June 14, 2007
Benjamin Kasdan, Gann Academy Class of 2010, was awarded first prize for
his essay, “My Holocaust Memorial: A Reflection in Silence.” Over
500 entries from students in more than 50 schools addressed the challenge
of designing and siting a Holocaust memorial and describing what people
would learn from the memorial. Kasdan explained that his creation would “focus
on the silence of the world while the Nazis and their collaborators set
out to destroy the Jewish people. I would place my memorial in a
desolate field to remember the stillness …, to remind people that
even though concentration camps may have been located near populated areas,
the neighbors were silent. The quiet would reflect the deafening
suffering silence of a concentration camp.”
Coordinated by the Jewish Community Relations Council and the American
Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, this annual
contest, established in 2006, honors Israel Arbeiter, President of the
American Association of Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston. Rick
Mann, President of the Friends of the New England Holocaust Memorial accompanied
Mr. Arbeiter in presenting the award on June 7 to Kasdan.
Founded in 1997, Gann Academy is a pluralistic Jewish high school with
309 students located on a 20-acre campus in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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