Michael Dubroff
Florence Levine**
Harold Levine**
Mona Rieger*
Marsha Sobel*
* Past Presidents
** Of Blessed Memory
It is with great pleasure that we announce the Stop Hate Orange County Essay
Contest, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County and the
Orange Human Rights Committee. The purpose of the contest is to promote
tolerance and understanding through education. The essay is open to all students,
grades 7-12.
As teachers, you will play an essential role in the success of this essay contest. We
hope you will incorporate the essay into your curriculum and provide support and
advice to your students during the research and writing process. Enclosed you will
find further details regarding the mission of the Stop Hate Orange County Essay
Contest, rules, a sample application form and suggested resources. Please note
that this assignment addresses the common core standards for both English and
Social Studies.
In addition to the prizes offered, the winning essays would be published in the
Times Herald Record.
We hope you will feature this contest as part of your lesson plans and thank you in
advance for your consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact Joyce Waschitz at 845-562-7860 or info@jewishorangeny.org.
The deadline for the contest is December 31, 2014
“It's an universal law-- intolerance is the
first sign of an inadequate education.
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1ST ANNUAL
Established to Examine the Roots of Prejudice
Question Stereotypes, Promote Understanding and
Respect Through Education
Prizes Awarded in Two Categories
7th- 9th grades: $200 award
10th-12th grades: $300 award
Researching Your Essay:
Students should use at least 3 varied sources such as the personal testimony, books
and the Internet. Wikipedia is not a reliable source The following are just a small sample
of web sites and books available to you as you research your essay about resisters and
rescuers.
Web Sites:
Yad Vashem,, the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust is an excellent
source to read about the “Righteous Among the Nations… the small minority of
individuals who individuals who mustered extraordinary courage to uphold human
values.”.
http://www.yadvashem.org/
Museum of Tolerance: Simon Wiesenthal Center
http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=358201
United States Holocuast Museum:
http://www.ushmm.org/
https://networks.h-net.org/h-holocaust
A network for scholars of the Holocaust
History Speaks: Listening and learning about the Holocaust and other genocides from
survivor testimony
http://www.historyspeaks.org.uk/sections/homepage/survivors.html
The Polish Righteous: Testimony of Rescue and Resistance from Poland.
http://www.sprawiedliwi.org.pl/en/cms/polish-righteous/
Books :
Bartoszewski, Wladyslaw T. The Warsaw Ghetto:
A Christian’sTestimony. Boston: Beacon Press, 1988.
The author was a member of the Polish Underground and a Righteous Gentile who tried
to save the lives of Polish Jews and also provide weapons and other assistance to the
fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Block, Gay, and Malka Drucker. Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the
Holocaust. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1992.
A series of 49 personal reminiscences of non-Jewish citizens in various European
nations who risked their lives to hide resident Jews from the Nazi horror.
Brecker, Elinor J. Shindler’s Legacy, True Story of the List Survivors.
Plume, 1995
Gilbert, Martin. The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocuast: Holt
Paperbooks, 2004
Distinguished historian Sir Martin Gilbert explores the courage of those who, throughout
Germany and in every occupied country, took incredible risks to help Jews whose fate
would have been sealed without them. Indeed, many lost their lives for their efforts.
Gold, Allison Leslie. A Special Fate: Chiune Sugihara: Hero of the Holocaust, Scholastic
2000 Risking his life and the lives of his family members, Mr. Sugihara, a
Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania, save several thousand Jews from
certain death.
Goldberger, Leo (ed.) The Rescue of the Danish Jews: Moral Courage Under
Stress. New York University Press.1987
The author, a professor of Psychology at New York University, was among the Jews
who escaped to Sweden with the help of his fellow Danish citizens.
Gutman, Israel, editor. The Encyclopedia of the Righteous Among the Nations:
Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 2003
Hallie, Philip P. Lest Innocent Blood be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le
Chambon, and How Goodness Happened There. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.
Laska, Vera. Women in the Resistance and in the Holocaust: Voices of
Eyewitnesses. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983.
The author was a member of the Czech resistance. A powerful and haunting statement
about the important roles and experience of women during the Holocaust
Lazare, Lucien. Rescue as Resistance: How Jewish Organizations Fought the
Holocaust in France. Translated by Jeffrey M. Green. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1996.
A survivor of the Holocaust and a distinguished scholar of Jewish history, Lucien Lazare
presents a compelling defense of the Jewish resistance movement in France during
World War II, arguing that rescue was a genuine and significant way of fighting back.
Levine, Ellen. Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of
the Jews, Holiday House, 2000
Based on the author's interviews with Danes who escaped, assisted with escapes, or
joined the resistance.
Meltzer, Milton. Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the
Holocaust. New York: HarperCollins 1991.
The story of those gentiles who sought to rescue their Jewish neighbors from
annihilation during World War II.
Paldiel, Mordecai. The Righteous Among the Nations. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem,
2007. Profiles more than 150 recipients of the Yad Vashem "Righteous Among the
Nations" award, given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the
Holocaust. They are just a few of the 21,310 who have received the award since its
inception in 1963
Rittner, Carol, and Sondra Myers, editors. The Courage to Care: Rescuers of Jews
During the Holocaust. New York: New York University Press, 1986. Features the
first person accounts of rescuers and of survivors whose stories address the basic issue
of individual responsibility: the notion that one person can act—and that those actions
can make a difference.
Tec, Nechama. When Light Pierced the Darkness: Christian Rescue of Jews in
Nazi-occupied Poland. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Tec, herself a survivor helped by Poles, vividly recreates what it was like to pass and
hide among Christians and what it was like for Poles to rescue Jews. Concentrating on
Poland, the Nazi center for Jewish annihilation, Tec amassed a vast array of published
accounts, unpublished testimonies, and interviews, yielding case histories of over 500
Polish helpers
Werner, Emmy, A Conspiracy Of Decency: The Rescue Of The Danish Jews During
World War IiWerner chronicles the Danes' spontaneous outpouring of support for
the Jews as well as efforts by the Swedes to provide the refugees with shelter.
THIS FORM MUST BE STAPLED ON TOP OF YOUR ESSAY
DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME, SCHOOL, TEACHER”S NAME OR ADDRESS
ON THE ESSAY. MAKE SURE THIS FORM IS SECURELY STAPLED OR WE
MAY NOT BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY YOUR ESSAY. WE SUGGEST YOU KEEP
AN EXTRA COPY OF YOUR ESSAY
Contestant Name: ________________________________________________________________
Grade: ___________
Address:_______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Phone: ________________________________ Email: __________________________________________
Title of Essay ____________________________________________________
Word Count (# of words in your essay) __________________
School/organization: ______________________________________________
Teacher/Coordinator Name
________________________________________________________________
Have you left anything blank? Please go back and check.
The signatures below acknowledge the following:
1. I understand the contest rules and regulations.
2. This work is original, and only one submission has been made.
3. ORANGE COUNTY ERASE HATE reserves the right to reproduce, publish, and/or exhibit
all submissions.
4. I have completed and attached the required reflection sheet.
Contestant Signature & Date:
________________________________________________________________
RULES AND GUIDELINES
The ORANGE COUNTY STOP HATE NOW contest was established to promote
tolerance and understanding through education. This year’s essay uses the events of
the Holocaust to explore issues of moral behavior and how these lessons are pertinent
to our lives. According to Jewish tradition, “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved
the entire world”. In a world of war and total ethical breakdown, a small number of
individuals exhibited moral courage, determined to uphold human values. They stood in
marked contrast to the world’s indifference and hostility to the Jewish people that
prevailed before and during World War II.
Using at least 3 sources students will submit an essay describing a courageous
act of resistance or rescue, which occurred during the Holocaust. A successful
essay will focus on the following subjects:
 Why did these individuals refuse to remain silent?
 The risks these individuals took, both physical, and emotional and the
benefits of exhibiting moral courage and standing up against injustice.
 What can you learn from their actions? How can we apply these lessons to
our daily lives?
 What can students do to combat prejudice and hate?
 This is not a book report. Essay judges are interested in your personal
reflections to the event in addition to the person you have chosen as an
example of rescue and resistance.
 The Common Core Standards for Writing History Text are included.
1. Writers must be residents of Orange County, students in grades 8-12 currently
attending public or private or being home schooled.
2. Maximum word count per essay is 1,000 words for grades 8/9, and 1,500 words for
grades 10-12
3. All submissions must (1) have a title, (2) be typed, and (3) be double-spaced Staple
the essay entrance form filled out completely to the essay. Do not write your name or
the name of your school on your essay
4. A minimum of three references must be cited in a bibliography/ work cited page.
Wikipedia does not count as a reference. Please see our bibliography for a list of
references
5. Submit your completed entry form along with the essay and mail NO LATER THAN
DECEMBER 31, 2014 to:
ORANGE COUNTY STOP HATE NOW
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County
292 North Street 2nd Floor
Newburgh, New York 12550
6. DO NOT plagiarize.
7. DO NOT submit more than one entry
Prize will be awarded at the Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day observance in
April of 2015. Winner will be announced in February 2015.
Standards for Writing History & Science Text
WHST.6-8.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a.
Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the
claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and
evidence logically.
b.
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant accurate data and evidence
that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
c.
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships
among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
d.
Establish and maintain a formal style.
e.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the
argument
presented.
WHST.9-10.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a.
Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s), and create an organization
that establishes
clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and
evidence
b.
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each
while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims
in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s
knowledge level and concerns.
c.
Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and
clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between
reasons and evidence and
counterclaims.
d.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
e.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the
argument
presented.
WHST.11-12.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a.
Introduce precise knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the
claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that
logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b.
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most
relevant data
and evidence for each while pointing out the strength and
limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form that
anticipates the audience’s knowledge level,
concerns, values, and possible biases.
c.
Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major
sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and
reasons, between reasons
and evidence, and between claim(s) and
counterclaims.
d.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which they area are writing.
e.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the
argument
presented.