2012 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Student Essay Contest
Taking a Stand: Individual Action, Global Impact

High school students throughout Illinois are eligible to participate in the 2012 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Student Essay Contest. Essays should address the role of individual involvement in combating bullying. The maximum length is 1,500 words.
Bullies depend on indifference to help ensure their success. Students should identify an individual whose actions had a significant impact during the Holocaust or other genocidal atrocities. For example, Raoul Wallenberg took a stand against the Nazi regime in Budapest, and saved the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews.
Students should also consider their own role in combating bullying, hatred and indifference.
Each essay should highlight an individual whose actions were a positive contribution during the Holocaust or genocidal atrocity; and also
- Describe a situation in which the student became involved and took a stand against bullying, or
- Explain how the behavior of the historical “Upstander” will inspire them to take action.
The deadline for all entries is February 15, 2012.
Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at a public ceremony at the Illinois Holocaust Museum on May 6, 2012.
Click here for complete contest requirements.
For more information, contest@ilhmec.org.
Read More about Previous Contests
- 2011 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Student Arts & Writing Contest:
Changing the Way People Think: Persuasion and Propoganda - 2010 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest:
One Person Can Make a Difference: Eliminating Genocide in My Lifetime
- 2009 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Holocaust Arts and Writing Contest:
Memory Keepers: Transform the Future -
2008 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest:
History's Dark Echo: The Challenge of 'Never Again' in the 21st Century -
2007 Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Holocaust Arts and Writing Contest:
Less than Perfect: The Many Victims of Nazi Persecution





Skokie, IL