Writing contest addresses Holocaust denial

Area high school students are again asked to help the community remember the Holocaust.

For a fourth year, a creative writing contest is part of the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust.

This year’s theme is “Confronting Holocaust Denial,” recognizing that some skeptics do not believe that the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews during World War II occurred.

Each contest entrant is asked to write an essay of 500 to 1,000 words in the form of a respectful letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of the most visible Holocaust deniers, discussing the impact of Holocaust denial on humanity and indicating what can be done locally to confront it. (For more details, see the Facebook page Never Again Spokane.)

Entries should be double-spaced in Microsoft Word format, with a cover page giving the writer’s name, phone number, e-mail address, school and grade level. Any referenced material should be annotated at the end.

E-mail as an attachment to neveragain-spokane@comcast.net by Feb. 18.

The winner will read his or her composition at the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust service on April 11 at Temple Beth Shalom and will receive a $500 scholarship and a keepsake commemorating the achievement.

The winning entry also will be published in The Spokesman-Review.